Acute pain during a mammogram

Thank you for writing in with your question to us at ask a nurse. My name is Gemma and I’m one of the Cancer Information Nurse Specialists here at the Macmillan support line.

I see you are a member of our life after cancer forum, I hope you are finding it a supportive place to visit.

I am sorry to read of your horrible experience with your most recent mammogram. It certainly does seem to have been particularly nasty, causing such sharp pain, with you feeling faint and vomiting. You are doing absolutely the right thing in telling your oncologist about it at your upcoming appointment though. This will allow them to assess you and hopefully provide you with reassurance.

While we are unable to assess what exactly happened last Friday to cause you these distressing symptoms, it is true that some people do find mammograms painful.  The level of discomfort or pain from a mammogram can be impacted by the skill of the radiologist, the size of your breasts, how much pressure is needed to get the image, and where the person might be in their menstrual cycle. If you are pre-menopausal it is advised to avoid the time of your period and the days leading up to it, where you might have increased breast tenderness. A study that looked into the question of “Do Mammograms Hurt” published in the journal of pain and symptom management back in 2003, concluded that the only predicting factor of pain during mammogram that they could establish was breast tenderness on the day of the procedure.

I notice from your bio that you recently moved to France.  As a UK based charity, we can only comment on the practices within the UK NHS, but as the skill of the radiologist could come into things, it may be worth requesting an experienced practitioner for future mammograms. Your oncology team should be able to tell you if this is something that is possible in France.

We hope that your oncologist is able to reassure you at your upcoming appointment. Do get back in touch if we can offer any support too.

Many thanks Gemma. I am 70 in December so no worries on the menopause  

My lumpectomy area (which was done in the UK) is still very sensitive and that was certainly the source of the pain. I think I was just unlucky this time but it has left me nervous about the next one. Karen 

Hi Karen, I know your post was over a year ago but it I've had the same problem. It is almost 2 years since my treatment ended - chemotherapy pre lumpectomy surgery followed by radiotherapy then a further course of chemo. Clear margins and so lymph node involvement. I had my 2nd mammogram last Friday, I had been experiencing breast pain for a number of weeks and when my breast was being compressed it was excruciating even though the pressure was not full on. I felt dreadful. Then the next vertical plates it was dreadful and my legs gave way. They got me onto a recliner chair and whilst I was retching I wasn't sick, it took a while for me to recover. They did my obs and all OK, I was allowed to go home. I have never experienced anything like it and as you say I am reluctant to have anymore, esas I have very dense breasts and I found my TNBC tumour 6 months after a clear mammogram. Did your breast pain clear up? I hope you are keeping well. Best wishes, Joan

Hello Joan, so sorry you had that experience. I am over 5 years clear so not had my next mammogram yet. I dread it to be honest. I am keeping really well here in Spain, grateful for getting through that cancer. Will be 71 next week