Is it to be expected that your breast shrinks after rads?
I had WLE , chemo and rads, finishing a year ago. It now seems that my BC breast is firmer but smaller than my other one. Is this other people’s experience?
yes that has happened to me too! was looking in the mirror and its definately smaller, feels firmer too! i finished rads in Nov, but had the same as you WLE, chemo and rads, do you still get discomfort??
love debs xxx
I looked like I had had a breast lift on my left side after rads. It was very firm compared to the other one. I find now it’s largely back to normal, but I still get a slight redness and a slight swelling even though I’m 3 years down the line from rads.
Hi Topsymo
I finished rads six months ago, and my problem is the opposite to yours! My ‘bad’ boob is now bigger than my good one! Mentioned it to surgeon at a routine follow-up last week and she told me that the radiation has made the tissue swell. It’s also constantly tender especially near the tumour site. I had WLE on 1st June last year.
Good luck
She x
Hi, me too, i had 2 x WLE, 3 x FEC, 3 x TAX, 25 RADS and 18 x HERCEPTIN finishing Dec 08 and there is quite a difference in size. I have (had!!) quite big boobs and because of this (and natural sagging)the difference now after time ( it did’nt look too bad at first) is to me very noticable, i get around this by wearing old fashioned bras like the cross your heart type and adjust the straps on my bigger boob to give it extra lift. This has been getting me down more and more lately and i have decided on my next visit to the breast surgeon to ask what options i may have. Does anyone know if there is a time limit for any type of reconstruction after diagonosis. I sometimes wonder if i made the wrong decision having WLE and not Mast/Recon, i know it sounds miserable but i dread the summers now because i cant wear lovely fitted short/sleeveless tops without feeling embarassed (i have lymphoedema as well which adds to the problem )… MIZZY xx
Thanks for all your comments.
My breasts are small so I think I am ‘lucky’ that maybe the difference is not so marked- but wonder if it will get even more marked with time.
I have mild breast lymphoedema (despite the small size) and my underarm still FEELS numb and bulky to me-- and much bigger than it actually is. My BC breast is always warmer than the good one too. I have sort of resigned myself to the the fact that I will never feel ‘normal’ again after losing all my lymph nodes - but very few people ever seems to mention this on the forums so I thought maybe it was just me.
i had my surgery a year and a half ago,my arm is still numb and has thickend around the scar,my breast is swollen and still painfull,i thought i would be back to normal by now.
Hi All
I had two lts of surgery WLE and all lymp nodes removed last march and april My breats is still swollen and larger than the other. When i asked he onc he said it was normal after radiotherapy and would take a long time to go down. I dont mind just whis the other one was as firm lol. Its still very uncomfortable at times mostly when i’m tired. Marion
My mom is a 10 year bc survivor treated with rads and lumpectomy. She has suddenly noticed her treated breast has shrunk in size. She had a normal mammo last week. Any ideas why this would happen 10 years later??