Areola changes colors and I feel it when it does - Anyone else?

susie09
susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Hi! I posted this before, but, wanted to see if anyone else was having this happen and if you had it happen, is it still? I had a lumpectomy and I had radiation treatments also. My plastic surgeon made a small half moon incision next to my aerola to remove my tumor. It isn't on my aerola, but, next to it. Every now and then, my areola feels really strange and I look and it changes to kind of a whitish color. It only lasts for a second or two, but, it feels and looks weird. It goes back to normal then. My radiation oncologist said that it is just healing. That the plastic surgeon probably had to cut some nerve endings and stuff and it will just take some time. I assume it is just healing because, like I said, I can feel it when it does that. Is anyone else having this happen or have you? And, if it did, do you remember when it finally stopped? Thanks so much! Susie

Comments

  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #2
    Yea Susie, I have it too. I
    Yea Susie, I have it too. I also got concerned as to what was going on. My rads oncologist and my plastic surgeon both said what yours said. It is just healing and some nerve endings were probably cut, but, that it will be just fine again. They said it was very common, which made me feel better. Hang in there!

    Hugs
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    #3
    survivorbc09 said:

    Yea Susie, I have it too. I
    Yea Susie, I have it too. I also got concerned as to what was going on. My rads oncologist and my plastic surgeon both said what yours said. It is just healing and some nerve endings were probably cut, but, that it will be just fine again. They said it was very common, which made me feel better. Hang in there!

    Hugs

    I guess we are the only two
    I guess we are the only two that this happened to on here, even though, the plastic surgeon said it was commen.
  • Akiss4me
    Akiss4me Member Posts: 2,188
    #4
    Hey Susie & Survivor....
    I may know why this is happening. Sometimes I think Doctors don't realize more than a vague explanation is needed to understand the changes.
    First off, the reason a surgeon cuts so close to the aerola is to "hide" or "minimize" a noticable scar, so that when you wear a low cut dress, bathingsuite, etc. your scar will not be noticable. They tend to do this in younger women or (a secret one told me) they cue in on your style of dressing when they first meet you to realize hidding the inscison would be preferable to you!!
    Secondly, it is connected to the nerves AND blood vessels healing. What is happening is that not only the nerves were cut but also hundreds of tiny little blood vessels that are under the skin. When the blood vessels are re-growing or re-routing, they can cause a short pressure on the other ones that are there and cause that area to pale momentarily since it is cutting off the blood supply to the surface as they are passing through. This would happen anywhere on your body by any inscision. We just don't notice it anywhere else because there is not the abundance of pigmentation concentrated in an area as much as the areola.
    I had a similar experience but over a birthmark that was highly pigmented. It took about a 6 months to stop doing it. Hopefully this explains it a little better to you. :) Pammy
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    #5
    Akiss4me said:

    Hey Susie & Survivor....
    I may know why this is happening. Sometimes I think Doctors don't realize more than a vague explanation is needed to understand the changes.
    First off, the reason a surgeon cuts so close to the aerola is to "hide" or "minimize" a noticable scar, so that when you wear a low cut dress, bathingsuite, etc. your scar will not be noticable. They tend to do this in younger women or (a secret one told me) they cue in on your style of dressing when they first meet you to realize hidding the inscison would be preferable to you!!
    Secondly, it is connected to the nerves AND blood vessels healing. What is happening is that not only the nerves were cut but also hundreds of tiny little blood vessels that are under the skin. When the blood vessels are re-growing or re-routing, they can cause a short pressure on the other ones that are there and cause that area to pale momentarily since it is cutting off the blood supply to the surface as they are passing through. This would happen anywhere on your body by any inscision. We just don't notice it anywhere else because there is not the abundance of pigmentation concentrated in an area as much as the areola.
    I had a similar experience but over a birthmark that was highly pigmented. It took about a 6 months to stop doing it. Hopefully this explains it a little better to you. :) Pammy

    This does explain it better
    This does explain it better to me. It is just that I see it everyday and can feel it when it happens that it (kind of) drives me nuts. I hope that it does stop in 6 months, even though, I wish it would be a lot sooner than that. And, I guess I should be very glad that my plastic surgeon did it that way, as, it is hidden and almost faded now. Thanks for the explanation. It helped!

    Susie
  • survivorbc09
    survivorbc09 Member Posts: 4,374 Member
    #6
    susie09 said:

    This does explain it better
    This does explain it better to me. It is just that I see it everyday and can feel it when it happens that it (kind of) drives me nuts. I hope that it does stop in 6 months, even though, I wish it would be a lot sooner than that. And, I guess I should be very glad that my plastic surgeon did it that way, as, it is hidden and almost faded now. Thanks for the explanation. It helped!

    Susie

    I knew I would be ok, but,
    I knew I would be ok, but, it is weird. I just hadn't read of others having it, but, maybe not many have the small incision next to their areola. Just will take time, I guess.

    Thanks!
  • fauxma
    fauxma Member Posts: 3,577 Member
    #7
    survivorbc09 said:

    I knew I would be ok, but,
    I knew I would be ok, but, it is weird. I just hadn't read of others having it, but, maybe not many have the small incision next to their areola. Just will take time, I guess.

    Thanks!

    Thinking back to my
    Thinking back to my lumpectomies I remember this happening. My incisions are slightly above the nipples and for the first month, the right nipple would turn paler and a couple of times even look puckered. It didn't last long, only that first month, and I didn't feel it, just sometimes saw it happening. Isn't it weird what we forget and how soon we forget it?
    Stef
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    #8
    fauxma said:

    Thinking back to my
    Thinking back to my lumpectomies I remember this happening. My incisions are slightly above the nipples and for the first month, the right nipple would turn paler and a couple of times even look puckered. It didn't last long, only that first month, and I didn't feel it, just sometimes saw it happening. Isn't it weird what we forget and how soon we forget it?
    Stef

    Thanks Stef. When it
    Thanks Stef. When it happens, it only lasts probably a second, then it goes back to normal, but, I can feel it, and, it just feels weird. Everyone said it will stop once I am healed. I guess I just don't have patience and it does feel strange when it changes, if only for that second.

    Susie

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