Pain under arm after having mastectomy and axillary sampling 1.5 years ago

Hi Daizy03

I see that you’ve joined the breast cancer forum. I hope you find this a supportive space.

I’m Eileen one of the Cancer Information Nurses working on the Macmillan support line.

I can appreciate it can be concerning when you have pain that continues long after completion of treatment. Some people can experience ongoing issues with pain for months or even years after surgery. This is usually caused by damage to nerve tissue at the time of surgery or by scar tissue formation following surgery. This could be what’s causing the pain you’re experiencing.

It’s important to discuss ongoing pain with your GP or treatment team at the hospital in order that they can assess your pain and look at options for managing it if it is interfering with activities in your daily life. If your pain is originating from damaged nerves, there are specific medications that can help relieve this.

I hope this information is helpful but please get back in touch by phone or email if you have any further questions.

Best wishes,

Eileen

Cancer Information Nurse Specialist

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or email us. 

Ref/ JL

Thank you so much for your reply Eileen.

The pain is not constantly there, it’s mainly when I press down on it. Does this also apply for this? 

thank you 

Hi Daisy03,

Thanks for getting back in touch. My name is Amy and I am one of Eileen's colleagues.

Nerve damage and scar tissue can cause long lasting and sometimes intermittent pain.

We would always recommend getting in touch with your GP and/or breast cancer team to let them know if you have any new/changing or ongoing symptoms. It’s difficult for us to assess the cause of symptoms on this platform as we cannot physically examine you and can’t access your NHS medical records.

We appreciate uncertainty after treatment can be difficult to cope with, especially when you have ongoing symptoms. If you think it would help, your welcome to give our support line a call and speak to one of the nurses.

I hope this helps.

Please don’t hesitate to get back in touch if you have any further questions.

Best wishes, 

Amy C, Cancer Information Nurse Specialist 

You can also speak with the Macmillan Support Line team of experts. Phone free on 0808 808 0000 (7 days a week, 8am-8pm) or send us an email. 

Ref: AC/LA