someone please please help

lolad
lolad Member Posts: 670
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am four weeks out from a double mastectomy. I went to the onc one time just so they can tell me they are going to do the oncotype dx test. I have not had any bloodwork, no scans or anything. Today i found a hard lump in my groin area that is bout the size of a dime, but feels like it is kind of deep. What do i do? Is this something to worry over? Who do i call? Am i just being paranoid? My sentinal node biopsy was negative. I just dont know what to do. Someone please give me some advice.

laura
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Comments

  • Kat11
    Kat11 Member Posts: 1,931 Member
    #2
    Don't panic yet. This could
    Don't panic yet. This could be just about anything. Call your doctor. After going through what you have already been through it normal to be scared and maybe paranoid. Call your doctor. Good luck hang in there
  • RE
    RE Member Posts: 4,591 Member
    #3
    Hi Laura, it is my opinion
    Hi Laura, it is my opinion that paranoid and scared keeps us alive and is extremely normal. Please call your GP and your Onco on Monday and let them know what you have found and that you are very concerned which is understandable considering your current situation. Please let us know how things go, you are in my prayers!

    RE
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #4
    RE said:

    Hi Laura, it is my opinion
    Hi Laura, it is my opinion that paranoid and scared keeps us alive and is extremely normal. Please call your GP and your Onco on Monday and let them know what you have found and that you are very concerned which is understandable considering your current situation. Please let us know how things go, you are in my prayers!

    RE

    thank you
    am i wrong to feel frustrated and scared because i havent had any bloodwork or scans done. Or anykind of test since my surgery. I am loosing my mind right now. I am breaking.
  • Christmas Girl
    Christmas Girl Member Posts: 3,682 Member
    #5
    Hi, Laura
    For us, I don't think there is such a thing as "paranoid" when it comes to our health. We must always be ever vigilant. As others have already posted, check in with your doctor on Monday. In the meantime, try not to worry (at least not too much). Your surgery was major, and just a few weeks ago. It could simply be a swollen lymph node, working overtime to fight off infection while your body heals. I'll be hoping it's nothing more serious.
  • Aortus
    Aortus Member Posts: 967
    #6
    Laura, I obviously can't say
    Laura, I obviously can't say for certain, but it could well be a swollen lymph node. Remember that you have recently undergone an extremely invasive surgical procedure, and that your body is under a lot of stress trying to recover. That's what the Physician's Assistant told my beloved Moopy last month when she came in with a somewhat swollen lymph node under her right (non-mastectomy side) arm. Best wishes and God Bless!

    Joe
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #7
    Laura.......
    I agree, call your docs on Monday and tell them that you would like tohave the lump checked.

    I am just speaking for myself, but I didn't have any blood tests after surgery. Scans either. They were all done before surgery.
    A month after surgery, my port was put in and I started chemo. Just before that I had bloodwork done and also a MUGA scan to make sure my heart was healthy enough for chemo.

    Hugs,

    CR
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #8
    CR1954 said:

    Laura.......
    I agree, call your docs on Monday and tell them that you would like tohave the lump checked.

    I am just speaking for myself, but I didn't have any blood tests after surgery. Scans either. They were all done before surgery.
    A month after surgery, my port was put in and I started chemo. Just before that I had bloodwork done and also a MUGA scan to make sure my heart was healthy enough for chemo.

    Hugs,

    CR

    I didnt have any tests
    I didnt have any tests before my surgery either. How are they supposed to know if it has spread somewhere else? I am soooo frustrated and sad. I feel hopeless right now.

    laura
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #9
    lolad said:

    I didnt have any tests
    I didnt have any tests before my surgery either. How are they supposed to know if it has spread somewhere else? I am soooo frustrated and sad. I feel hopeless right now.

    laura

    Laura...
    You didn't have any tests before surgery? No CT or MRI, PET scan, bone scan, chest x-ray...nothing?

    Was your surgeon a general surgeon, or one who specializes in bc?

    CR
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #10
    CR1954 said:

    Laura...
    You didn't have any tests before surgery? No CT or MRI, PET scan, bone scan, chest x-ray...nothing?

    Was your surgeon a general surgeon, or one who specializes in bc?

    CR

    Not one test was done! My
    Not one test was done! My surgeon was a bc surgeon thru a cancer center at the hospital. I feel like they arent doing and havent done what should be done. Im not a dr, but commen sence tells me that some tests should have been done right?>

    laura
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #11
    lolad said:

    Not one test was done! My
    Not one test was done! My surgeon was a bc surgeon thru a cancer center at the hospital. I feel like they arent doing and havent done what should be done. Im not a dr, but commen sence tells me that some tests should have been done right?>

    laura

    I find it......
    I find it strange that none of those tests were done. Is your onc also affiliated with the cancer center?

    CR
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #12
    CR1954 said:

    I find it......
    I find it strange that none of those tests were done. Is your onc also affiliated with the cancer center?

    CR

    Yes she is and supposedly
    Yes she is and supposedly had a real good reputation. I knew i wasnt crazy to have the feelings i do about not having any tests

    laura
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #13
    lolad said:

    Yes she is and supposedly
    Yes she is and supposedly had a real good reputation. I knew i wasnt crazy to have the feelings i do about not having any tests

    laura

    I think that.......
    I think that I would certainly ask her or your onc why no tests were done. From what I understand, some or most of them are pretty standard now.

    Make sure that you call one of the docs on Monday and tell them that you need to be seen.

    CR
  • CR1954
    CR1954 Member Posts: 1,390 Member
    #14
    We have.....
    We have a wonderful cancer center near here. They have made groundbreaking strides in cancer research and treatments. UNLESS YOU HAVE BC! I have only heard bad things from many people who went there with bc. That's why I did not go there.

    But it sounds like your surgeon should know how to treat bc. So I don't understand why more wasn't checked.

    CR
  • Terri5
    Terri5 Member Posts: 24
    #15
    lolad said:

    thank you
    am i wrong to feel frustrated and scared because i havent had any bloodwork or scans done. Or anykind of test since my surgery. I am loosing my mind right now. I am breaking.

    I totally understand your
    I totally understand your frustration and being scared. I didn't have any tests, scans, and just standard bloodwork before my surgery. But once I started chemo, I had bloodwork done all the time and if I had a complaint about anything I was always sent for scans, x-rays, bone scans. Call your doctor and see what they have to say and if your not comfortable with how your treatment is going, you can always find a new doctor. You want to make sure you feel that you are getting the right kind of care, this is a big fight for your life and you want to have faith in the person who is treating you.
  • jk1952
    jk1952 Member Posts: 613
    #16
    CR1954 said:

    We have.....
    We have a wonderful cancer center near here. They have made groundbreaking strides in cancer research and treatments. UNLESS YOU HAVE BC! I have only heard bad things from many people who went there with bc. That's why I did not go there.

    But it sounds like your surgeon should know how to treat bc. So I don't understand why more wasn't checked.

    CR

    Laura, I'm concerned also

    Laura, I'm concerned also that you didn't have any further tests. If the reason for your mastectomy was DCIS and not invasive cancer, you might not have many additional tests, but you normally would have some blood tests when you had your oncologist appointment. With DCIS, it is normally felt that the cancer has not spread because it is not yet invasive. But, if you have even the tiniest amount of invasive cancer, they will normally at least do a sentinel lymph node biopsy and a bone scan. These were both ordered by the oncologist, in my case, after my lumpectomy. I would definitely ask why they didn't do additional tests.

    For your current problem, I would probably start with my primary care physician (PCP), if you feel that you are getting good care from him/her. With my PCP, I can get in the day I call, if it is an emergency, and he is the first doctor I ask about anything unusual. He has a very good set of doctors that he uses for referrals.

    Joyce
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #17
    Just call your doctor and
    Just call your doctor and let us know!
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #18
    Deep Breath Laura....
    Wow, I can imagine that your mind is just racing right now. We do need to be careful in everything that happens to us because of our cancer, but just to give you food for thought and a little different perspective, not all things that happen to us have to do with our cancer.
    Twice over the years, I have gotten a swollen lump in my groin area that I needed to go to the Doctor for. Both times it turned out to be a swollen Bartholimin (SP?) gland. This is a gland that only women have that runs along our groin right where our thigh meets. They have never found a reason why these glands will swell and it is fairly common. Usually they lance the gland to drain it. Both times I have encountered this I was under stress from an illness. I believe that the gland swells in relationship to my body fighting off the stress. But that is just my opinion. As a matter of fact, I had jokingly mentioned to my husband that "all I need is for my gland to swell again!!". Mine have been very painful.
    Try to calm yourelf if you can till tomorrow, and know that there is possibly another reason for a lump in that area. I will say my prayers for you. Hugs....:) Pammy
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #19
    Akiss4me said:

    Deep Breath Laura....
    Wow, I can imagine that your mind is just racing right now. We do need to be careful in everything that happens to us because of our cancer, but just to give you food for thought and a little different perspective, not all things that happen to us have to do with our cancer.
    Twice over the years, I have gotten a swollen lump in my groin area that I needed to go to the Doctor for. Both times it turned out to be a swollen Bartholimin (SP?) gland. This is a gland that only women have that runs along our groin right where our thigh meets. They have never found a reason why these glands will swell and it is fairly common. Usually they lance the gland to drain it. Both times I have encountered this I was under stress from an illness. I believe that the gland swells in relationship to my body fighting off the stress. But that is just my opinion. As a matter of fact, I had jokingly mentioned to my husband that "all I need is for my gland to swell again!!". Mine have been very painful.
    Try to calm yourelf if you can till tomorrow, and know that there is possibly another reason for a lump in that area. I will say my prayers for you. Hugs....:) Pammy

    pammy
    Thank you for sharing your same symptoms and telling me what yours actually was. That eases my mind a little. Like i said before, maybe im just being paranoid and god knows definatly have been stressed. I dont know, i can only pray and will definatly be giving the dr a call tomorrow. Thanks again and bless you!

    laura
  • Kristin N
    Kristin N Member Posts: 1,968 Member
    #20
    lolad said:

    pammy
    Thank you for sharing your same symptoms and telling me what yours actually was. That eases my mind a little. Like i said before, maybe im just being paranoid and god knows definatly have been stressed. I dont know, i can only pray and will definatly be giving the dr a call tomorrow. Thanks again and bless you!

    laura

    Laura, I am glad that your
    Laura, I am glad that your mind is eased somewhat. And yes, please call your doctor and talk to him. Then you can have some real relief. No question should go unanswered when it comes to bc. You should always call your oncologist when you have questions or concerns!

    Hugs, Kristin
  • lolad
    lolad Member Posts: 670
    #21
    Kristin N said:

    Laura, I am glad that your
    Laura, I am glad that your mind is eased somewhat. And yes, please call your doctor and talk to him. Then you can have some real relief. No question should go unanswered when it comes to bc. You should always call your oncologist when you have questions or concerns!

    Hugs, Kristin

    First of all thanks for all
    First of all thanks for all the support. I called and left a messaged today with the onc nurse and of course she didnt call back. Ive notice that nodes are swollen in my neck and the one in my groin is still there. I was hoping it would have gone away. Im calling again tomorrow and will keep bugging them until they call back. Thats the least they could do. Im getting worried though. I have an appt with the onc on the 28th, but i just want to tell them what is going on and maybe get in this week instead. Is that too much to ask?

    laura

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