Chest pain again

Hi again Davistori if your scan are remaining g clear then there could be something else….. I had a heart attack back in April 2022…. It came out of the blue….. I suggest you get this checked out.

It’s more of a nerve pain type of feeling it’s not frequent it happens for a little and then goes away. I had neuropathy a lot during chemo and I’ve told my drs about the pain and they say it could just be scarring and nerves. It’s sometimes dull but it has been happening since chemo. 

Ok….. I said what I said about my heart attack as the only sign was as though I had pulled a muscle in my neck and had some small pain across my back…… we were on holiday at the time and this went on for a few days…. We got home and within an hour the pain went into my chest.

I was looking back your other posts and we have chatted before about this type of pain. I still have scarring and nerve damage and I am 8 years 9 months out from my last treatments for my type of Lymphoma. 

But the pain in now more ‘just there’ and I have learned to live through it and does not stop me getting on with life….… in the early years the pain was bad so I was on high levels of pain meds but I went to a circuits group at our local Maggie's Centre  the instructor set us all exercises to help our ‘issues’ both to do at the group but also at home…. Even got my own resistance bands….. and slowly the pains started to go….. 18 months in I asked my GP to take my pain meds off my repeat prescription.

Thanks for replying. I’m sure I will learn to deal with the pain. It just freaks me out sometimes. I’m only 23 so I try not to think of worst health case scenarios but I’m sure it is just the “normal pains” my oncologist said I will just have in life. Thanks again for always replying! 

Hi Davistori,

I'll be 2 years in remission this December after receiving my HL diagnosis in 2022.

I don't have much to add, but I just wanted to say that I have also experienced these abnormal chest and armpit pains, also I occasionally get itchy armpits too. Obviously it's near impossible not to jump to conclusions, and in the months post-diagnosis, I transformed into a complete hypochondriac. I see my consultant every four months and they have 0 concerns about me, I've had some post treatment PET-CT scans to try and investigate the pains, all normal and no signs of recurrence.

I had an 11cm lymph node in my mediastinal area which was biopsied under general anaesthetic back in 2022. The pain does come from the area of the biopsy. My consultant suggested that sometimes changes in weather, temperature, pressures can cause some type of neuralgic pain. Also, as our brains automatically assume the worst case scenario, we can massively exacerbate these pains through anxiety. The pain was so bad once, I was convinced there was a mass in my chest again, my girlfriend made me go to the hospital and a chest xray revealed a perfectly normal chest space. As soon as I heard it was normal the pain vanished entirely. 

In the months after learning I was in remission, I also got into the unhealthy habit of feeling my raised nodes every single day. Since stopping this and setting myself a 'one a month' feel, where I check for lumps and bumps all over my body, I've been much more at ease and the chest pain is rare nowadays. 

I don't have specific advice or guidance for you. But I just wanted you to know you are not alone in experiencing these pains. After going through a cancer diagnosis it's hard to trust your body anymore. Trust your instincts though and look how far you've come. 

Take care! 

To read all your messages is helping me a lot. I finished my abvd in May and radiotherapy in July, my scan was cleared, but I also still feel pain in my chest. I went to my doctor appointment yesterday and he confirmed he could feel a raised rib (as I was complaining with him) but he didn't want to send me for a scan, I had blood tests and the results were fine. Every time I feel something I immediately mentally end up in the worst case scenario. 

Thank you! It is still occasionally on and off but my last CT scan was good. I appreciate the response and hope you are doing well !!

This is a great news! I am very happy for you

Hi, I’m glad to hear. It’s so hard to navigate after. I still get pain to this day! I had a clear ct scan and June still and my armpit where my main tumor was still has twinges. My chest will occasionally get sharp pains as well. It’s almost been 3 years since I finished chemo and ig it’s just the pain we can get sometimes. Hope all is well and wish you a speedy recovery. I still occasionally go into the extreme worry but the longer out you get the percentage of it coming back becomes less likely. God bless!

I finished chemo last July . Last pet scan in Sept and was told I was "golden" by the Consultant. No sign of cancer. I have a little swelling under my arm which was the primary site of the cancer and 4 other secondary cancer sites . I get pains where all the areas that had cancer and itching of my skin. I am reassured reading your posts that I am not the only one . Bloods Monday and  the Consultant the following Monday for my review. Hope to get reassured. Bless you all and keep well xx