Ladies who had only 1 or 2 nodes removed...

Hi bcat40 - I had 2 sentinel lymph nodes removed (one on each side) in June. Stiffness/tightness took a while to ease but with gentle, slow stretches (some from PT, some old dance warm-up stretches ) I’d say I’m back to pre-surgery flexibility. One thing I want to note - unlike you, I had a BMX and had no radiation. I am also not taking an AI drug (I’m much older than you, 63) - your signature doesn’t indicate you are either but I understand some experience stiffness and report yoga and/or some supplements help. Speaking of supplements, I do take turmeric, ginger, collagen, cal/mag/D, high dose vitamin C and B complex but that’s same as before my diagnosis early this year. Hope you are able to recover flexibility too

BCat40, I agree, there are a lot of surprises about lingering effects.

I had a BMX with sentinel node removal immediate expander placement so my situation was different from yours but my range of motion was severely restricted. My skin was very tight and my shoulder on the cancer side froze. It took many months before I could easily reach the top of my head with my non cancer side and two years later I still do not have full range of motion on the cancer side but have made significant improvement.

Any place you have surgery is never going to feel exactly the same again, it's just the way things are. I get twinges and tightness and "whoops, what the heck is that" all over my body from various surgeries I've had over the years. I had one node removed. If I'm laying in bed and stretch that arm up to put it under my head, I can feel the tightness sometimes. It goes away and it's not a big deal to me. It's life with scar tissue.

I had a BMX with one node removed. I was in P.T. for tennis elbow 6 weeks after surgery. They would not do any myofascial release due to my healing issues. They gave me some stretches to work on at home which helped a lot with the tightness and range of motion. I have my range of motion nearly 100% though the tightness, feeling of "wad of dollar bills" and some limits remain. I had cording too and still have some of that in my lower armpits and developed more in my diaphragm area. P.T. ended because my elbow is better.

I looked up myofascial release after mastectomy on YouTube. I did some of this myself, mostly on my right (non-node) side b/c I could tell I had some "misplaced" tissue. My p.t. was aware I was doing this. It helped my tightness tremendously tho some still remains - it feels a lot better though - the area of tightness is reduced for sure. I'm starting with a lymphedema therapist Tuesday due to ongoing cording issues. I'm hoping she may be able to help with some of the remaining tightness.

And.... the other ladies are correct - anytime your body is cut into there will be residuals - some likely will still improve over time. Nerves can regenerate up to a year later - even a little after that though most improvement occurs in the 1st year....

I ended up with three nodes removed but I agree that the tightness and loss of ROM is related to the surgery and especially radiation. I had surgery almost exactly when you did and then radiation in May. After radiation is when the muscle tightness really went into overdrive. I also developed some mild truncal lymphedema and I have also always had the "wad of dollar bills" feeling under my arm. (Such a perfect description!) So, I have now been seeing a certified LEPT who is also working on the tightness issue and I will say that after six weeks the difference is astounding and I am really pleased. She did also say that doing the stretches daily will be a long term, as in years, thing.

I had two removed. I went to PT cause I had some lymphadema. But I agree with the posting above. I’d go back to PT and search for a PT who specializes in breast cancer. That makes all the difference! PT with someone who’s pts are mainly if not all breast cancer pts makes a difference

Personally I am very grateful only one node was removed. I am very physically active, weight lifting, running, etc. Having just one instead of lots removed lessened my risk of lymphadema.

Trishla - great idea. I've been trying to stretch every day while I walk.

Hi, BCat40,

I had one node removed. I am two years post surgery and my armpit is still sore. Still struggling with edema on my breast on the opposite side from my surgeries. I had a biozorb put in and it still has not dissolved, so I am thinking it is from that. Who knows though. I think like Beclyn20 I should look into lymphatic massage.

Your pain, discomfort, twitches...will change, but this is normal.

Take care!

I had more than a couple removed but not (thankfully) as many as other here. It's been a year and a half since lumpectomy and SNB. I still have numbness in that armpit - definitely the wad of paper money feeling. I will say that I made a mistake of compensating for my BC arm by overdoing it with the other arm and ended up with a frozen shoulder (on the good arm) possibly due to mild rotator cuff tear. Still don't have a good ROM with that arm.

Totally agree with many others experiences here. For my first BC surgery I had a lumpectomy and two sentinel nodes removed. I got cording and breast lymphedema, and my body was never really quite the same. Although a SNLB might be better than an ALND, I think the impact of a SLNB is still underestimated by many people in the medical community.

I really hope that one day it will be feasible to leave all healthy lymph nodes alone. I remember seeing at least one clinical trial where lymph nodes were looked at with an MRI or other imaging, rather than a biopsy. Radiation can clean up micrometastasis in many instances, and has a lower risk of lymphedema than removing entire nodes. Anyway, I do not know the outcomes of those trials, but I definitely think this is an area that needs improvement.