False Alarm

This morning I made my first "Oh crap, something is wrong, do I have cancer again?" doctor's visit. On the weekend that I moved into my house, I noticed that my breast was really red and a little bit sore. I went to the oncologist for my regularly scheduled checkup and he had no clue what it was from, but said if it kept up, to let him know. After about three weeks, I finally decided that maybe I should get it checked out and called my breast surgeon for an appointment because she knows boobs better than he does. They gave me the first available slot, which was this morning.

Of course, as I was getting dressed this morning I noticed that the redness was almost gone. Just like taking the car to the mechanic and it won't make the noise. So I was prepared for her to think I was crazy and paranoid and have me committed. But she could see what I was talking about.

Apparently the redness is an after effect of radiation. Which I finished a year ago. There is no real rhyme or reason to when it happens or why it happens on some parts of the breast and not others, but it is caused by the tiny capillaries in the skin regenerating after all of the damage done by radiation. And since I'm particularly fair skinned, it's just more pronounced on me.

I can't even begin to convey the sense of relief I have now. I really do not want to go down that road again.