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10-15-2004, 07:51 PM

Hi Meg,
I had sternum and chest pain, and where the masectomy was, it hurt so bad & was progressing. My docs ran a chest x-ray with contrast and bone scan. Thanks to this boards input.

My scans all came back clean. Does it hurt to your chest wall? Mine felt like someone had burned me, very sensitive. My arm and hand were tingly and felt numb. My breast surgeon, looked at me (you aren't out as far as I was when this happened) and the way the rads were set up, the pain was right where the rads skimmed my skin. This is what I was told: That radiation peaks at about 3 months post completion. I had 30 rads and finished June 1st. This started in Aug/Sept.
My muscles were tightening up because of rads the scar tissue felt hard & sore. It was like a vacumn effect, that it was just sticking to my chest wall and I had to loosen them up. It just didn't seem right to have pain there 3 months later, as I had a good experience with rads, no blistering or anyting. I work out not in the physical sence( yoga, arobics, I live on a hobby farm built in 1912 with 15 acres, so there is always something that needs attention) I went to PT and she explained what muscles were involved and how the fingers of the muscle latch onto the ribs and is very painful, so I have been going to PT and the pain is so much better(almost gone) and my arm is not numb or tingly any more, somethimes it just feels heavy. That was my dx. This is something you may be want to talk to your rad onc about. Just an idea.

I thought for sure I had a recur and was going nuts, I looked up every symptom of mets to the lungs, site, bone etc, but I didn't feel I fell into any of the criteria. It ended up being real simple to treat. I would still have run all the tests just for peace of mind. Best of health to you, take care. k ps I am done with my yearly herc, in dec, i go in every 3 weeks also.

10-15-2004, 07:51 PM	#3
Kristen Guest Posts: n/a	Hi Meg, I had sternum and chest pain, and where the masectomy was, it hurt so bad & was progressing. My docs ran a chest x-ray with contrast and bone scan. Thanks to this boards input. My scans all came back clean. Does it hurt to your chest wall? Mine felt like someone had burned me, very sensitive. My arm and hand were tingly and felt numb. My breast surgeon, looked at me (you aren't out as far as I was when this happened) and the way the rads were set up, the pain was right where the rads skimmed my skin. This is what I was told: That radiation peaks at about 3 months post completion. I had 30 rads and finished June 1st. This started in Aug/Sept. My muscles were tightening up because of rads the scar tissue felt hard & sore. It was like a vacumn effect, that it was just sticking to my chest wall and I had to loosen them up. It just didn't seem right to have pain there 3 months later, as I had a good experience with rads, no blistering or anyting. I work out not in the physical sence( yoga, arobics, I live on a hobby farm built in 1912 with 15 acres, so there is always something that needs attention) I went to PT and she explained what muscles were involved and how the fingers of the muscle latch onto the ribs and is very painful, so I have been going to PT and the pain is so much better(almost gone) and my arm is not numb or tingly any more, somethimes it just feels heavy. That was my dx. This is something you may be want to talk to your rad onc about. Just an idea. I thought for sure I had a recur and was going nuts, I looked up every symptom of mets to the lungs, site, bone etc, but I didn't feel I fell into any of the criteria. It ended up being real simple to treat. I would still have run all the tests just for peace of mind. Best of health to you, take care. k ps I am done with my yearly herc, in dec, i go in every 3 weeks also.