Puckering of skin

[deb949]

I am 53 years old and the reason I had the lumpectomy was that my mammogram came back showing a change from the year before.  Prior to the most recent mammogram I noticed a puckering on my skin where the lump was eventually found.  Is this puckering usually indicative of the lump being cancerous?

[worried997]

my mum has been diagnosed with breast cancer - she is on letrozole and needs to have the breast removed (a tummy tuck will provide fat for reconstruction). The lump is 2.5 cm big but there is puckering on the skin. The doctor said that this is advanced due to the puckering but they will not know how bad it is until after surgery. I am petrified, does advanced mean this it is more likely to have spread to organs etc. I just keep focusing on how bad 'advanced sounds. I thought that 2.5cm was a relatively small lump so we were somewhere in the middle of severity. I am too scared to check on the net and really need to hear something positive at the moment - pleae can somebody help me

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

You should ask the lab and your doctor for a copy of the report - mammogram and biopsy and post them to us here if possible.

Skin puckering in the breast region is seen due to shortening of the ligaments in the underlying breast tissue. This is usually associated with breast cancer changes, but that is not the rule.

Let us know if you have any other doubts and post us about how you are doing.

Regards.

[japdip]

If you had a lumpectomy the Pathology report would have indicated whether the lump was cancerous or benign. You don't mention how long ago the lumpectomy was performed but the skin problem you mention could be due to the void left when the lump was removed or from scar tissue.