Pain/Lump in Breast 1 1/2 years after Lumpectomy

kec1972

To those who have had lumpectomy/radiation(no chemo): I continue to have pain in my breast almost 2 years after my surgery/radiation. I also have a tender lump in my breast at the site of where my 1cm tumor was removed....I'm assuming this is scar tissue?? Is this normal?

Annabelle2

I also had a lumpectomy & radiation. I've had severe pain and a "lump" at the site of the original tumor for 2 years now. They tell me that it's scar tissue, and follow up mammos & MRI's indicate it is surgical changes. It can be very scary though, and I don't know how I'm supposed to tell if there's ever another tumor there. You should definitely discuss this with your doctor and make sure you're getting follow up scans on a regular basis.

*ETA - I had neoadjuvant chemo and after that I could not feel the tumor and it was not visible on scans. The pain and lump started the day I started radiation.

ctmbsikia

Raises hand-me too. Have pain from time to time and have scar tissue.

I felt really good after surgery. Then I made the error of not wearing a bra one day and wam-a seroma appeared a couple of days before my post op appt. BS said she didn't want to drain it and to use compression which worked over time and this did not impede me doing the radiation. It left a mark though. The tissue is very hard now. I was put on the alternating mammo/MRI protocol and in June 2019 MRI gave me Birads 3 so I had another MRI in Dec 2019 which said still enhanced and was shown to be a whopping .01cm larger than previously so now it's a Birads 4. Went in for a biopsy in Jan 2020 and this lesion which is right on the edge of the previous seroma was diagnosed as fat necrosis (dead tissue) and giant body cell reaction (whatever that is!). I'm grateful that it's benign. Mammo is due next month which BS has notes on the order (pain, tissue changes, seroma) I would also like to know how long does it take for our breast tissue to stop changing post surgery and radiation?

I get anxious around this time but as I have a better understanding, it's not horrible anxiety, I just don't want to hurt or feel those twinges like an electric shock just when I'm feeling great -that'll happen and I'm pulled back in to the wtf was that world. Some days I feel like that breast is shrinking!

kec-all I can say is keep up with your imaging as they will compare them and let you know if anything is up. Blessings to all!

AliceBastable

My lumpectomy was in July 2018. In January of this year, at my regular MO appointment, I flinched and yelped during the physical breast exam. She sent me for a diagnostic mammogram and ultrasound, and it's just scar tissue and gravity (it's lower than where the incision was) settling in. And really, most surgical sites have aches, pains, and twinges for years afterwards due to the nerves that were cut. I've had a lot of surgeries over the years, and I don't think I've had a day go by without one of them saying hello. Sometimes it's just a whisper, sometimes a holler. My BS told me she had an appendectomy years ago and usually forgets it happened, until the nerves and scar tissue give her a poke and she thinks "What the hell was that?" That's life in the post-surgical world.

ruthbru

I'm still a little achy almost 14 years out!

Di356

Hi Annabelle, it's been 2 years since my last chemo treatment. I too have alot of scar tissue from lumpectomy and partial mastectomy. I find it hard trying find if it's a lump or scar tissue. I had a mammogram in January. Didn't find anything. Since July I started feeling a little sorry lump where my last lump was. I'm keeping an eye on it. I hate all the scar tissue because it confuses me. I will keep doing and seeing if it gets bigger. Did yours turn into anything, Annabella? My next mammogram is December. I had invasion duct carcinoma. Triple negative.

NorCalS

I agree with all of the posts. How the heck are we supposed to know whether something is a lump or just scar tissue? I had and have pain around scar tissue and hardness around that area as well. I had an ultra-sound and mammogram a few months ago and was told that it was scar tissue and to continue checking the breast. It seems that they are still changing and every time I get a hit of pain, it worries me because that’s how I discovered my breast cancer

kksmom3

I'm 2 years out from lump/rads and I still hurt. Sometimes it gets better, and then it gets worse. I can't feel anything very different like scar tissue, altho my BS and MO can. I'm sure my size 36A breast is mostly scar tissue on the top. I'm on gabapentin, I think it helps. I don't know what else to do. Any ideas?

LillyDuff

Oh,boy! Agree with the above posts too!

Almost three years post bilateral mastectomy. Two years post radiation and chemo. My implant and skin is tight!!

Also, various new nodules hanaging around just below the Sentinal Node Biopsy site, stinging sensations and now one firm small painful lump in axilla on previous cancer side. Getting an ultrasound this week to check it all out. I hate how new lumps and pains "just occur." My implant and skin are so tight, the breast surgeon recommended getting it all removed last year and said the pain would increase on the affected side because the skin was "ruined from radiation treatments." She recommeneded a plastic surgeon but I wasn't ready for that yet. I figured I would tough it out. Now, if these recent lumps and pains are clear of cancer, then I think I'll go for it. Can't take the tight feeling and pains anymore and the implant has shifted so far up in the pocket that it's sitting pretty much in my armpit. Every time I move my arm the implant gets bumped.

Time to make a change!

Cakencobbler1

I had a lumpectomy in Dec. 2019 and Radiation in 2020. At my first check-up with my surgeon I pointed out the lump at the site of my surgery. She looked T it with an ultra sound unit and said it was scar tissue and there was a Small amount of fluid in it that would probably be absorbed. It’s just continued go get bigger. Now it’s the size of a 1/2 dollar and a little pink. I see all 3 of my BC team every three months. I went today to my onc and he said it had gotten bigger and ordered a mammo and ultra sound. I can’t get in for 2 weeks Now I’m totally freaking out. Can’t stop crying. My original DX was Stage 1.

AliceBastable

Cakencobbler1, This is an old, inactive thread from almost a year ago. You'd do better to start a new thread so it will get noticed by more people and get responses. I'm sorry you're having issues, but it's good you're getting it checked out. If your doctor thought it was urgent, he'd probably have ordered immediate testing. Try to find enjoyable things to distract yourself until you have the mammogram and ultrasound.

Cakencobbler1

thank yo