continued tenderness after surgery

madsters1
madsters1 Member Posts: 120
in Breast Cancer #1
Hi all, Hope you're all doing well and hanging in there. I have a question for ya. I had a lumpectomy in Sept '11. I am still having tenderness at the incision site. It isn't anything I can't live with, but my mammogram is coming up and there's no way I could stand the pain of being squeezed that hard. Is this normal to have tenderness this far out? It hurts for me to apply pressure. Should I mention it to the docs?

Comments

  • Margeaux
    Margeaux Member Posts: 84
    #2
    continued pain
    Yes, I do think you need to mention this pain to the docs. I have had a lumpectomy and lymph node removal May 2010. The breast is still tender, quite hard and sometimes, depending on how I move, the whole breast cramps painfully. On top of it I have chronic pain from lymph node removal (trauma to the nerves) and I am on Lyrica to keep the pain at a manageable level. Like you I fear every mammogram, I have had 2 so far. My last one was the new 3D in addition to the regular 2D, it is all done by the same machine at the same time and doesn't seem to last any longer than regular mammogram. The good tech squeezed the daylights out of me, also had me twist around to get under the axilla. It was painful and my owwww didn't keep her from giving it another twist, but, we are big girls and have been through so much more, that's what I kept telling myself! I also took a couple of Tylenol 1 hr. before. Hang in there!
    Margeaux
  • epark
    epark Member Posts: 339
    #3
    Margeaux said:

    continued pain
    Yes, I do think you need to mention this pain to the docs. I have had a lumpectomy and lymph node removal May 2010. The breast is still tender, quite hard and sometimes, depending on how I move, the whole breast cramps painfully. On top of it I have chronic pain from lymph node removal (trauma to the nerves) and I am on Lyrica to keep the pain at a manageable level. Like you I fear every mammogram, I have had 2 so far. My last one was the new 3D in addition to the regular 2D, it is all done by the same machine at the same time and doesn't seem to last any longer than regular mammogram. The good tech squeezed the daylights out of me, also had me twist around to get under the axilla. It was painful and my owwww didn't keep her from giving it another twist, but, we are big girls and have been through so much more, that's what I kept telling myself! I also took a couple of Tylenol 1 hr. before. Hang in there!
    Margeaux

    I had a lumpectomy on July
    I had a lumpectomy on July 20 2011 and just recently my incision and the area where the tumor was is sore ...I can feel the scar tissue In that area however just recently my doctor felt a nodule and she is sending me for a breast MRI....Im praying it's nothing but is scary...I would definitely tell your doctor so they can check it

    Take care and god bless
    Eva
  • diansmith
    diansmith Member Posts: 25
    #4
    epark said:

    I had a lumpectomy on July
    I had a lumpectomy on July 20 2011 and just recently my incision and the area where the tumor was is sore ...I can feel the scar tissue In that area however just recently my doctor felt a nodule and she is sending me for a breast MRI....Im praying it's nothing but is scary...I would definitely tell your doctor so they can check it

    Take care and god bless
    Eva

    hope nothing there
    I just had lumpectomy 2 weeks ago, thanks for the info, i don;t have to worry if 6 months from know I still feel the pain and i will take tylenol for the next mammo.

    For Eva, hope nothing serious with you, Will pray for you
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #5
    I would let your breast
    I would let your breast surgeon take a look at it. Sometimes absorbable sutures are not absorbed by the body and can cause problems or sometimes you can have a little infection. Anyway, there is no sense in guessing--you need to be checked!
  • Melaniedoingwell
    Melaniedoingwell Member Posts: 80
    #6
    continued tenderness after surgery
    In addition to the excellent advice given by other responders, you may have hypersensitivity of your nerve endings. My wonderful lymphedema specialist advised me that treatment of both hypersensitivity and hypo-sensitivity (lack of feeling) are the same; gentle (and I do mean gentle) stimulation by lightly stroking the area from right to left ideally with four different textures for 30 seconds each. For example, 30 seconds with your fingertips, 30 seconds with a feather, 30 seconds with a dry washcloth, 30 seconds with a damp washcloth. No extreme in sensation or temperature (avoid heat or ice). Do this several times a day. It will not instantly get better. It will, however, get better.

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