Hello Ladies,
just wanted to ask a quick question.
Last year i had WLE/SNB…x6 Fec…RT Mastectomy…more surgery for Heamatoma… 20 sessions of rads…
Ive had yearly mammagrame and all is clear, yippieee…
BUT
My i get aches and pains in my neck and shoulders, escpecially at night time, i really struggle to hold my hands togther behind my back, and still have tightness over scar area, these are all little things they are really getting me down,
ive returned to work last night on phased hours which im happy about but is this all ‘normal’ and am i expecting to much to soon,
thankyou ladies i look forward to hearing your replies and experiences,
Take care
Donna
x
Plus I still have some seroma,
Is there any other mastectomy ladies having the same problems ?
Thankyou
Donna xx
Hi Donna
Remember meeting up in the Bull Ring with SCACO last year? I’m so glad to hear the mammo was clear.
I only had WLE and axillary clearance, but I still have some seroma and the axillary scar is tight compared to the surrounding seroma. What fun! I’ve noticed that both my arms are a bit weak (PICC in the other), so I’m trying to stretch and to build up strength. The oncologist I saw for the most recent check up said to keep stretching that area to counteract the tendency of scars to shrink. It’s a lot easier to do this for an axillary scar than a mastectomy scar, I’m sure. Are you entitled to physio?
Disturbed sleep is still one of the main problems for me; Arimidex has increased the post-menopausal symptoms I had anyhow (aside from weight gain, thank goodness)such as hot flushes and joint pain. But it’s tolerable, if a nuisance. I’ve gone back to wearing a soft old bra at night and tucking a cushion under my arm.
Have you ever visited the Cancer Support Centre in Sutton Coldfield? Besides the various therapies they offer, they also have some exercise classes, I believe. It should be worthwhile having a look and possibly booking an assessment session.
Both my surgeon and oncologist have explained that intervention would involve too much risk for only possible benefits, so I’m trying to persuade myself that really I’m lucky that none of it is serious enough (however miserable at times) to require intervention. They confirmed that chemo (mine post surgery) and rads tend to delay healing and that there is still some time to go before I’m going to be back to normal, having had an easier time and less drastic treatment than you have.
Best wishes
Cheryl
Hi Donna
you haven’t mentioned whether or not you did any exercises after your ops? I was given a lot of BCC info at diagnosis - including their exercise leaflet and then I ordered the DVD and did my exercises to the point of obsession probably!
So if it might be worth looking at that as a starter if you are not already exercising/stretching.
I had neck & shoulder problems pre diagnosis - due to bad posture at pc and carrying heavy work bags. I found correcting the cause and doing basic stretches/exercises (e.g. shoulder shrugs) put me right but I would always lapse due to bad habits. So it could be work related too.