Axillary Clearance - Pain and Numbness

1 minute read time.

I had an axillary clearance - nodes out under right armpit - on 8th April, following a WLE/SNB on 14th March where 2 of the 3 nodes taken out for biopsy were flecked with cancer.  It's now a week and two days later and my right arm feels like it is being gripped by Edward Scissorhands and I have this twitching burning feeling every so often that really hurts.  I am back taking the cocodomol for pain relief to try and take the edge off of it, and I am just hoping that it gets better and doesn't stay like this forever!

Two weeks more to wait for the results of the node clearance and it drives me crazy at times - of course I'm hoping that the results will be completely negative but the silly thing is then all of this pain will be 'for nothing' won't it?  Still, I have slowly come round to the idea that actually I am willing to go through anything to stay alive for as long as I possibly can and when I read about some of the people on this site who have so much worse to go through, it humbles me into survival mode.

Much love to everyone going through this x

Anonymous
  • My arm is painful too after total node clearance. 15 days post op, results in 15 days. My breast is very lumpy where the mass was removed. The arm exercises particularly in the upward position are hard. My other arm helps to pull it up. It's resistant to straightening. How long does it take it to get better or does it always remain a bit contracted? It's not as painful as it was. The nipple is annoying me, there is an incision line around it. 

  • Pressed the button too early. I'm not good at waiting. Now worried a bit about Covid as well, I went to a small gathering and someone has come down with it. I have been hiding away a bit. Being in pain and trying to do the exercises is hard, I feel lazy still trying to walk daily when I can.