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Breast Mass vs. Breast Engorgement
I've recently requested a copy of all my medical records in an effort to understand how/why it took so long to diagnose me.
In reading through them, I found out that my OB had noted that back in March '08 (I was diagnosed on February '09) my right breast was engorged from breastfeeding (more than the left) in the upper outer quadrant (I was only nursing my son for comfort at night at that point.)
Since I found my swollen lymph node in July '08, it sure looks like to me that my so-called breast engorgement was already my breast tumor in there. How likely is it to mistake a breast mass for breast engorgement? Has anyone heard/experienced this before? Shouldn't this "breast engorgement" finding combined with my swollen lymph node two months later immediately prompt the doctors to recommend me for a mammogram/MRI? Imagine what will happen now with the new guidelines in place...
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ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3
Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding.
March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin
08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy)
08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best!
September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda
02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy
05/27/10 - Bone scan clear
06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found
07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin!
02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial
03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay!
10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found
now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin
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