Red bump on breast....SCARED!

[1scared girl]

I am so worried right now,my weekend was ruined because of my anxiety. I am 43 yrs old,white female,healthy,normal mammogram and exam in March. I have abused my skin for years-tanning beds,hours in the sun ,etc.I am much wiser now about this. Well, about 2-3 weeks ago,I was in the sun for a little over an hour,no sunscreen,got extremely red on chest area,which I deeply regretted.As the burn was going away, a red "thing" appeared on my rt. breast,I guess you would say it was the inner side,very close to cleavage area (I also have saline implants).IT looked like several small bumps that had formed a cluster to make one.IT was about the size of a pencil eraser.In my opinion,it looked like a seborrehic keratosis that was very red instead of the ususal brown color.It came on literally over night.Being the chronic worrier that I am, I was afraid it was melanoma. I saw my dermo last Monday,he said he did not know what it was (he is a p.a. actually)but felt it should come off and be biopsied.He said it could be a basal cell or keratosis-maybe. Well,the office told me Thursday,they were still waiting on final pathology report,but was told that it was not cancer,I could quit worrying.I kept asking the receptionist "what could it be",she maybe dermatitis or something. Well,now I am even more worried,could it be inflammatory breast cancer???? Other than that one little spot,my breat seems to look and feel normalbut now I am totally convinced I have it. I read that it can present itself as dermatitis on breast.But the "thing" did NOT look like a rash to me. Thank you so much,I am scared

[talita]

A related discussion, breast concern was started.

[surgeon]

Skin biopsy is a very accurate way to diagnose inflammatory breast cancer; since you were told it's not cancer, it's pretty safe to say it's not. Moreover, something that small which appeared overnight is not at all suggestive of cancer of any kind. It may be that a specific diagnosis might not come; something that small and sudden could be a non-specific irritation of some kind which might have gone away on its own before many would have ever had a biopsy. In any case, it sounds like you already have enough information to be assured it's not serious.

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear 1scared girl:  The "thing" you describe sounds much more like a skin problem than a breast problem.  Inflammatory breast cancer usually appears as a red, hot to touch swollen breast.  A biopsy would say it were cancer.  As your biopsy does not indicate cancer - it is safe to assume that it is not cancer - either skin or breast.