How long does it take for swelling to go down after radiation?

My swelling after radiation was quite pronounced and I asked for a referral to a lymphedema physiotherapist. I was not looking forward to it so I was surprised by how easy it was and how much it helped. (I did not have any lymphedema in my arm at all.) After a few sessions I felt a lot better and stopped.

I highly recommend it. I felt a lot better and started healing emotionally as well after my swelling went down.

As my radiated breast was slightly bigger to start with I also expected it to become a little smaller but it did not.

My breast swelled up just as I finished radiation and started tamoxifen. I second the recommendation to the see a lymphedema specialist. At a minimum you can learn the techniques to do self massage which seems to help. I still have episodes of swelling 9 months later but it definitely continues improving. In my case, my therapist suggested that the radiation can cause the scar tissue to become fibrotic and trap lymphatic fluid.

Hi Dorothy, I am in a very similar situation. I have a seroma and I have also developed some swelling in the breast only that isn't going down even though I finished radiation in May.

When you say your surgeon drained fluid, do you mean he drained the seroma specifically? Or did he actually drain fluid from the breast area in general? After he drained it, did you notice any "caving in" at the sight where you had the lumpectomy?

I have been debating on whether to have my seroma drained. My surgeon felt draining it could cause me to have a large divot from the lumpectomy, but I feel as though draining it will allow all of the fluid building up in my breast to finally drain. I did see a lymphedema specialist who taught me some self-massage techniques, but that actually seemed to make it worse. Maybe finally getting the seroma drained will help. My swelling is just enough that it is noticeable when I wear certain tops, and the skin underneath my breast is starting to thicken from the fluid that is collecting there. Thank you for sharing your experience!

Thank you so much for your reply! You have given me good information! My swollen one is perkier too, almost like I had a lift. I keep joking that if my other one looked as round and full as my "bad" one, I'd be happy lol! I think I am going to bite the bullet and have it drained....

Thank you again for your response!

Thanks for the update, DorothyB! Sorry that you are starting to swell up again. I still haven't called to make an appointment to have mine drained. Part of the reason I have been putting it off is that my surgeon is almost two hours away, so trying to find a day when I can miss work and not create more work for myself in doing so is difficult. The other reason is that I am still nervous that having it drained will have an even less cosmetically appealing result if I do end up with a big divot at the lumpectomy site, especially if my breast starts to shrink from radiation. Ultimately, however, I know that I am eventually going to end up asking him to drain it, so I need to stop procrastinating and just make the call.