Question
During an eye examination a few days ago the optition showed me one of the pictures she took of the back of the eyes.She showed me the one of my right eye.I am 44 and have just recently been given my 6 months all clear after having breast cancer.I had 6 months of chemotherapy but remained at work throughout my treatment and am waiting to have the rest of my reconstructive surgey done.I had a mastectomy of my left breast and a tissue expander put in to stretch the skin so that i can then have an silicone implant put in instead.The picture of my right eye showed a round blackish grey coloured area.Clearly visible.She said to me that it looked like it was a beauty spot at the back of my eye.She said she wanted to ivestigate it further.She typed up a letter and asked me to take it and hand deliver it to my doctors surgery as she wanted it seen to asap due to my medical history.Incedently although i went to the hospital as soon as i found the lumps on my left breast and had all the tests done 4wks later on the same day 5wks later when i had my mastectomy the oncologist confirmed that it had already gone in to 1 of my lymph glands by 0.017 of a mm. I had opted to have a total axillary clearance on the advice of my lady breast surgeon at the time of my op as i was having immediate reconstruction.Had i chosen to wait for the result of a sample 4-10 lymph glands then i would have had to go back in straight away and have them removed and this would have created problems with the reconstruction.Possibly infection.I decided to have my eyes tested as i am still having problems with blurred vision.My eyes still feel as though im having chemo.First thing in the morning they are stingy and watery.They seem very sensitive to the cold and wind.I have never worn glasses before.I would like to know is there such a thing as a beauty spot behind your eye as i have googled it and found absolutely nothing.
Answer
Hello Karen
You probably have a benign 'choroidal nevus' in your retina but the concern is (highly doubtful) that it may be a metastasis of the cancer. But it would be very unusual so do not worry. Most people have these 'birth marks' in their skin and often in the eyes too. It is reasonable to have it worked up depending on what was done to examine your body when the breast cancer was discovered. If you had a PET scan, for example, it would have picked up other sites of cancer. Probably it is a simple nevus and will just be monitored. If it had been noted in the past it would be nice to know, but doctors often don't document these things when they appear safe. So without previous knowledge of this 'birth mark' you have it worked up now. The eye doctor will judge its size and describe its shape, coloring and so on and see if it fits any characteristics of a worrisome lesion. Other tests can be done too. It sounds like you had a Stage 2 breast cancer since the lymph nodes were involved, but that is well managed these days and NOT likely to be found in the eye.
Understand that chemotherapy and radiation cause dry eyes and that is what you have. Use frequent eye lubricating drops sold at stores as 'eye lubricating drops' do not use drops for red or allergic eyes. You may even use eye lubricating ointment at bedtime to make sure the eyes are comfy while you sleep. I want to reassure you that there isn't a high risk of eye problems except for the dryness that you have. The dryness should improve the longer you are past the chemo.
Best of luck,
Mitch Axelrod,OD
