Hello, Heather.
       Some thoughts on this mother's situation:  Years ago, I was contacted
by a mother whose baby had "white rubber balls" in his bowel movements.  Well,
I initially had absolutely no idea what was going on there!  The doctor had
the "balls" analyzed, and it turned out they were balls of white blood cells.
Now, it is normal for babies to have white blood cells in their BMs, since
there are lots of white blood cells in breastmilk and they are often not
completely digested.  (It is *not* normal to have red blood cells in the baby's BM.)
However, I've never come across another baby who had so many white blood cells
as to form "balls".  And no one could ever explain why they all stuck
together in a ball shape.  But it turns out that this baby was healthy.  No one ever
figured out why his stools looked like that, and eventually (not sure any more
how long it took), the BMs became more normal.
       In the case of the mother you are working with, it sounds like that
white, rubbery, thick discharge is quite possibly a glob of white blood cells.
But it would *not* be normal for the mother to have this type of discharge,
especially when she is not producing breastmilk.  Think of a pimple in an acne
outbreak--if it "pops" early, the white discharge tends to be rather runny.
But if one can avoid breaking it for a day or two, the water gets reabsorbed and
what is released at that point if the pimple "pops" is likely to be thicker
and hold together more.  If it has been several days, it can even be sort of
encapsulated like a "ball."  (And the mother did say the white spot had been
there for some time.)  But, nonetheless, the discharge is those white blood cells
trying to deal with an area of infection.  I do not think your description is
consistent with yeast.  If there is milk (or some discharge resembling milk)
and she is not pregnant or lactating, she should be examined for a possible
benign tumor of the pituitary--although benign, she would still need treatment.
That "small hole" where she had her last surgery--has the "hole" been there
ever since the surgery, or is it a new development in the scar tissue?  It
sounds like it could be an opening which might be allowing infection into the
breast.  Although cancer was ruled out two years ago, this mother should be
thoroughly examined because the situation can change over time.  I am not sure just
what type of specialist can diagnose a benign tumor of the pituitary--perhaps
an endocrinologist?  And perhaps a dermatologist would be the one to take a
look at that hole in her skin and offer an opinion about what is going on there.
 Are you lucky enough to have any breast specialist in your area?
       Dee

Dee Kassing, BS, MLS, IBCLC
Collinsville, Illinois, in central USA

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