1/17/2020

This post was written a few weeks ago. It's been an interesting introspect as to why I didn't post it then. The awareness that my purpose of this blog is to share my journey, and that this is part of my journey. This part, almost 12 years out, is a reality that never goes away.  

This Tissue Feels Different....Radiation Changes??

The wound bed from the lumpectomy has always been sore.

I've been seeing The Wonderful Leah (my massage therapist) consistently, every 5-6 weeks or so, since B.C. (before cancer). She always includes focus on the left upper quadrant of my body, as the lymph fluid puddles over my ribs at the outside and around to the back, right around where a bra band fits. Sometimes my upper arm feels full, and often the lymph nodes on the underside of my arm feel like bumps under my skin. And if the interval is a little longer than the 5-6 weeks, sometimes my fingers feel full, and the circumference of my wrist looks full to me. I've not had any pitting edema though, thank you Lord. So far, it's been relatively easy to manage with professional massage as well as self-treatment, though I can't reach around to the back side of my ribs.

Several weeks ago I noticed my left breast was feeling tender. No big deal, it's tender off and on. It was massage time. And a couple weeks after that massage, it was still tender. Hmm. I did some gentle "feeling around". Yup. Tender. All over, not just the wound bed. And feels lumpy, bumpy, fibrous. Hmm. Different than it has been.

So I recall, those many years ago when I was deep into reading all about the treatments I was receiving, reading about the long term effects of radiation treatment. Something about the tissue changing, and how it continues to change throughout the lifespan. Radiation Fibrosis, progressive, ongoing tissue changes as a result of radiation.

A couple weeks ago, as I was touching around again, I wondered who I could make an appointment with?  My treatments were all done in Lansing at the then-named Ingham Breast Care Center. The surgeon moved away. The oncologist moved away, and another took over. That oncologist moved away, and has since retired. The only thing left in Lansing is my records.  After some prayer and a couple of days, a name came to me.

Lisa, the woman in the picture with me in 2008 Relay for Life, is now a Nurse Practitioner who works at the Women's Center here in town and does breast exams. She could do an exam and either order tests or make referrals for me!

So I called and made an appointment. I purposefully kept away from touching, because yes, it was tender, and I didn't want to aggravate it.

That appointment was this past week, January 15. Lisa did a very thorough breast exam, feeling the lumps, bumps, and fibrous stuff that I had felt. She then brought my fingers to feel a small pea-sized bump that I hadn't felt before. She documented it well and ordered a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound. The "first available" appointment is February 12. We were very professional with each other. I was glad the appointment was over and had a moment to myself, as I thought my eyes might be getting a little wet.

It's just the fear of the unknown. And I know that whatever the imaging shows is going to be negative or positive, and I know that my faith is strong, and that God brings me the people that I need.

Thank you for reading. Hugs.