3 weeks out, deep itchy pain that's driving me crazy!!

moonlight60

I had 25 sessions, no boost. My last treatment was April 2nd. My skin healed pretty nicely and looks good, however I continue to have a deep itchy pain. It's terrible!!!

Can anyone tell me when this might go away? It bothers me constantly...it feels deep in the tissue, not on the surface like a normal itch and if I rub or massage, it turns to pain

robin121

Wow.  You and I have very similar situations.  I was diagnosed 12/14/11.  Tumor was under a centimeter.  Had a lumpectomy and IORT (intraoperative radiation therapy).  Did you have IORT?  I had 25 radiation treatments and finished on April 17.  Did not need the boost since I had the IORT.  I have not experienced any itching (yet), but my skin is very sore.  My armpit hurts the most.  I also get sharp shooting pains acoss my breast and weird "shivering" pains.  Any of this sound familiar to you?  Have you asked your MD about the itching?  When did it develop?  It's been a week since I finished treatment and I am just wondering what else I can expect.  Are you taking/going to take Tamoxifen?  Ugh.

moonlight60

I'm not sure what IORT is, so I guess I didn't have it. I had whole breast irradiation for 25 sessions. On the last day, my skin was very red and sunburned-like but that was all, and I thought maybe I'd got off easy.  Then, over the following week, I got blisters on the upper-inner quadrant and they broke and that area became like an open sore...it was pretty icky and painful.

That took about another week to heal over. During that time, the itchiness began all over my breast. Now, my skin looks good, but inside, under the skin, I continue to have that painful itchy feeling. Sometimes it gets very bad and I just want to yell! I can only take Tylenol since I'm sensitive to Nsaids and it's not helping at all.

I will see my Rad Onc on May 2nd for followup and talk to her then if it hasn't gotten better. I was hoping someone might have some magic thing to help me

I began taking Tamoxifen just after I finished Rads, so it's been about 3 weeks. My hot flashes came back like crazy (up until then, I'd been controlling them nicely with Gabapentin) but they seem better if I'm sure to exercise every day. I cling to the hope that they will go away as some other women on here have said the SE's ease up after a few weeks, or come and go.

Other then that, I haven't had any other SE's from Tamoxifen. I'm still fatigued from the Rads though but I think the exercise is helping that too.

moonlight60

Oh yeah, i also get the sharp shooting pains. But they don't bother me as much as the painful itch!