I had a good old moan yesterday didn't I? Well here is an update; last night I ended up at the District Hospital with a lump the size of a Grapefruit underneath the scar where they had removed my lymph nodes. Combined a temperature of 102ºF despite taking Paracetamol to reduce it, and a fair bit of pain I really felt sorry for myself, and thought I had better speak to a Doctor. I gave the out of hours service a call, they wanted to see me, and confirmed my suspicions about the swelling that had been bothering me the past 4 weeks was what now making me feel like I had the Flu, and causing the swelling. He said he thought it was either an infected haematoma or an abscess, and I may need to spend a day or two back in hospital. He gave me some high dose antibiotics straight away and a prescription for more, and urged me to see my own Doctor first thing in the morning as I needed an urgent referral back to the Breast Surgeon.
I saw my own GP who faxed the required referral to the Hospital and suggested that I phone the Breast Care Nurses and 'make a nuisance of myself' so that I was seen today. I did as instructed, and was called back quite promptly telling me to get myself there as quickly as I could: a Registrar would see me when I got there. Thankfully the threat of admission was dispelled, and the Registrar using what looked like a syringe you might use on a horse, had a couple of attempts at draining the swelling. They said it is called a Seratoma, but I can't find a reference to this on the Internet. She said this would be sent off for analysis. She dressed the area, and I have to go back on Friday and Monday. They will review how well it is clearing up before they postpone my Radiotherapy treatment. The hope is that I will be well enough to start this on Tuesday next week as planned.
Thanks for the helpful and thoughtful comments yesterday, I think finding a project that requires research will be my best bet at the moment, being a bit of a one armed bandit!
I saw my own GP who faxed the required referral to the Hospital and suggested that I phone the Breast Care Nurses and 'make a nuisance of myself' so that I was seen today. I did as instructed, and was called back quite promptly telling me to get myself there as quickly as I could: a Registrar would see me when I got there. Thankfully the threat of admission was dispelled, and the Registrar using what looked like a syringe you might use on a horse, had a couple of attempts at draining the swelling. They said it is called a Seratoma, but I can't find a reference to this on the Internet. She said this would be sent off for analysis. She dressed the area, and I have to go back on Friday and Monday. They will review how well it is clearing up before they postpone my Radiotherapy treatment. The hope is that I will be well enough to start this on Tuesday next week as planned.
Thanks for the helpful and thoughtful comments yesterday, I think finding a project that requires research will be my best bet at the moment, being a bit of a one armed bandit!