Seroma

I’m sorry to hear you are going through this after surgery. It’s really frustrating and painful isn’t it?!

im going through something similar after full lymph node clearance 4 weeks ago. I had a build up of Fluid which was drained last Friday around 280 mls came out. It built up again 6-7 days later so they drained again 2 days ago. Only 40 mls this time. The doctor did say that he thought I would be back in again. 
my breast care nurse told me to massage the area which does help. 
fingers crossed for you that it doesn’t return! 

Hi 

I had a seroma after my op and L2 lymph node clearance. I had it drained in ultra sound every other day for 3 weeks I would walk out of the clinic and feel it re filling! Eventually they said leave it and hope your body will reabsorb it. Also it was over Christmas so clinic shut. It took a while but eventually slowed down thankfully. It was so demanding on time backwards and forwards to the hospital and the waiting time once there . I was so relieved when it slowed. 

Once having chemo either the treatment or the steroids would cause swelling in same area but did go down with massage and exercises. 

Now about to start Radiotherapy and wonder if that will cause fluid/swelling again ? I guess I am just a fluidy person good luck x

Thanks for sharing your experiences, it’s really helpful to hear them.  Sounds like it’s a fairly good sign but I need to wait a while longer to start celebrating .  It is frustrating, can’t schedule radiotherapy until it’s stable, plus I’m hoping to go away next week so would really love not to have it coming with me!  

It is very frustrating and feels like it is slowing down recovery. It’s a month tomorrow for me after surgery and my patience is wearing thin. My breast care nurse keeps reminding me of the seriousness of the surgery and how long it will take to recover. I’ve had allergic reactions and rashes too to the area which has been driving me mad. Have very red, hot, sore and itchy skin around wound. It’s been way worse than the original lumpectomy and sentinel node removal. 
onwards and upwards!! It’s hard not knowing what’s next and not being able to plan too far forward. Hope you get your weekend away? 

I agree, it was a month for me yesterday so almost exactly the same timing.  I’ve found this a lot harder than recovering from the mastectomy and sentinel nodes.  I guess the chemo has had an impact, coming into the surgery a bit wrung out rather than fit and healthy.  Sorry to hear about the rashes, that really doesn’t help either.  Are you also waiting for radiotherapy?  At least that’s the last of the “active” treatment for me, so hopefully I should be done this month, 9 months since diagnosis last August. Then just ten years to go on the hormone stuff

Good luck with the radiotherapy. I’m not sure of my plan forward yet. Still waiting for results from the lymph node surgery. They originally said radiotherapy and tablets but after lumpectomy and sentinel node removal I had to have ct scan, bone scan and mri. The sentinel node was positive for cancer. Really hoping it’s a no for chemo which they originally said but not sure now? It’s certainly a rollercoaster ride! 
Hoping you won’t have to go back in for anymore drains?!!

I’m sorry you’re going through this.  Waiting for the scan results is horrible, I hope you get them back soon and they are all clear. I had a similar experience, nodes clear on biopsy but mastectomy and sentinel node clearance showed one positive and one micromet, so then instead of radio and tablets I went straight into scans and chemo .  I guess you had surgery first because with only one you may not need chemo, have you had the pathology back yet?

Still flat this morning, so keeping fingers crossed for no more drains!!

Hi

That's good news mine was a more gradual process. i was offered an MRI before my mastectomy to help me decide for sure between mastectomy and lumpectomy? So glad I did as this showed lymph nodes which ultra sound hadn't. I then had a biopsy on them and resulted in L2 lymph node clearance and mastectomy. This then added chemo into the mix as previously thought it was only radiotherapy. Chemo now done radiotherapy begins 16/5/22 . It was a shock as really worried about chemo but feel more confident it's hitting it all. Onwards and upwards but like for us all it is waiting for results which is a hard part . Hope all goes well x

Sounds like we have all been through it lately! 
my scan results are all back. Bone scan clear but ct did show up a spot on liver and lung. They got a liver specialist to look at my liver mri and he said it’s not secondary breast cancer. They will look at it again later down the line to see what it is. They also think the lung spot is scarring - I used to get a lot of chest infections. I think waiting on these results was just the worst!! 
will hopefully get lymph node pathology next week as it’s been 4 weeks since surgery today. 
Thinking of you all x

That sounds like good news on the scans, a big sigh of relief.  My CT came back with bone spots and I had to wait for the MRI to confirm they were bone islands, I think that was the most terrifying two weeks of the whole process.  Here’s to clear results and a plan forward for you next week!