Fluid buildup after lumpectomy, radiation, biopsy

Hello, kind folks. I have a friend who was diagnosed with breast cancer in
1999. She was 68 then. She had a lumpectomy in 12/99, with the removal of many lymph nodes. The doctor took a lot of nodes and tissue from under her arm. She then had radiation.

Earlier this year she had calcifications show up in her mammogram so had an excisional biopsy of that area (same breast) with results benign. Since then she has been having painful fluid buildup in that breast. She says the breast is rock hard. The surgeon has drained it a couple of times and told her she has fibrocystic breast disease.

I think it is much more likely to be a result of the surgeries, radiation, and/or lymph node removal. But the more important question is whether anything else can be done about it. Does anyone know? Are there any options besides regular fluid aspiration? And how long can this fluid buildup be expected to continue?

I had something similar --Mine turned out to be "ordinary" inflammation exacerbated by lack of lymph nodes to help 'drain' it off properly.-- This took about 8 to 11 weeks of antibiotics to combat.

(At the time they were sure I'd gone from invasive lobular to inflammatory BC., because they could not extract any 'liquids' from the site. I insisted on giving the antibiotics a try before any further surgery (which is what was suggested when the inflammation wouldn't go down). Thank the heavens, it worked, and I haven't had problems since.

However, your friend also originally had radiation, which, as I understand it, can cause the underlying tissues to "harden". This could be interfering with her healing, too.

I don't know if antibiotics would help or not, but it really might be worth a try.

Good luck to your friend.