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11-23-2006, 09:31 PM
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#1
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Posts: 1,014
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scar tissu..pain?
My breast where I had my lumpectomy and radiation has been hurting quite a bit lately. It has some pretty big lumps in it (and smaller ones too). It's been almost a year since my surgery. The nurse said it was probably just scar tissue, that it can cause pain and often attach itself to the muscles. I get my scans again next week, I guess the PET/CT would show if it was something else? Does anyone else have problems with scar tissue like this and what do you do for it. I am also getting a slight case of lympedema in that arm and am thinking that this may be effecting the breast also...sherryg683
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11-23-2006, 11:27 PM
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#2
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Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Southern, CA
Posts: 2,511
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Sherry, My friend has this same concern. She said its been a year now since her surgery & she has pain in her lumpectomy incision and what feels like *knots* in there. She said one knot is pretty large where the orignally tumor was. She is upset about it.
Her oncologist doesn't like the way it feels at all...yet her surgeon assures her that its very normal to feel like that. He says its just scar tissue. She has had scans and they all came back clean. She sees her radiologist next week so is going to get his opinon on this too.
It sounds like you and my friend are having the exact same problem. I have a feeling it is just the scar tissue building up after a year and causing problems. Not sure if this helps or not...but thought I would mention it since my friend just wrote me about this yesterday.
Hang in there.
Chelee
__________________
DX: 12-20-05 - Stage IIIA, Her2/Neu, 3+++,Er & Pr weakly positive, 5 of 16 pos nodes.
Rt. MRM on 1-3-06 -- No Rads due to compromised lungs.
Chemo started 2-7-06 -- TCH - - Finished 6-12-06
Finished yr of wkly herceptin 3-19-07
3-15-07 Lt side prophylactic simple mastectomy. -- Ooph 4-05-07
9-21-09 PET/CT "Recurrence" to Rt. axllia, Rt. femur, ilium. Possible Sacrum & liver? Now stage IV.
9-28-09 Loading dose of Herceptin & started Zometa
9-29-09 Power Port Placement
10-24-09 Mass 6.4 x 4.7 cm on Rt. femur head.
11-19-09 RT. Femur surgery - Rod placed
12-7-09 Navelbine added to Herceptin/Zometa.
3-23-10 Ten days of rads to RT femur. Completed.
4-05-10 Quit Navelbine--Herceptin/Zometa alone.
5-4-10 Appt. with Dr. Slamon to see what is next? Waiting on FISH results from femur biopsy.
Results to FISH was unsuccessful--this happens less then 2% of the time.
7-7-10 Recurrence to RT axilla again. Back to UCLA for options.
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11-24-2006, 08:43 AM
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#3
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Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Wilmington, Del.
Posts: 1,126
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I had a lumpectomy upper right breast one year ago. I get intermittent burning in the tumor surgery site. I have an ache under the arm at the sentinel node surgery site. Part of the pain may be from radiation. I have more lumpy scar tissue under my arm than in my breast. My mammogram was normal last week. My oncologist says it's scar tissue. MJO
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MJO
IDC, Stage I, Grade 2
Oncotype DX Score 32
Her2++ E+P+, Node Neg.
Lumpectomy 11/04/05 Clear Margins
3 Dose dense AC (Couldn't tolerate 4)
4 Dose dense Taxol & Herc. (Tolerated well)
36 weeks Herceptin (Could not complete one year due to decrease in MUGA score)
2 years of Arimidex, then three years of Femara
Finished Femara May 2011
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11-24-2006, 09:53 AM
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#4
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2001
Location: California's Gold Country
Posts: 404
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Sherry,
At almost ten years out I still have a few lumps and tenderness where I had my mastectomy. My ribs sometimes still feel a little sore under my scar area. I haven't had any scans for about 3 years, except brain MRI, because I don't want any more exposure to radiation. It is really hard to not worry about these things and trying to keep the right balance of staying vigilant, yet not letting it consume us. A good trick if you can do it, huh?! Kim
__________________
Diag. Feb 1997 4.5cm IDC <10%ER+, PR-. 5 out of 36 nodes +. Mastectomy followed by 3 rounds Adriamycin/Cytoxin.
5/1997 Hi Dose Chemo w/ Stem cell rescue. Spent 4 weeks in isolation ward. Then 6 weeks radiation.
9/2001 widespread mets to liver. 8 mos Taxotere/Herceptin brought me almost to NED. Stop Taxotere & add Femara .
11/2002 liver resection to remove spot that turned out to be necrosis. Officially NED!
7/2003 Tumor markers rising add Xeloda Disastrous reaction, 8 days hospital, but tumor markers came back to normal!
June -Dec 2004 UW Vaccine Trial.
7/2005 MRI single 11mm brain met
8/2005 Gamma Knife.
Brain MRI @3 months NED!
2006-2011 brain/body still NED
8/04/11 Taking Herceptin break, will monitor with tumor markers.
6/20/12 Tumor markers begin to rise. CA15-3 is 31.3 and Her2 Serum is at 17.1 Decide to repeat in one month.
7/23/12 CA15-3 now 49.3
Her2 Serum 26.8
8/6/12 Back on Herceptin
CA15-3 now 76
Her2 Serum now 49
11/7/12 Add weekly Taxotere for 4 cycles
2/2013 Stopped Taxotere added Perjeta. MRI shows approx. 50% reduction liver mets. CA15-3 still elevated @ 55. Will continue on just Herceptin & Perjeta.
November 2014 Continuing on Herceptin, Perjeta, and
Femara indefinitely. Guess I'm NED again, but watching those tumor markers carefully!
Dec. 2015 PET scan reveals mass in perirectal area of abdomen.biopsy confirms. Still Her2+, but no longer ER+. Bye bye Femara
Jan 2016 Begin Kadcyla
March 2016 PET scan shows tumor now barely visible, still NED everywhere else.
2016/2017 continue Kadcyla
November 2017 brain MRI reveals small focus of T2 hyperintensity with possible 4mm enhancing nodule. Short term follow up MRI suggested. Stay tuned...
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11-24-2006, 05:20 PM
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#5
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Stockton, NJ
Posts: 4,179
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Sherry
I get pain around my lumpectomy incision and underarm scar. I hate that because you suspect something is wrong when it is just the way the nerves grew back (not quite right). I spoke with my surgeon about it more than once and it is completely normal (although I don't know how tenderness is normal 2+ years out).
__________________
Kind regards
Becky
Found lump via BSE
Diagnosed 8/04 at age 45
1.9cm tumor, ER+PR-, Her2 3+(rt side)
2 micromets to sentinel node
Stage 2A
left 3mm DCIS - low grade ER+PR+Her2 neg
lumpectomies 9/7/04
4DD AC followed by 4 DD taxol
Used Leukine instead of Neulasta
35 rads on right side only
4/05 started Tamoxifen
Started Herceptin 4 months after last Taxol due to
trial results and 2005 ASCO meeting & recommendations
Oophorectomy 8/05
Started Arimidex 9/05
Finished Herceptin (16 months) 9/06
Arimidex Only
Prolia every 6 months for osteopenia
NED 18 years!
Said Christopher Robin to Pooh: "You must remember this: You're braver than you believe and stronger than you seem and smarter than you think"
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11-24-2006, 08:14 PM
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#6
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Senior Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Sheboygan, WI
Posts: 2,582
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I was happy to see this thread as I was wondering if mastectomy surgery can have lingering aches and pain around rib area etc. I had a right breast mastectomy (where tumor was) and that side feels fine. Perfectly really. A bit tender on the side where radiation really zapped my skin but other than that nothing. I had a left breast prophylatic (spelling?) mastectomy in March of 2006 and have sporadic aches/pain under that rib cage area - behind that area on back and often wondered if it was because of the the surgery. I'm thinking it is. I've had my onc. check that side each time and she says "You're fine." I do feel fine HOWEVER I hate that because it scares me from time to time. Then again, lot of things scare us from time to time now and I have a feeling it always will.
Life goes on I guess. Embrace it and make it count.
Mary Jo
__________________
"Be still and know that I am God." Psalm 46:10
Dx. 6/24/05 age 45 Right Breast IDC ER/PR. Neg., - Her2+++ RB Mast. - 7/28/05 - 4 cm. tumor Margins clear - 1 microscopic cell 1 sent. node No Vasucular Invasion 4 DD A/C - 4 DD Taxol & Herceptin 1 full year of Herceptin received every 3 weeks 28 rads prophylactic Mast. 3/2/06
17 Years NED
<>< Romans 8:28
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11-25-2006, 01:34 PM
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#7
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Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2005
Location: indianapolis, indiana
Posts: 1,544
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I've had intermittent pain and tenderness that both the onc and surgeon assure me is okay. It really gets worse when I've carried my seven month old granddaughter or do push-ups when I work out. I try not to do them very often. I had bronchitis a few weeks ago and the coughing really killed me. I was worried about cracking a rib since they say after radiation it's possible.
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11-26-2006, 06:39 AM
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#8
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Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: Central North Carolina, USA
Posts: 112
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I also have pain around my lumpectomy site. I will be one year on December 7<SUP>th</SUP> and I thought it was weird that I still have so much scar tissue and tenderness. Hard to tell if you have new lumps as it still feels so lumpy. The scar tissue is getting smaller. I had a 9 month Mamo in September and it was indeed just scar tissue. This thread has made me feel better.
__________________
DX 11/14/05, Stage 1C, Her2+ 3.4, ER+, PR+, K167 23%, Node Negative, MX0, Grade 3, 1.8CM, Lumpectomy 12/7/05; 6 rounds dense dose Taxol bi-weekly, 35 radiation, 1 year Herceptin, & Tamoxifen ongoing.
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11-26-2006, 07:24 PM
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#9
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Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: Mountains of Virginia
Posts: 2,267
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Following a staph infection almost one year after left mast with nodes disection, I have considerable scar tissue and am very "lumpy" from center of chest all the way under my arm. One area was so pronounced, my surgeon did a FNA to make sure nothing was there. I often have rib pain and quite a bit of pulling and burning from the scar tissue. Maybe if I get to have reconstruction, this problem can be addressed.
________
LIVE SEX WEBSHOWS
Last edited by sassy; 08-22-2011 at 08:58 AM..
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11-27-2006, 03:21 PM
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#10
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Location: Ireland
Posts: 3,463
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Itchy too!!
I also have some intermittent pain in my lumpectomy site and under my arm where the nodes were removed.
My surgery was 18 months ago and finished rads last April.
I sometimes get itchy there too and was told this was normal after rads but it is worrying.
Seems it's more common than I thought.
Tricia
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11-30-2006, 08:20 AM
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#11
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Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2005
Posts: 43
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God Bless You All! I had a left breast mastectomy eight years ago. I have tightness and pulling and sometimes is very uncomfortable under my arm and all along my scar.Under my arm is a puffy pocket of skin and I always check it. Petscans always talk about seeing the surgical clips that were left in. The doctor says it's scar tissue and the clips.Praise the Lord! This past week I spent three days in the hospital because my lympedema arm got a bad rash and swelled up and then I got a fever. I had a staph infection from rashes under my remaining breast, under my good arm and on my c-section scar.I'm having trouble getting rid of these rashes and I was very alarmed when the other arm got infected. But now it's all cleared up and I am still on the antibiotic. Merry Christmas! Cathy
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