1 yr post-rads- chest tightness/muscle cramps
I finished 33 radiation treatments 13 months ago (and before that, a lumpectomy and 2 reexcisions). I healed well from radiation, although I had breast lymphedema for a while, which is now mostly cleared up.
New problem - the muscles in my chest (treated side only) have been cramping! At first it was only sporadic, mostly when I would turn to look over my shoulder while backing out of a parking space, but it seems to be increasing in frequency. Now, more minor things trigger it, such as wearing a certain bra, taking a deep breath, or having chest tightness from drinking too much fizzy water. The muscles in left side of my chest start painfully squeezing.
Has anyone else experienced this, and do you have any tips on how to get my chest muscles to relax?? I'm not even sure if this is the right forum to be posting in, because I'm not positive this is a "radiation side effect" - it could be from the surgeries, or possibly even Tamoxifen, who knows? If I'm going to see a doctor about this, who should it be? I'm assuming this isn't an issue my oncologist would care about, since she's more concerned with the Tamoxifen, but my check-up with her is the only dr. appnt I have coming up, 3 weeks from now. I'm not scheduled to see my surgeon for at least a few months, and I don't think this is a serious enough issue that it warrants a special visit before then. And I'm not willing to go back to the radiation oncologist (I didn't like him, and had one follow-up with him 6 months post-rads and that's all; I figured my oncologist and surgeon could handle my follow-up care). Would it be worth seeing a PT or massage therapist? Or will this just go away on its own?
Comments
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So far I have not had any actual muscle cramps, but I do feel that the muscles and connective tissue on my treatment side are tighter. I would suggest asking your doc to order some PT for you (so insurance will cover some cost) but if not then try a massage therapist. I got a massage today just for this reason.
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i had 6mths of fairly radical chemo treatment followed by 6 mths of radiation treatment as i was part of a test group with stage 3 grade 3 , a very quick growing cancer, to big to be able to operate so they needed to shrink it first , well that was 2 years ago now and i to am having problems with cramping in the chest , it started sporadically with the turning to reverse the car , but i now find if i take a deep breathe or stretch to hard or sometimes even just turning my head to look behind me , it is quite painful and often think im having a heart attack , i actually looked on here to see if it was normal as i was starting to worry i had cancer back again , but i have no idea how to stop it from happening , it definately isnt from the tamoxifen as i dont use that , but the radiation left my breast feeling and looking a bit like cow hide it is still not 100 % but improving slowly
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I too am having pain and swelling on the treated side
I did 25 tomo rads for a total of 50 Gy. I did chemo before surgery to shrink the tumor plus I did more chemo after rads. It seemed like the adjuvant chemo reactivated my radiation side effects! My skin was nice. Chemo made it dark again and it hasn't cleared up yet. I get terrible swelling and chest pain some days! Apparently the swelling is a seroma... I've been seeing a physio group class for lymphedema weekly. We do some exercise and stretching. Plus I see a massage therapist occasionally. My hubby massages my chest often. So far it only helps temporarily. I don't think it's from wearing a bra because some days i just pin a foam form on my shirt and my chest still acts up! Sometimes it radiates down my arm. I hope I can get some helpful ideas from this thread
I am thinking about medical marijuana for the pain. I don't want to rely on strong narcotics or muscle relaxers. I can't take nsaids because I'm on blood thinners thanks to the pulmonary embolism I had! :S
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Raili, I think this is the kind of thing difficult to tell much by email/talking/internet and really needs a doctor to lay eyes on. I will tell you I experienced the same thing after my mastectomy. Turns out I have a lot of pectoralis tightening. I would think radiation and surgery could both cause scarring of chest muscles and tightening. I can tell you by not having it recognized and treated it became much worse over time. It has taken some concentrated physical therapy to get some muscle relaxation and pain relief. IMHO sometimes what you need the doctor for is to rule out something else going on and to give you a referral to a physical therapist who can really help with it. Good luck
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Railli, hi my name is Beth and I'm 3 yrs out this year. I had a mastectomy on Jan 23, 2009 after an attempted lumpectomy the weeke before. Doctors found lymph node involvment upon 1st operation. I had the standard regimen of chemo from Feb '09 -May '09 then radiation July -Aug 2009. I wouldn't neccessarily say I had cramping in the chest, but there was a pulling/tightness of the scar tissue from rads--WHICH IS NORMAL. Hopefully that's all this is for you, and nothing more serious, but check with your doctor to be sure
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Mine was more like a 'zinging' feeling and it was the nerves growing back, which takes a long time (years), I still get an occasional 'zing'.
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I am so happy to read this, I too have had the same muscle cramps on my left side. If I pick up anything heavy, or turn a certain way it grips the muscle and feels like a heart attack. I guess it's from surgery, chemo and radiation on that side. It sure does scare you, and takes your breath away and stops you in your tracks. I hope it goes away.....
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I really hope it goes away too! Some days are really bad! I find light aerobics helps keep me limber and pain at bay.
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I have not yet hit the year mark though I do notice some definite tightness in the area. I have tried doing some yoga, however I cannot do the same things on the treated side. It just does not move the same way.
I, too, have had what have been described as zings. I am glad to read that I am not alone there.
I still have a little bit of blue dye left from the surgery last November. I do not know if that has anything to do with it or not. I go back to see the surgeon in about a month. I will ask then.
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And here I thought I had cancer all over again, this thread makes me feel so much better knowing it's notj just me this is happening too. I had a lumpectomy with 4 nodes removed on Sept 15th 2010, finished 33 rads on Dec 3rd, 2010 and here I sit everyday sneaking pain pills from my husband's meds that he takes. I am in constant discomfort, sometimes I sit here and think "I have this stupid f'ing cancer all over again", It's almost time for my yearly follow up appointment with my breast surgeon. I'm scared to go see him cause I sure don't weant to find out the worst. But thankful at the same time just to know he will help me if I do .uugghhh cancer sucks.
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All these posts have been helpful to read. I joke with a BC survivor pal, as only we can, about how brave we get to be. We've already lived the nightmare of an initial diagnosis, so if the sad day rolls around that the cancer is back or there's another kind - it will suck, BUT we're survivors and will rally again. It's not over, til it's over.
I share about any pain or fear I'm having with one or all of my doctors and survivor friends. Post treatment pain is real and no one should need to sneak medicine. It's really all scariest when stuck in those dark places in our minds. I do believe the fear and stress of more cancer or any big life stuff, WILL invite cancer/illness to return.
I'm a year out from lumpectomy and 8 months out from last rad. I've been having a lot of soreness and heaviness in the treated breast which I'm pretty sure is my "new normal" cycle related tenderness. For whatever reasons, more intense this month. I change bras as needed and find that sleeping in a looser fitting sports bra - turned inside out, with shelf and elastic NOT against my sensitive skin - is helpful. I've been jogging again vs walking and suspect the compression bra and jiggle might also be irritating and factors to be mindful of.
I've also gotten huge relief from all the cancer stress and especially neck stiffness from acupunture with my insurance covers pretty generously. Massage and PT also sound good to me.
I agree that cancer really sucks but then how totally awesome and amazing we are to survive it, inside and out.
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Hello everyone, I am so relieved to be reading this. I am having chest pain after the standard chemo and 6 weeks of rad. The problem is its mostly on the opposite side then my lumpectomy. I thought I was having a heart attack or some kind of heart disease. I wonder if any of the radation got over to my left side? Maybe thats causing it. Which doc to tell? onc. rad onc. family doc. As of tomorrw the 25th I will have been done with radaion for 1 week.
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I ended up with sever pain from my SNB site radiating down into my breast with stabbing pains behind my nipple. My BS said it is nerve damage from rads. She put me on Elavil and the pain Dr. added Celebrex mainly for hip pain but he said it would help with all the swellling I continue to have from rads. The combo of the two really have worked. I still take pain meds when it gets too bad usually about once every week or two I'll have a really bad day. My breast surgeon said this is not unusual but she would not consider it normal and that I did not have to live in pain. Zapping every now and then is different from day to day pain.
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I just had to respond to this thread. As for Dr.s all they can do is perscrbe pain meds. Both my onc and surgeon just couldn't figure out what was causing the pain. I had MRI and other tests. All they could do was perscribe more and more vicodin. I finally asked onc. for Rx for PT. 2-1/2 years out from double mast, chemo & rads to one side I am still a bit tight. It is my new normal, BUT I did have it all loosened up and pain free, after a full year of PT. Try PT and if your first therapist is wimpy/silly/can't believe what your telling her try another. My first just kept telling me to stretch. Heck I could hardly raise my arm and the pain was never ending. (Dr. Rx vicodin,but I was still loosing my mind) I was going to start acupuncture for the pain. A few days before my appt for acupuncture, my 1st therapist was out of town and the woman filling in for her helped me more in 1 session that she had in 4. WOW it felt so good right after and then slowly it starts to tighten up again. Anyway, last Dec.2010 I was completely loosened up and pain free. Now after 8 months of no PT I am tightening up again, but no pain. I try to stretch in the shower and it has helped. At the PT place they had a cool looking jungle gym called the cage and after my PT worked on me then I went there. She also had exercises for me. Another big thing was that my back muscles had tightened up and we had to stretch them out too. Her joke was "It's all connected." She talked about scaring and the fascia. My Dr.s just couldn't believe I could be in that much pain just from tight muscles, but I was ! Best wishes to all of you.
Corrine
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Stretching and toning exercises help a lot; if you have been doing so on your own and it doesn't help, definitely consult a trainer with experience in post-surgery rehab. or do what Corrine did and consult a PT.
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I agree with exercising! I have been moderately active for the past couple months and I notice a huge improvement in my range of motion and reduced swelling and pain
I'm not lifting heavy weights... 3 pound hand weights. I do 10-15 of each arm exercise for now and jog around the block. Plus when I am relaxing I try to rest with my arms stretched out or up behind my head.Good luck ladies!
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I just found this thread i have spent alot of time on "still uncomfortable with implants" thread. I have learned alot from the ladies there and am in the stage of getting a 2nd opinion on my reconstruction. But the reason i want a revision is mostly cause im so uncomfortable on my mw side where i had radiation the augumented side is fine as far as pain goes. But im wondering now even if i get this implant out and try a different procedure like the diep or fat grafting would it even make a diffrence because if this radiated tissue. Everyone has told me including my ps that an implant can be difficult with radiated breasts,but i was just hoping it would not be a problem for me,so i was wondering how many of you have implants in your radiated breasts if not implants what do u have,and obviously u still must be uncomfortable or you would not be on this thread?? so maybe i should not try making a change??? there is not alot of you on here ,i do not understand that? i know alot of us get radiation ,does that mean they did ok and we did not???thanks
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Beacher: I would PM Estepp as she did a lot to help with her radiated breasts. I didn't have radiation, however, from what I understand, when a PS adds fat grafting at the exchange there is less of a chance of capsular contraction. You can also PM Whippetmom and ask her for the article relating to this. Capsular contraction can be very painful and is more common after radiation with implants. I hope this helps! Hugs!
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hi mbj, ya i pm estepp she did have radiation,but she had no problems she was lucky ,but thanks for the tip.Today was one of my most uncomfortable days..im giving up hope of ever feeling well again :{thanks for your help...
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Hi Everyone,
I've found that stretching arms over my head while cutting high tree branches to be the best treatment so far for chest tightness.
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Hi Everyone, A note on the tightness...for me when I experienced the tightness I would stretch until I felt pain and hold for 30 seconds than relax 30 seconds and repeat 3 times. I would do this every day and sometimes twice a day. This helped with the pain I felt in my back shoulder blade area, then again when I felt it in and under my treated breast and also under my arm pit. Sometimes I looked pretty funny in the odd poses I did to get the stretch I needed, but it worked usually within a couple of days I was better and now I don't get any pain in those areas at all. Hope this will help some of you.
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Hi all, I'm so happy to have found this thread. I thought I was facing this problem alone. I had partial mx on July 2010 and finished 33 rads in December 2010, no recon. Aside from swelling in my SNB side (axilla) and at the lower quadrant of my treated breast, the tx breast has puckered. Due to the swelling and pain, I was recently dx with slight LE (axilla, breast and back trunk). Like most of you, the treated side is tight, painful and sometimes swollen and I thought I have to live with this new normal
Last week I did something stupid...I moved 2 big ladders sideways (didn't pick it up, but just walked them), ok maybe I tried to lift it but it was too heavy, and voila, got the areas swollen again. I just feel so stupid, what was I thinking about.
I haven't had any LE treatments yet, still waiting for an appointment. HotandCold, you said that you had success in doing PT, did the therapist massage lightly or did she do it hard? I am just wondering if it was painful. My problem is that it is sooo sensitive, I don't know how on earth they will be working on me. I'm actually worried. Any advice is appreciated.
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PT for my post mastectomy, radiated chest never hurt! ! ! It made the hurt decrease and eventually go away. It wasn' like the PT for my knee after torn ACL. Sometimes it was slightly uncomfortable, like from lying on my back with my arm at a weird angle trying to get a stretch in my arm pit. I've had 5 different PT's now, inc. knee. My favorite was an intern She knew about lympedema but didn't seem so worried about going deeper into the muscle. My pec muscle needed DEEP work.She also worked on the spaces between my rib bones called the inter-costals. They all worked on me differently and helped. The woman, I worked with the most, was cognizant about lympedema but not a trained specialist. One thing, I did have both edema and mild lympadema. I had a private room with her because I took my Tshirt off all the way. ( I wouldn't do this PT with a man and I loved my male PT for my knee.) All of them asked about if I was experiencing any pain and were thoughtful about it. PT for my chest was almost like massage.
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HotandCold, thank you for your detailed explanation. The LE clinic I went to, (I had 2 diagnostic/evaluation and 1 previous treatment). I had to stop the treatment because it was right after I finished rads and my skin broke out with severe rash and lasted for weeks. They use "Hivamat", the PT wears one glove and is connected to a machine and the glove vibrates when it touches the skin. I am not sure if I really liked it because it made me feel tingly all over and it was a weird feeling. Meanwhile, my non-surgical side felt like I was getting the static shock and was some what painful at times. I am awaiting for their open slot to treat me because I am feeling the pain and the site is swollen again. Seems like this is a vicious circle and it doesn't stop
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Hi DiamondGirl, I wanted to differentiate between my LE therapy and my PT for tight pec muscle.
My certified LE Therapist never used any kind of machine on me. It was all light touch on my skin by her bare hands. She was a licensed PT with LE certification. She taught me MLD. Manual Lymph Drainage and it worked for my mild LE on my upper arm. The best way to describe it was that my short sleeve t-shirt was tighter in that sleeve on that upper arm than the other arm. The pressure used for MLD was once described as the pressure you would need to push a quarter across your skin.
My PT was another woman in the same building-office. It was a place with about 8-9 different PT's all degreed. and about 4 assistant techs, and a reception area with 2 people checking you in. There was a big room with all sorts or machines and contraptions. The room was larger, kind of like a gym.it had 6 PT tables, 2 treadmills, weight bench, arm rower, 2 bicycles, jungle gym cage, leg press, other equipment/machines. They also had one private room with PT Table. My PT knew about LE and she knew my LE therapist. When I first started with her, I had horrible pain & I couldn't reach up on the top shelf of my cupboard and get a serving platter down. Now I can ! ! ! She always used her bare hands on my skin with a lubricant called Free Up.. Sometimes she pushed hard with her thumbs, but I loved it. She stretched out my pec muscle,other muscles, loosen up my scar and broke up the scar tissue. I didn't like her asst., because when I first started the exercises with him after she had stretched me out, he wanted me to use too much weight and then it brought the LE back a wee bit. I finally asked if I could have a woman Asst. and that worked out better. He just couldn't get over that I could only do a low weight. I could do the higher weight, but then it bothered the LE. He was an $#*!!. Some exercises were with hand weight and some were on a machine.
Didn't mean to go on so, but I loved PT. I just recently met a woman who couldn't raise her hand above her nose! I encouraged her to seek PT, but she wouldn't consider it. She had been told by the Dr."That's just the way it is. You can stretch it yourself." She seemed so beaten down and sad. Heck, I was too. She just accepted his word. I have an outgoing, take charge and find out kind of personality. We have to be our own advocates. We, in some sense, have to become our own Physicians Asst. We are the ones struggling, working, playing, and living this life.
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Raili, If you're still around on the boards, I'd love to hear any follow-up you have on this post of yours. This is the first time I've checked out the fora or message boards or whatever they're called and I joined to see if there was any connection between the new (4-6 weeks) chest cramping, squeezing thing I've been having and the fact that I'm post XRT. I actually called 911 a couple of weeks ago, which I have never, ever done before, because although I suspected the discomfort I was feeling was either musculoskeletal in origin, or related to gastroesophageal reflux, I just didn't want to be someone who "died at home thinking she had heartburn" if I actually was having a heart attack or heart problem. Didn't go to the hospital, portable echo and EKG all looked fine and for a bit, I had fewer of the "episodes" and really thought they were related to movement. But over the last few days, I'm having them even when I'm just sitting there...very reminiscent of certain foot or calf cramps, kind of stop me in my tracks for a few seconds (up to 15 or 20 or so maybe) and I have to wait until I feel the squeezing sensation subside and disappear. If I breathe deeply or stretch, I can get the pain to go away and I will check in with my PCP, but I'm curious to hear how things ended up going for you...Sorry so lengthy!! Thanks!
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Hi, nothanotherusername! Sorry it took me so long to write back - I'm not on these forums much anymore!!
It's now been 6 months since I started this thread. My chest cramping has decreased. I still occasionally experience it, maybe once a week, but now it's only triggered by movement - e.g. turning while backing out of a parking space, reaching the wrong way, etc. For me the cramps last for about 15 to 20 seconds as well, and it helps if I stop what I'm doing and sit quiet and still, breathing slowly, gently holding/rubbing wherever it hurts.
I haven't been exercising lately...I'm hoping to get back to yoga classes soon, and I'm curious to see if that will loosen things up and decrease the cramps even further.
I'm sorry you've been experiencing pain! I'm glad that you're taking good care of yourself. Did you check in with your PCP? What did s/he say? I haven't yet asked a doctor about these chest cramps, but I'm due for a check-up with my new oncologist in a month, so we'll see. My previous oncologist moved out of the area. My last appointment with her was several months ago, and when she asked how everything was going, I mentioned the occasional chest cramps, and she just kind of nodded, like it was common/to be expected/not something big to worry about. I didn't feel like she was dismissive of my pain...I actually felt comforted by how unconcerned she was about it, because it made it seem like this is a common side effect that she expects will resolve as time goes on and it doesn't require any special treatment. I'm sure the severity of the pain/cramps is different for each of us... and if my cramping was more severe or frequent, I probably would be actively searching for a treatment. But right now I'd categorize it as mild and infrequent, and I'm trying to just be patient as I wait for it to pass.
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I was so happy to find this site and learn that I'm not nuts with my symptoms. I've been cancer free since 2002 but this pain continues. It's almost like someone is reaching into my chest and squeezing and as you said, it just takes your breath away and stops you in your tracks. I mentioned it to all my health care providers and they just look at me like I'm nuts. So nice to find others that are experiencing the same thing.
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Hi there. Just wanted to mention that since I first posted on this topic, I had my one year follow-up with my radiation oncologist. As soon as I mentioned these symptoms, he nodded and said that he had heard this many times over the years and it definitely is a symptom in certain post-XRT women with breast CA but that it is not well understood. He reassured me though that it is believed to be completely benign. I seem to go months without it and then one day, it appears again (like yesterday!). Yowza!
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Yes, on the need to continue to stretch/exercise the area. I found that out during a week jaunt to NYC when I didn't do this. I did notice that I was getting a bit tight in that area and promptly did my post-surgery stretches. Normally the weights routine I do takes care of things nicely.
I also occasionally get muscle spasms on that side. I found out the hard way that my muscles on that side were a bit weaker. This was the time 14 months ago when I did a 10 mile x-country ski through foot-deep, heavy powder. Since both sides hurt afterwards, I didn't worry about things.
I have other areas of my body seize up regularly as often push my body training for cycling events. My take is that this comes with the territory of staying fit.
As a point of reference, I also sometimes get spasms in my abdominal area from the crunches I do 5x per week. I don't worry about those either and just keep moving.
Good luck......my take is that the more we move, the better off we are. - Claire
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