SNB ...underarm movement/pain etc

Purple32: I had a Lx 4 weeks ago and have made a full recovery. I put aloe vera on the scar...Trader Joes does a 99% pure version...and that has helped cool it and with the healing process.  I wonder if the pulling sensation could be some axillary cording?  I felt this about 2 weeks after my op and it is getting better with lots of stretching.

I had a pretty routine lumpectomy with SNB, left side, in march 2009. It was followed in may thru july with 36 radiation treatments. So I am more than three years post surgical treatment. I am physically active; garden, normal housework, bicycle, etc so I was pretty diligent in working to recover full range of motion and strength in left arm. I should say I have not had any significant "pain" associated with breast cancer treatment.



I started out using light weights, progressed to 8lbs. That did not seem to have much impact and was not much fun. I walk three miles every morning so about a year ago I added walking or hiking poles to my routine. Living in Florida Everyone has to remark about the lack of snow, where are my skis, or just ask what they are for. They have been great for both my arms as far as toning them up and making them look more muscular.



BUT my left arm still has some tightness in the armpit-underarm that was never there before BC. I can reach my right arm over my head to put a hairpin near my left ear, no problem. But it is a strain for me to get my left arm up and over to reach a curler on the right side. (yes, I still use hair curlers). I do not have LE and i have no pain. Just some limitation of range and less strength or power. If I press hard in my armpit I feel a sharp pain, ditto my left breast near the site of the lumpectomy. But no spontaneous pain.



I don't mean to discourage you, just say that, for me, there is still some residual restriction that I did not expect. But I feel healthy and strong and looking forward to being five years post treatment so I can stop tamoxifen someday in the future! Good luck to all of us!

purple --- I had my surgery in January and had physio after for the pain and ROM in my arm and shoulder -- this worked great.  Since then I have now been doing rads and back at physio -- having the arm up and over while on the radiation table has flared it again.  I have 2 rad treatments left and looking forward to the end of that but will continue with physio for a bit longer.

Good luck -

I had a lumpectomy in 2009; mine in September. I had 2 nodes removed; no chemo, just radiation. I was on arimidex for some time but decided to stop it. I figured if it would keep me clear of cancer for 5 years, that's when supposedly you're cured, then you stop taking it, it could come back anyway. With the family history, the odds are against me there.

My question is, and I don't know if there's an answer, why does it still hurt, after all this time? I hurt every day. I wear sport bras because a regular bra hurts. I have pain under my arm and also in the breast itself. I think it may be the clips in there (10) but I'm not sure. It seems I would get used to it but I don't. I don't know if others have pain this long after surgery. I have not found the answer yet.

I have lost the strength in that arm, too, but I figure that's pretty normal since they cut in the muscle.

My doctor hasn't said anything really. He seems to think that's just the way it is. I do have a lumpy  breast now; he does notice that. I have my mammogram scheduled for April so we'll wait and see what that shows, if anything. I see the doc in March again. I do have limited arm reach as many other women have.

I didn't know if other women had pain lasting this long and if so, what caused it? I have pretty much come to the conclusion that that's the way it's going to be.

I did have some lung problems after radiation; an MRI or CT (can never remember which is which) showed it got part of the lung along with the breast. I have been on Advair and rescue inhalers ever since. I had asthma as a child but have not been bothered most of my adult life until radiation. Now I have COPD and asthma.

Thanks!

Post Mastectomy Pain Syndrome can still occur with a SNB, lumpectomy and radiation....it is just less so than with a mastectomy. Most times it all clears up. I am 2 years out (uni-mastectomy) and still have PMPS, but alot less than it was even 1 year ago....and hoping that it still gets better. All-in-all, I consider it like arthritis pain other people have. You learn to live with it because there really isn't any choice.