Lymph Node Removal Pain

Hi I was diagnosed with breast cancer early December too and I'm booked in for the 19th January for a mastectomy reconstruction and lymph nodes removed. I've been told it's gonna be 8 weeks recovery time. I'm worried about the pain afterwards as I want to try and get back to normal as soon as I can as I have 2 children my youngest is 1. My partner is gonna be home for the full 8 weeks as his work have kindly offered him the time off but I know I'll be itching to do something 

Hi KMT

Welcome to the forum and sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with breast cancer.  It's perfectly normal to feel pain under your arm after a lymph node removal.  The pain didn't last very long and I was given painkillers to take if I needed to.

Wishing you the best of luck with whatever comes next for you.

Best wishes

Daisy53

Hi, I was diagnosed in September and had a mastectomy with reconstruction on one with a reduction on the other and some lymph’s taken just before Xmas. I am also conscious of a lot of pain under the armpit, in areas not directly related to the surgery. I asked my breast clinic nurse about and she said it was normal. She said to realistically expect pain in this area for about 6 weeks. She did check and the examined the area but said it appeared fine. She also recommended massaging the area with a flat palm. I have been doing this and the pain is easing. Good luck on your journey. Xx

Hi, I also had lumpectomy and sentinel node removal on 20th December and I was the same. The pain under and around armpit was far worse than on the breast. Week 2 post op was the worst for me. Its 3 weeks tomorrow since my op and I've felt much better the last few days and the pain has eased, just a bit sore now with numbness at back off arm/ armpit which I was advised was normal as the nerves amd tendons can get damaged during the op. Hope the pain eases for you soon and good luck with any future treatment. 

I’m having my lumpectomy and lymph node op this Thursday.  What is the best pain relief?  

Hi mine was a lumpectomy rather than a mastectomy so I've currently been signed off for two weeks. Good luck with the operation and hope you'll be running around after your children in no time.

Thank you this is reassuring I don't think I expected the pain to be quite so bad but think maybe I was being a little nieve!

Hi 

Thank you, I think I maybe just need to be a bit more patient and realise I'm not going to feel well for a little while yet.

Hi this is really helpful, it's just reassuring to know this is all very normal. It's good to speak to people who have been through it so thank you.

I was just the same. Wasn't expecting it to be so painful and to last so long, I'm just very impatient but thankfully it's m7ch easier nnow. I was alternating paracetamol with ibuprofen and that seemed to help. Hope the pain eases for you soon .