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Veins in Breast

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suziiq
suziiq Member Posts: 1

Has anyone heard that prominent veins on breast can indicate breast cancer?

I was diagnosed in Feburary with IDC and lump on right side of breast was almost 4 centimeters by March (during all the waiting for doctors appointments and tests it grew about a centimeter)

I went through 4 rounds of A/C chemo and  then 4 Taxol every 2 weeks which I started in April  prior to having surgery

Then I started having pains and feeling lumps on left breast in June so doctor ordered another Breast MRI and PET scan but both were negative. (chemo must have really worked) . I also had begun eating much more healthy and alkalizing foods.

I am just now schedule for surgery this week as it's been over a month since last chemo..

Now I am seeing a blue vein on left breast going stright to the nipple. Never noticed it until recently. And if I wear tight clothes or bra I have pain.  on left side now.  In June, an ultrasound showed suspicious masses on left as well I had a biopsy on one of the lumps on left side and it was benign, so still not sure about having masectomy on left side. as now I have no pain but still seems to be a lot of lumps. 

Also I've heard pregnancy can cause veins to show but that's not the case here..

see article below

http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/breast-cancer-symptom.html

A second opnion doctor told me pain could be from the biopsy. But is that true a month later?

Right breast had the diagnosed breast cancer , nipple was very senstive before chemo started and even now seems much larger that left. but my oncologist said it was fine , didn't look like anything had spread to nipple even when I tried to explain changes I saw prior to chemo then chemo settled it down. 

Now I'm just trying to decide to get masectomy on left breast as well. Doctors did not recommend it specifically.. just the right.

see article below

http://www.targetwoman.com/articles/breast-cancer-symptom.html

Comments

  • lisaattheshore
    lisaattheshore Member Posts: 88
    edited September 2010
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    I did have a prominent vein on the cancer side.  It was mentioned in the path report as being there and being a common occurance for breast cancer.  More than this I can't say regarding actual medical things. I no longer have the breast to do a good comparision with the other.  As far as I can remember that vein was there.  I guess that fits with the slow growing feature?  I wonder now if no dr saw that breast at anyother check ups that I had?  Or if they don't notice, or know to notice....

    So sorry you are having to deal with this again. 

  • dlb823
    dlb823 Member Posts: 2,701
    edited September 2010
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    suziiq ~ Sorry you haven't had more response to your question.  I can't add much, so am responding mostly to bump your thread.  I, too, have read that cancerous lesions need a blood supply, and women sometimes report after getting a bc dx that they had noticed more prominent veins. 

    I haven't read your links yet.  Will try to get to them shortly and comment again if I have anything more to add. 

    Sorry you have to deal with this, but glad your chemo is behind you and good that you are raising this concern now, so that you can make a totally informed choice re. surgery.   Deanna

  • 5graces
    5graces Member Posts: 12
    edited September 2010
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    I had a very large prominent vein in the BC breast that went directly to where the tumor was and it was gone imediately after my surgery.  When I went for my mammogram that day the technician who did the mammo even commented on it but she apparently didn't know it was BC related, which I definately think it is.

  • vlh
    vlh Member Posts: 768
    edited July 2016
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    Reviving an old thread, I've noticed numerous visible veins leading to / from my tumor. One abruptly stops at the center point of my chest and another is very "ropey." In contrast, the veins on the non-cancerous side are very subtle. Both breasts are being removed this week, but I wondered if others have noticed a significant difference.

  • ksusan
    ksusan Member Posts: 461
    edited July 2016
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    I did not have prominent breast veins.

  • live_deliciously
    live_deliciously Member Posts: 183
    edited July 2016
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    i did have a large vein in the breast with BC. It became more and more prominent but it's still there even after mastectomy in Jan 2015

  • vlh
    vlh Member Posts: 768
    edited July 2016
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    Thanks for the input, Ladies. I found a couple of references to this occurring, like an article in Britain's "Daily Mail":

    "However, her narrow escape highlights the fact that while lumps are the best-known symptoms of breast cancer, there are other more subtle signs that women need to be vigilant about. These include skin texture changes, such as skin that feels grainy or has an 'orange peel' appearance, puckering or thickening, rashes around the nipple, discharge, as well as changes in the size and shape of the breast, pain in the breast and armpit and dilated, more visible veins."

    I'd noticed the veins when I was first diagnosed, but they've become more dilated and the one leading to my chest mid-line is new. I've never seen that mentioned as a symptom of breast cancer before. Although I'm less than two months out from diagnosis, it's shown as a later symptom. :-(

  • JLS_76
    JLS_76 Member Posts: 1
    edited January 2017
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    This is an old post, getting a bump. It popped up.I'm a Google search for me. (I know, I know, "stay off google!" I keep telling my wife that, but I know we are both clandestinely googling.)

    I'm still waiting for results/info, but I have noticed, since I found the alien invader, that all roads lead to Rome on my lump side. If I look close enough I can find veins on the side with no lump, but I'm pretty sure the veins on the left would show through a white t-shirt. It's like a giant neon arrow pointing straight at the center of the monilith. I did point it out to my GP, she noted it in the report, so I guess it was worth pointing out.

    JLS

    Laugh Every Day

  • vlh
    vlh Member Posts: 768
    edited January 2017
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    That's what I experienced as well, JLS, a VERY obvious pattern leading to my tumor. I ended up deciding on a lumpectomy and the veins on that side receded, but dramatic veins then appeared on my right side, which had no evidence of cancer in the breast or lymph nodes per mammogram and ultrasound. The right side appearance doesn't obviously lead to a suspicious area on the breast as was true with the pre-surgical tumor, but meanders around the armpit, which worries me from a node perspective. The oncologist didn't seem overly concerned though.

    Lyn