Hello I'm new here and thought I'd share my mum's current situation in the hope of helping someone else or getting some advice.
My mum is 55 , always been in great health and about 8 months ago she woke up one morning with a large mass in her left breast. I'm not talking a tiny lump, I'm talking a large, hard mass overnight. This continued to grow until eventually it broke through the skin and caused an ulceration fungating wound.
Fast forward to now and she's still in good health, aside from understandable general weakness, she's otherwise fine. Symptoms do not extend from the affected breast. She has had an ultrasound and core needle biopsy done. The biopsy came back as left breast cancer with spread to 1 underarm lymph node. She recently had a full body CT scan done and we are waiting for the results upon that.
The cancer has not yet been named or staged, probably because the CT scan hasn't been looked at yet. What confuses me is the mere fact of how this condition showed up. This to me does not sound like a typical breast cancer, to turn up overnight as a large mass with no other symptoms or nipple changes etc. I did put forward the notion that it could be a malignant Phyllodes tumor to the doctor but to be honest they have not been listening to me throughout this situation. Phyllodes tumors do have the ability to turn up very quickly and create a fungating wound.
Also, they have suggested that this may be a locally advanced breast cancer (stage 3) which is what I am hoping for and agree with if it's not a phyllodes tumor. Because she has no other signs of spread aside from that lymph node that is giving me hope. I'd like to know your thoughts upon this that would be greatly appreciated. My heart will sink if this CT scan shows spread, because it genuinely doesn't look like that with the way she is, and the breast itself is very locally advanced with a wound, but it doesn't seem to go further within the body. No bone pain, lung symptoms or anything like that. I do at this point believe if we act fast, this can be curable. I am only 25 and certainly will put up a fight for an otherwise healthy mum, I need her.
Thank you and hope this helps someone.
