Extreme chest wall tightness + shoulder pulled down! HELP!

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dpms
dpms Member Posts: 26

My mom had a modified radical mastectomy on her right breast on December 10, 2012. She had stage 3A breast cancer.

She has completed her Chemotherapy which consisted of the ACT regiment, and finished her radiation on July 18, 2013

Since even before her radiation she had started to experience EXTREME tightness on her chestwall which of course only got much much worse during radiation. She said it feels like she is wearing an iron bra that is 3 sizes too small and just pulling at her chest. She also feels her ribs poking into her underarm (it seems the skin and tissue have thinned out significantly and the arm/shoulder is being pulled down by the scars onto her ribs). She is in excruciating discomfort 24/7!

It is now 6 months after her radiation has been over, and the pulling on her shoulder (from what we think are the scar bands and muscle contracture) and the rubbing of her ribs and poking into her under arm area + chest wall tightness has just become worse. A lot of the doctors we have met with, have said they do see that the alignment on her shoulders has become messed up (as it is visible that one has been pulled down)

We have consulted with many breast reconstructive plastic surgeons, from Stanford, UCSF, and MD Anderson, but have yet to meet one who can give us a solution to the symptoms and pain she is experiencing. Some have recommended fat grafting to try, others say they can do reconstruction but cant guarantee anything and will only focus on creating a good breast and not the problem issues. She also had intercostal nerve blocks but that did not do anything either. So the pain doctors now say it is not a main nerve issue. The pain doctors have also recommended we see an orthopedic (shoulder) surgeon. We are consulting with one this week. 

Has anyone experienced the above symptoms? Any suggestions on what we can do? is it similar at all to radiation fibrosis? 

Would sincerely appreciate any insight anyone can offer on any of these symptoms! 

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