Underarm soreness after radiation
Can anyone explain why I have more underarm pain post radiotherapy my surgeon says that rib pain is often a "pesky" problem but to me it's more than that & it's not just ribs its also under my armpit ...
Forum Discussion
I too have pain in the armpit and the area in front of it where all my lymph nodes were removed. I finished radiation in November last year. The area under my arm tends to fill with fluid too and has to be massaged to relieve it. I still have some swelling or thickening across the top of my chest where the breast was removed and it is painful at times and down my sternum is very painful to touch, usually okay if I don't touch it. The surgeon suggests it is from severed nerves after the mastectomy and says it is normal. The lymphodema physio suggests deep cording possibly with adhesions. The Oncologist suggests arthritis brought to a head by the Letrazole, yes, apparently arthritis in your chest is a thing? Who knew?
It took quite a few months for a bra to be comfortable, and some still hurt. I was told never to wear underwire due to my lympdodema issues. The most comfortable under my arm was the very wide compression bra the Lymphodema physio gave me, but it doesn't have a pocket for the prosthesis. Most bras I find come up too high in front of my arm and cause a lot of pain there even now, it is worse if I don't have the prosthesis in to help pull the bra away from the area.
I wore a piece of the cotton padding, that they used to dress my chest after radiation, under the edge of my bra for weeks after I began wearing a bra again. It helped a bit. Perhaps even a thick sanitary pad under the bra in the painful area might help until the pain eases.
It took quite a few months for a bra to be comfortable, and some still hurt. I was told never to wear underwire due to my lympdodema issues. The most comfortable under my arm was the very wide compression bra the Lymphodema physio gave me, but it doesn't have a pocket for the prosthesis. Most bras I find come up too high in front of my arm and cause a lot of pain there even now, it is worse if I don't have the prosthesis in to help pull the bra away from the area.
I wore a piece of the cotton padding, that they used to dress my chest after radiation, under the edge of my bra for weeks after I began wearing a bra again. It helped a bit. Perhaps even a thick sanitary pad under the bra in the painful area might help until the pain eases.