Breast pain post radiation

I am four weeks out of 6.5 weeks of radiation as of yesterday. I still have quite a bit of breast pain deep inside. Fatigue is three steps forward one step back. I have arm and breast lymphedema. Got it almost from the get go. Radiation can trigger lymphedema for the first time. If you had any lymph nodes removed please check out the lymphedema thread.

My breast is still hot to the touch. Hurts worse at the end of the day. Lymhedema massage helps with pain from lymphatic collection. But it's still cookin.

Yes breast pain is a definite SE from Rads.  The rad onc doc told me that the rads can lead to necrosis of tissue but did not indicate that it can lead to swelling, pain, etc.  I am 18 months past rads and still have discomfort and sometimes pain. 

All the Docs that I spoke with about it seemed "surprised" that I had pain.  I had some heat of the skin and a bit of redness and a low grade fever for awhile, docs put my on anti biotics....this did not fix the problem either.

If pain persists down the line do insure that you follow up with the docs and ask for diagnostic testing to insure there is no infection or something else going on.  It is always better to push for answers if something does not seem right!

Valerie

I am 6 mo post radiation.  My breast has hurt from the very beginning.  My mam was clear but my nipple is very thick and there is swelling/hardness on the underside of my breast.  My tumor was on the top.  My Dr has ordered Lyrica for the pain but insurance doesn't want to pay.  I have to try two other meds first (which have worse side effects) and if they don't work then I will get the Lyrica.  Unfortunately the first one is Nortriptyline an antidepressant that makes me very dizzy and tired.  I am only one week in and I have to use it for four weeks before calling it a failure.  I also take 800 mg of ibuprofen morning and night it seems to help a little, taking the sharpness out of the shooting pain.  I have gotten very good at reaching up and rubbing my collarbone to hid the fact that I am pressing on my breast.  Too many times I embarassed myself by grabbing my breast in the store, at work or at church.  I have a feeling this is something I will have to live with but like I tell anyone who asks, "It beats the alternative!"

An hour ago I took a Vicodin and began searching for answers to my breast pain.  On November 1, 2007 I had a lumpectomy.  My surgeon said that I was a stage one and I would only need radiation.  My incision broke open 3 times.  The first time I thought that I was bleeding to death.  They used steristrips ... after the 3rd time I put on butterfly strips and it finally sealed.  A hard lump began to form in the incision area.  On November 30, 2007 I met with my oncologist and this guy was a real trip .... he started out nice but then seemd to tun on me and his words began to indicate that he thought that I would not survive treatment ... that I was a stage 2a and that I would need chemo and radiation .... and all my hormone receptors were negative (I thought that was good at first).  This guy was a little over an hour from my home.  I went home and decided to find a compassionate oncologist which I did.  He told me the same thing as the other oncologist but he was very encouraging.  Instead of 3 rounds (what the fist doc said he would do), my new oncologist ordered 4.  I thought that I would die but survived that. 

I was told that radiation would be a walk in the park compared to chemo.  It was until the 4th week when a burn site appeared and then it was hell on earth.  I finished my radiation treatments the first week in May.  About 2 weeks ago the worst burn spot healed over.  However, my breast remain warm/hot to the touch, extremely painful at times (shooting pains and just plain old throbbing).  No over the counter or even the Vicodin helps with the pain. 

 Unfortunately, my breast are large .... I cannot wear a bra as it makes the pain worst .... I am miserable and have been in tears this evening because I am sick of it.  Sometimes I wish that I had, had a mastectomy (but I would have been extremely lopsided ) and probably would have been prone to falling.  The funny thing about all this is that I was considering breast reduction surgery right before I was diagnosed.

 Thanks for reading my whiney story.  I really do try to be positive about it all .... but for some reason tonight I am really down.  Again, thanks.

Kay

I am also 6-7 months post rad (lumpectomy a year ago) and I am amazed (and comforted) by the common-ness of our symptoms relative to the doctors' reactions.  Why are they 'surprised' when it sounds like so many of us are having the same expereince???  I am acutely sore, have to ice twice a day to keep swelling down, and am taking Ibuprofen.  There's also a hardness on the underside which I think is the result of wearing an underwire bra or just from acute and constant swelling.  My nipple is stretched to the point that it will hardly behave like a nipple should, and I have to wear an iron running bra to go jogging.  And there is the constant worry:  what are the effects of this chronic inflammation on the breast tissue.  We all know that chronic inflammation is a 'BAD' thing.

I have also declined tamoxifen and am thinking about bioidentical hormone treatment.  Anyone have experience or interest here? 

Robin have ou tried any alternative medicine for your swelling? I have had great success with Bromelain supplements (must be taken on an empty stomach, I take 1500 mg a day) and with Arnica, both internally and as a topical.

Just a thought. If you post about your swelling in the alternative therapy forum, I am sure many women will jump in with ideas. This is what (combined with ice) has worked for me through 3 breast surgeries and radiation. 

I finished radiation on 6/27 with very positive experiences. Everyone was amazed how well my skin reacted and I heal fast so it wasn't too bad. But now, about a month later, I am very sore around the scar. It doesn't feel like nerve pain but it does get better and worse through the day although it never goes completely away.

As for elbow pain, I have a spot just about my elbow with no feeling. My wonderful radiologist said that it's a side effect of surgery, probably some nerve damage, and it feeling should return in about six months.  

Hi, I am 4 months post-radiation therapy for a 0.8 cm breast tumor (ductal carcinoma) - had a lumpectomy and 4 rounds of chemotherapy prior to the radiation.  I have found that most of my information has come from boards such as this one as I now realize I was not told what side effects to expect, etc.  I am quite large breasted and had also thought of doing breast reduction prior to my cancer, but unfortunately, after years of just normal fibrocystic changes on my mammos, I was diagnosed with this ductal carcinoma before actually doing any reduction surgery.  I am taking Femara daily 2.5 mg which I will be on for five years, per my oncologist.  I actually have very little scarring from my lumpectomy site with no pain whatsoever there.  I did, however, have all my lymph nodes on the left side removed as one looked 'suspicious' but came back from the lab normal.  I was told about the possibility of lymphedema on that side, but so far, have not had any problems with that.  I do, however, notice lately some dull achy pains coming from the incision site (lymph nodes).  I didn't have any issues prior to this - only the last month or so really.  I also am increasingly uneven (breast size wise) now.  At my 1 month followup after my radiation treatment, my breasts were pretty symmetrical.. now, over the months, the one I had surgery on has shrunk quite a bit. I mean, pretty noticeable when my clothes are off and even when I put a bra on, I notice my left one seems much smaller than the right.  Also, this left one is the one I had surgery & radiation on.. and it is very tender to the touch..  It feels swollen and tender.  My oncologist mentioned 'water' that may be retained still in that breast.  Does radiation make 'water' or fluid accumulate in that site?  It is so uncomfortable that I have to be careful when I lay on that side at night and I cannot even put that left arm above my head (like to sleep on my left elbow/arm) without a very taut stretching sensation and that dull achy pain ..  Is this normal? 

Oh yeah.. besides these odd sensations, the radiology group is trying to stick me with two weeks worth of radiation = to $16,000..  yeeha!  Seems when I went to my new job (with 2 weeks left of radiation to go), the gal at my prior job, did not submit all my paperwork to Cobra..  Go figure.   So, it's 'pain' all around for me.. LOL  OH.. not funny but what do you do..  

Thanks for your responses ahead of time.. )

Hi Everyone,  I wanted to update you.  I am now 10 mo post radiation and have been taking the Nortriptyline for almost 4 months.  It really has helped with the shooting nerve pain.  I now only get a twinge a few times a week rather than a few times a day.  A wonderful relief!  The side effects have gotten a lot better also.  I only get dizzy occasionally.  Although I must admit I miss having a cocktail every now and then.  There are some evenings when a Long Island Ice Tea just sounds wonderful.  My energy is rebounding and I am feeling pretty good.

MaryAnn-CA, I never got very red from the radiation.  I was using the "radi-a-gel" four times a day during rads and I think that really helped.  The last 5 rads were pretty intense and I got a "sun burn".  My Dr says the radiation continues to "cook" the breast for months which is why I had swelling and tenderness and the breast continued to change.  It seems to have stopped at this point.  I honestly think I have hit as low as I will go and am starting back up.  Yeah!!

Shortly after surgery I developed pain from fluid build-up, so they say.  They didn't aspirate me due to increase chance of infection.  I remained in pain for my 7 weeks of radiation.  After radiation was done it started to subside.  I am now 6 weeks out of radiation when it has started all over again. My surgeon ordered an U/S which she said showed nothing.  She has me on 800mg ibuprofen 3x/day and 400iu of Vitamin E.  I am on my 4th day of this tx and nothing has changed the pain is still so alive.  What is strange is that I have extreme pain beside my nibble where it wasn't before. 

JaeAnn

Hello- I am new to this site and wanted to share on this topic.

 I was diagnosed at age 28 with stage 2a invasive ductal breast cancer on Oct.10 2007. In this past year I have went through 7 months of chemo, bilateral mastectomy- lat flap procedure with reconstruction, and I just finished radiation last week. It was a late decision to get radiation after the pathology reports came back from my surgery. 

Anyway- i wanted to comment on the radiation b/c my skin is a mess right now!! Im so sore - have blisters, chaffing, peeling and now my skin is starting to scab over and smells foul (sorry I know thats gross). I went back to the dtr today to get it looked at and she is treating me with antibiotics for a skin infection even though they are not positive that is what it is. I too have the sharp twinges of pain in my breast, even though I had a mastectomy and now have an implant. I am now 29 and moving on with my life but am so down right now b/c of how my skin is feeling. I can't go to the gym b/c I cant put on a sports bra. I try to go with out a bra all the time and just wear loose tshirts which are now covered in aquaphor stains! I feel so gross.

I wanted to join this site to support others and thought perhaps some of you could help me as well.

Soooo, hi and good luck to everyone going through this unfortunate ordeal with me. We are all survivors though and that is the most important part!! 

I just found this site....good discussions. I am a nubie at this but thought I'd share my experience and love to learn from others. On Oct 13th I finished 33 radiation treatments after a lympectomy for stage 1B ductal carcinoma at 59 yrs of age.  I am 3 weeks post treatment.  I used the radiogel 3-4 times a day all during my treatments. I took it to radiation with me and put it on immediately after treatment, a few hours later and before bed. I had no trouble until about 1/2 way through the boost treatments when the burn really progressed at the incision site and the nipple area shed skin and was open for a week or more. I used 1/2 water and 1/2 hydrogen peroxide to cleanse that area several times a day (used a small plastic cup and swished the breast in it like an eye cup effect) a couple times a day to avoid infection. After the wound closed (no foaming after above treatment) I started using Vit E oil (use oil only after done with radiaton). I am healing up pretty good now. I do have shooting pain in the nipple and deep in the breast that was treated. The rad. onc. said this will happen for a long time and maybe forever. Luckily it is something I can live with. He also said that mammograms will likely be painful due to tissue damage and fibrosis in the treated breast and he tells patients to use a pain killer the day of their mammogram. I won't have to do that for another 6 months....not looking forward to it. The onc. said to try Aleve since it last 8 hours vs Advil which lasts 4-6 hours for the muscle/joint pain and headaches I get from the Arimidex I am taking for the estrogen + tumor (zaps your Estrogen for post menopausal women).  I have a lot of numbness in the thumb and fingers of the side where lymph nodes (7) were removed and the side being radiated. This got bad after I started the radiation. I got some therapy to learn how to do massage for lymphedema but I don't have any swelling...just numbness. The rad.onc. doesn't think its due to what they have done.....any others have that experience. Its very annoying and its completely numb every morning. 

entropyhappens .....I am 8 months from my last radiation treatment and I still have numbness in my armpit and down the inside of my arm. It has improved, tho. So I guess it will eventually be back to normal. My hair in my armpit is just starting to grow back. The other day I took a 2 mile walk down the hill. It was a warm day, so I was perspiring alot. I happened to feel that my shirt was soaking wet under my good armpit. I felt the surgery side, it was as dry as a bone. So you see, our bodies have alot of recovering to do from the abuse of the radiation. I did some things too early on that I shouldn't have. I was hedging some bushes in the backyard. When I was doing it, it seemed ok. But I must have strained my muscles and nerves. And picking up my infant grandson when they were visiting messed me up. So, I decided to not try to be the macho person I had always been in my life. I decided to not use my left arm. Pretend I don't have a left arm. This has helped alot. Gives things a chance to heal.

ladies, I can relate, I am 5 months post rads...but the hardness and soreness vary from day to day...I was a bit worried and went to the surgeon about some concerning areas on my bc breast...he told me the area near the SNB site was probably still sore....and I said yes...I have read that it can take anywhere from 6-12 months for swelling and soreness to lessen. my BC breast is still slightly larger than the non involved breast...was that way before cancer too. I remember after surgery telling one of the nurses that it was like getting a reduction to make my breast equal in size...

Also I have read that often women with BC will have one breast bigger than the other and this is something I just noticed several months before I found my lump....

August girl, you are so young, my younger sister was diagnosed 9 years ago at the age of 32, a few years older than you....It is hard for me to understand
BC developing at so early of an age. I really feel for you and hope you are doing well.

RADIATion is difficult.

God Bless all.

Amber

Oh yeah, as if radiation was not a known factor in many "side effects".  I guess they think if they tell you all the stuff that can happen, you would not do it.  But it is annoying when they deny every single thing when we know that it is from the radiation.

The good news is that most of these side effects do go away with time.  As Nena says, while not debilitating usually, these "reminders" are just that, reminders.

On we go, sisters, on we go.

Gentle hugs, Shirlann