Hi JoJo68,

Welcome to Cancer Chat. I can see you have also posted your question in the 'Ask the Nurses' section of the forum and received a reply from one of our nurses, so I hope that this has been helpful.

I hope that the pain eases soon.

Wishing you all the best,

Ben
Cancer Chat Moderator

I have exactly the same symptoms after a lumpectomy in May followed by radiotherapy. There is a good explanation on the forum of Breast Cancer Now in reply to a post "ongoing pain after breast surgery, lymphnode removal or radiotherapy". I also have pain around the scar where all the lymph nodes were removed. I hope this article will put your mind at rest.

My wife is nearing 3 years out from exactly the same treatment and she was at hospital getting a check-up because of her pain. This is the 4th time this has happened and it's always better to get it checked out just to be safe. But here's the issue, radiotherapy damages tissue and bone (usually the rib cage and breastbone) and can cause damage to the lungs. This commonly causes pain even years later. Scar tissue from both the radiotherapy and op can cause pain. Nerves are notoriously slow healers. When nerves begin to get sensation back, they can cause pain, tingling etc etc. This is usually temporary, but sometimes it can be permanent. Pain can also be caused by a collapsed boob.

My wife has had 4 ops thus far during her breast reconstruction as they remove fat cells from her thighs, and put it into her boob. But a lot of those fat cells die a few months, and she will need ops until her boob is filled properly. But until they have reached that point, her boob keeps collapsing until they fill it again. Some of those cells remain, so each time she gets it refilled, the next op is more minor until they no longer need to do it.

My point, your treatment is probably the cause of the pain. But always touch base with your gp or treating hospital team just to double check.

Thank yo so much for your message , my heart goes out to your wife after numerous surgeries. I will take on board everything you have said and probably get it checked, or at least talk it through with my breast cancer nurse , thankfully I wont have to go through my GP and go to them directly.  I will have a mammogram every year from now on  Thank you once again and regards to your wife. JoJo 

wow I had mine in May and radiotherapy in June. The shooting pain is one thing( nerves ) but sometimes I cant wear a bra as the pain is so debilitating.   I am going for a bra fitting on Sunday as the one I wear now may be an added issue.. Thank you  so much & Take care x

Things that people don't really tell you post cancer treatment is about the pain that can happen, even months and years after the event and the lumps and bumps you may find afterwards. My wife has found two lumps in those 2 and 3/4 years and 1 was scar tissue and the other was an oil cyst that was caused by the radiotherapy.

Not knocking anyone when i say this because we too went into this journey with this mindset, but a cancer diagnosis doesn't end when treatment ends. It remains with you for the rest of your life. Every niggle, every lump and bump is a jolt to your system. It will be your new normal. It goes without saying, should you ever find something near or close to the original cancer site always get it checked, but lumps are pretty common, so whilst you will worry, don't go having yourself dead and buried. Nor are you wasting their time or overreacting as and when these things crop up. There's nothing better than leaving the hospital being told it's nothing. The doctors are more than happy to tell people it's nothing to worry about.

HI I had my surgery in May and Radiotherapy in June. Sharp shooting pain is one thing but sometimes the pain is debilitating. I am going for a bra fitting on Sunday and see  if that helps the issue. I check myself every morning ( as I found the lump last time) and cant find anything too worrying. . I will check  in with my Cancer nurse , to confirm this  is to be expected 5 months on. Thank you so much for the information. Take care and look after yourself x Kind regards JoJo