breast pain after lumpectomy

mana1
mana1 Member Posts: 16
just 10 days after lumpectomy, my breast is still very sore and tender; which i expected.. but it feels like i have this very large, hard lump thing in my breast above the incision (the incision was around the top edge of my nipple) really hurty! i haven't been to my follow up appointment yet (it is not until november 8) ..but, it seems like i get more informative and accurate information here. does this seem normal?

Comments

  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    I don't know what it could
    I don't know what it could be, but, it could just be scar tissue. I know that happens a lot to the pink sisters. Try not to worry, but if you need to, call your surgeons office before November 8th and tell them. It might ease your mind.


    Hugs, Angie
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    Angie2U said:

    I don't know what it could
    I don't know what it could be, but, it could just be scar tissue. I know that happens a lot to the pink sisters. Try not to worry, but if you need to, call your surgeons office before November 8th and tell them. It might ease your mind.


    Hugs, Angie

    Was normal for me
    I had bilateral lumpectomies in 2009, scars in completely different places on each breast, and the areas around both scars were very lumpy and bumpy from scar tissue for about a year after the surgery. It took a long, long time for things to "feel right" again for me when I would do a breast self-exam.

    Since you already have an appointment with the surgeon on November 8th, I wouldn't worry about it -- but, as Angie said, if you want to ease your mind, you might want to call.

    Traci
  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    TraciInLA said:

    Was normal for me
    I had bilateral lumpectomies in 2009, scars in completely different places on each breast, and the areas around both scars were very lumpy and bumpy from scar tissue for about a year after the surgery. It took a long, long time for things to "feel right" again for me when I would do a breast self-exam.

    Since you already have an appointment with the surgeon on November 8th, I wouldn't worry about it -- but, as Angie said, if you want to ease your mind, you might want to call.

    Traci

    At least..
    Give your surgeon's office a call....they will be able to tell you if this is "normal".....I never experienced this after my lumpectomy...just some discomfort for about 7 days....I did have a hematoma after my core needle biopsy..

    Wishing you the best..
    Nancy
  • missrenee
    missrenee Member Posts: 2,136 Member
    MAJW said:

    At least..
    Give your surgeon's office a call....they will be able to tell you if this is "normal".....I never experienced this after my lumpectomy...just some discomfort for about 7 days....I did have a hematoma after my core needle biopsy..

    Wishing you the best..
    Nancy

    I'm 20 months post-op lumpectomy
    I developed a hematoma from the biopsy and then again from the lumpectomy. I'm left with a large (I would describe it as golf-ball sized, but flattened) hard mass at the surgical site which is a combo of scar tissue and left over hematoma. My surgeon says this is rare, but can happen and will probably never go away. It is painful and scary since mammo and u/s cannot penetrate it--it just shows up as a big black spot. MRIs will be in my future forever. Doing a self exam in that breast is almost worthless for that area. I will add that I had a very large area excised with a re-excision for clear margins. In retrospect I often wonder if a full mastectomy would have been better. My surgeon was adament that the lumpectomy was the way to go, but now I wonder if he thinks we should have done the mastectomy as well--he probably wouldn't admit it if I asked!

    Since your surgery is so recent, I'm thinking your changes are post-op and will clear. Glad you have your appointment to set your mind at ease. Best of luck.

    Hugs, Renee
  • Megan M
    Megan M Member Posts: 3,000
    MAJW said:

    At least..
    Give your surgeon's office a call....they will be able to tell you if this is "normal".....I never experienced this after my lumpectomy...just some discomfort for about 7 days....I did have a hematoma after my core needle biopsy..

    Wishing you the best..
    Nancy

    Please call your surgeons
    Please call your surgeons office and post so we know what you find out.


    Good luck,


    Megan
  • mana1
    mana1 Member Posts: 16
    missrenee said:

    I'm 20 months post-op lumpectomy
    I developed a hematoma from the biopsy and then again from the lumpectomy. I'm left with a large (I would describe it as golf-ball sized, but flattened) hard mass at the surgical site which is a combo of scar tissue and left over hematoma. My surgeon says this is rare, but can happen and will probably never go away. It is painful and scary since mammo and u/s cannot penetrate it--it just shows up as a big black spot. MRIs will be in my future forever. Doing a self exam in that breast is almost worthless for that area. I will add that I had a very large area excised with a re-excision for clear margins. In retrospect I often wonder if a full mastectomy would have been better. My surgeon was adament that the lumpectomy was the way to go, but now I wonder if he thinks we should have done the mastectomy as well--he probably wouldn't admit it if I asked!

    Since your surgery is so recent, I'm thinking your changes are post-op and will clear. Glad you have your appointment to set your mind at ease. Best of luck.

    Hugs, Renee

    thanks!
    for all your comments and concern... i did finally call, because my follow up appointment seems so far away (nov 8) renee, girl, your description of the size and shape is exactly what this is.. and the doctor said it was probably a hematoma, just as you said... but it does hurt... i'm thinking the pain is alot from the left over bruising, also. doctor said i didn't need to come in before nov 8, so i am hoping it will go down. can't imagine this thing becoming a permanent part of my breast.
  • Justice Avenger
    Justice Avenger Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2018 #8
    Breast Pain 10 years after lumpectomy. What could this be?

    I had a lumpectomy in 2008 for stage 1 breast cancer in my left breast.  I was 58 then.  10 years later - 2018, I have some stinging pain over the scar.  I know there were 6 or more metal staples put in my left breast to secure blood vessels.  I also had 2 Sentinel Lymph Nodes removed, in 2008, and that was clear.  I did NOT do any sorty of chemo nor radiation.

    Tell, me what could such pain now mean?  I have been under alot of stress since 2012.

    Thanks.

  • Abk
    Abk Member Posts: 11
    edited September 2018 #9
    a thought

    Hi, Justice! We are the same age so does that make us twins, lol? I had a lumpectomy almost 3 years ago, but I'm not a doctor. That said, I was wondering if the "clip" (whatever that is) that they put in as a marker and stays there permanently, might have moved a little and be affecting a nerve. You might want to have an ultra sound and see what's going on in there. At least, that's what I would do.

       Hope you feel better very soon!

    Fondly, Alison Kaufman