I have had two large circular areas of red, discolored skin - one on the outside upper part of each breast. These lesions appeared 15 months ago after a mammogram. The day of the mammogram, the radiology technician made a special point of telling me that I would get very red in those precise spots
. She apologized profusely and told me to use special cream for two weeks.
As she predicted, the red areas appeared. Initially, they were smaller (quarter - half dollar sized) and very inflamed/red. Over the past several months, they have become larger, are still symmetrical but no longer hot to the touch. My dermatologist examined them 2 months ago and said he thinks they are morphea.
I have read about "Radiation
" which is what I believe I have. My dilemma is this: I do not want to pursue any sort of action against the radiology group where what I believe was a mistake (equipment or human
-injured/morphea situation on my breasts. This is because, from my research, I have learned - only after my 2010 diagnostic mammogram at a different radiologist - that any further radiation
to radiation-injured areas is very very damaging, so I am in a Catch-22: I need more breast imaging than the normal person (due to old nodules, etc) but I adamantly do not want to have more mammograms, ever. So my question is this: In order to get annual, approved breast MRIs (as opposed to mammograms), does Morphea also strongly argue against being radiated? i.e., can a doctor refer me for breast MRIs based on a clinical diagnosis of morphea on my breasts? That would help me get the care, going forward, that I need, without further radiation, and would also, I imagine, help my current and future doctors (who don't want to get anywhere near acknowledging another doctor's medical mistake). I could use some help here so that I am not subjected to further injury and/or deprived of the best medical care, going forward, simply because I choose not to pursue any legal action.
Hello,
Morphea is a medical term for localized scleroderma.[1] The disease involves isolated patches of hardened skin. There are many treatment options for morphea like topical, intra-lesional, and systemic corticosteroids , immunomodulators and UVA with or without psoralen.
Please discuss these options with your doctor. It is very difficult to precisely confirm a diagnosis without examination and investigations and the answer is based on the medical information provided. For exact diagnosis, you are requested to consult your doctor. I sincerely hope that helps. Take care and please do keep me posted on how you are doing.