scar tissu..pain?

[Sherryg683]

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

[Chelee]

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

[MJo]

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

[Kim in CA]

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

[Becky]

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).

[Mary Jo]

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

[juanita]

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.

[astrid]

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.

[sassy]

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.
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[tricia keegan]

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

[Cathy1]

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