I’m nearly 3 months post lumpectomy and have healed well, although I do still get the occasional twinge. My BCN said recently it’s to be expected as still fairly early days for internal repair, and my scar is on the higher part of my breast, not the main body.
Anyway, my main question is related to a bruised feeling on my rib bone directly underneath my affected breast. It’s not been there all the time since surgery, but does crop up every now and then. I’ve not had any further treatment following surgery as they managed to get a clear margin and removed all the tumour.
I did wonder if the pain is just down to gaining a bit of weight since surgery, you know, a heavier boob
I know the operation was successful but I do worry about anything slightly out of the ordinary now.
I did have radiotherapy too, so that was a difference to your treatment and I was never quite sure how much was from rt and how much from the surgery (as I had boosters with rt also). My tumour was high up, almost on the topmost edge of breast tissue on my chest, so high that getting it included in a mammo was incredibly hard. After the surgery, over the following months and infact two years, it was almost like as a section had been taken away the ‘weigh bearing’ of my chest of the breast mass needed to reform and change/adapt and meld with the scar tissue. This is hard to describe, but bear with me, I need to do some pointing and you aren’t here to see it LOL…
Where the section was removed the large dent gradually mostly filled in with goodness knows what, scar tissue and other ‘stuff’ but the tumour had been where the main breast weight seemed to be borne. A number of rib areas around where the tumour had been, it felt like directly on the bone and between the ribs, were really painful for the first year as if they were bruised but there was no bruising to see - if someone accidentally pressed me there it really hurt. Quite a few years later now I can see a long line of new ummmm, harder/firmer ligament type feeling stuff going to the rib area and the scar tissue is hardly felt at all… I can still slightly feel tenderness when pressing but barely anything.
So, I would say that if your BCN says its early days then for sure it is early days, I am presuming you have mentioned the bruised feeling and a manual exam has been done ? Scar tissue, the surgery trauma, cut nerves and then the process of the body in healing and finding a way to deal with the removed section of breast tissue certainly caused me the bruised feeling you refer to. I did mention mine in my first few follow-up appointments in that first year and it was felt and put down to ‘just one of those things that takes time in the healing process’.
I hope this helps a bit, but - if you find its getting worse and not better, or if you haven’t actually had someone do a manual check (which should be happening as you won’t be discharged from clinic checks yet) then never worry about asking something to double check for you.
I had a WLE and therapeutic mammoplasty almost nine weeks ago and just in the past week I have been experiencing just the type of pain you describe. My main scar is in the upper part of my breast so quite far from the rib that is tender but I guess nerve pain can travel a distance. I think it is nerve pain because it very similar to pain I occasionally get on the other side since having shingles fifteen years ago. That was diagnosed as post herpatic neuralgia a result of the nerve damage caused by shingles.
I haven’t had radiotherapy yet, start that on 19th December, great Christmas present! So it must be an after effect of surgery.
I hope your pain calms down soon but if it continues to bother do get it checked by your GP or breast care team if they are still willing to see you, I say that because mine just direct me to my GP if I have any problems.