Chest pains

[Janet M]

Hi Everyone
A few months ago i asked if anyone else had had some chest symptoms like mine where i was slightly short of breath and my lungs (rib area) felt as though i was wearing clothes that were too tight. A few responded by saying that they had had similar but that it had gone away after a few months and no one knew what it was. I must admit the sensation has lessened but i now have what i would describe as central chest pain and it feels like a burning sensation along my sternum (inside though). It comes and goes but for the last week or so it has been there every day. it will last for a few minutes to a few hours. If i didn't know better i would almost say it was like heart type chest pain. i suppose what i am really worried about is secondaries in the lungs. has anybody who does have lung secondaries ever had discomfort like i have described. I have an appointment to see my GP on Monday afternoon but i feel a bit of a woos because the pain is so vague. Janet M

[Lyn]

Hi there, firstly do you take a prescription antacid tablet? The symtoms you explain are the same I had during my first chemo, I was prescribed Zantac and when I told my onc at the time she should automatically give it out with chemo, she said, "I can't remember everything". since then I graduated to a stronger one, so I have been taking something every day since 1998 to combat that. The tightness I experienced was from nerve damage caused by mastectomy, mine felt like someone wrapped barb wire around my chest, trouble is now that the drug I was prescribed way back then for nerve damage is an anticonvulsant and impaired my Taxanes, hence I still have disease, but now forewarned with that one. Shortness of breath for me at first was fibrosis of the lung caused by radiation, next time I had Pericarditus which is when the sack your heart sits in, contracts like cling wrap and squeezes the heart. My actual heart failure caused by thyroid treatment was my lungs filled up with 5kilos of water and caused my heart to pump backwards, I didn't have pain, I just couldn't lie down if I wanted to breathe, that nearly killed me but I had another agenda, none of this was caused by Herceptin, in fact my left ventricle is functioning at 57% at the moment and I am having triple dose every three week, with my echos every 3 months. When I had heart failure and a scan was done of my chest the report said I had "Lung Mets" it was a good thing I had just had a tumour mark done and I knew better, it seems that the silver slivers appearing in the scan were actually fluid, but I still have a document saying I have lung mets and I don't, mine has always been in the breast tissue, lymph glands and skin. Hope this helps, but if in doubt hound your onc until you get your answer, worrying causes us more harm than good.

Love & Hugs Lyn

[*_Janet M_*]

Thanks Lyn
I don't take antacid and i haven't had chemo for two years. I'm not on herceptin either so i am at a bit of a loss to explain the symptoms. Hope my doctor can help on Monday. janet m

[vpfeiffer]

Janet--
Did you have radiation to the chest wall and/or internal mammary node areas? If so, could it be possible that the muscles that surround your lungs were affected? Just a thought; since you are post-treatment it sounds like, I doubt this is it, but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

good luck!
Val

[Bonnie T]

Hi
I also had that feeling for a while , about 3 months after radiation to chest wall,
but it went away after awhile I just assumed it was from radiation, but I am glad you are getting it checked since I don't know for sure what it was from.
Keep us posted
Bonnie T

[*_Janet M_*]

Hi
No i didn't have any radiation at all following surgery as i had a mastectomy. Janet

[Eccles]

Hi there, I have had three episodes of very similar chest pain and there is nothing in my recent history to explain it. There was also a sense of the pain radiating into the top of the shoulders and down the arms; classic heart attack type description. The whole thing is very uncomfortable and lasted up to 20 or 30 minutes, each episode longer.

So I can rule out new meds and radiation. The danger is that lazy GP's will be all too happy to try and attach it to something already in the notes rather than work it up properly from the beginning. It could be lungs and it could be heart. But don't let it drive you to kill someone because it is bad enough trying to stay on top of living with BC without having to do it from a cell. Bowdy

[al from canada]

Dear Janet,
You are doing the right thing: see a doctor. Don't self-medicate!!
Anti-acids can cause serious reactions with some meds, some blunting the effct of meds and some potentiating. You may have GERD but you need a doctor to diagnose this. If you question his competance with this, get a second opinion.
Good luck,
Al