@lperkins79 Sending you hugs. I know this is scary, and maybe for some it was an indicator of cancer but also there is a lot in play with the lymph nodes - the smell can be related to changes in your hormones or even swelling/inflammation in that breast. There are cancers that are not invasive yet that might cause that - DCIS - ductal carcinoma in situ - which is essentially stage 0. It is something that can move to stage 1 but your healthcare team can address this with you. I had double mastectomy with direct to implant (immediate reconstruction) - I did have an early stage 1 cancer but can say I am doing very well now - my surgery was 6-26-26. Usually double mastectomy not needed for an early cancer but for me it was because I did not have a lot of my own breast tissue. I have not had a lot of pain post surgery just mainly needing to follow the activity precautions closely. The surgeries have come a long way and it is very very possible you will only need to have just a lumpectomy which is much less invasive. Make a list of questions for your doctor visits. I do use AI/Google to help me with that as well. Searching the internet can be stressful though so be careful with that. Take care we are all in this together and there is a lot of support for us.