What would you do?

[Becky]

I know we always hear that cancer isn't painful and in a great respect, that is true. In breast lumps, in 10% of the cases, cancer does hurt. But for the most part, in lymph nodes, malignancy does not cause pain.

What does cause pain and/or swelling MOST of the time is infection. Infection, in your case, could have happened during the first masectomy (even though it was on the other side) or perhaps port placement or during anytime the port was accessed. To make matters even worse, the pain and/or swelling is rubbed. You rub to see if you feel something there. You rub to see if it hurts more or less than yesterday. This irritates it even more and may block the normal draining that needs to happen. I am wondering if you shouldn't be put on Keflex or other really good antibiotic for 2 weeks and DON"T touch the area at all for at least 4 weeks and see what happens. If it hasn't improved in the least or you actually see a swelling (which I don't think will happen), then all bets are off. I think you may have a low grade, persistent infection in there and it will never get better without a good one-two punch (good antibiotic and no touching or rubbing).

If that doesn't at least improve it, then you have to push, push, push. But I think if you go to your surgeon with this antibiotic/touching scenario, they just might go for it. And if you follow the protocol and it improves, great. But if it doesn't, then at least it gives the doctor pause for further study.

What do you think?