Pain after lobectomy (lung cancer) surgery: When will it go away?

@magwriter the first thing I do when I get to the gym if I do my core, then I go into the weight room and I do weights then I do the stairmaster and the treadmill and it has strengthen my body a lot and the pain is subsiding. But I know people that had the same surgery and they do a lot of walking and that has helped them a lot also

@allstaff
I had lower left lobe removed July,2024 and still have pain....sometimes stinging,sometimes stabbing and burning pain. It's especially awful when I cough,sneeze or am breathing hard. My oncologist thinks it's a nerve wrapped in scar tissue. After 2 unsuccessful nerve block procedures, I have been told I must live with it. My oncologist says he currently has 3 patients with the same symptoms.
I hope your pain gets better. Sending hugs..
Holly

Agree about the bra. It's been. 2years and still have hard time wearing regular bra. Now sports bra

@benicia yes u do have to live with the discomfort and be thankful. I do stretch class twice a week and walk daily. This does help.

Thank u for this reply. I am going to try the patches.

@jerri0
I have a question, I have not seen the surgeon since surgery on June 24 2025 but do you think I should wait before I start stretching my arms as in working out with the rowing machine

@victoriaa when I had my surgery eight years ago a month later I saw the surgeon he told me don’t do any weights just walk so that’s what I did then I saw him two months later and then he said I could start doing weights but light work gradually working up to heavy weights again. So it’s been a while that would be up to you, but if it was me, I would do the rowing machine

I walked and after seeing my surgeon I asked him what to do.

@victoriaa -I understand your desire to get back to moving and doing things, but you have only been out from surgery about 11 -12 weeks. For that kind of surgery, a lot went on in your insides. I don’t think it’s a good idea, yet, to go on a rowing machine. You really need to check with your surgeon first! Do you have a check up coming up soon? I only say this because I had VATS Left upper lung segmentectomy, and I was told not to do any kind of exercise or heavy lifting for months. I was told I could injure the healing going on inside. The outside was good but inside takes longer. Very slow easy stretching and walking are the best for at least the first few to six months. If you think you need more than walk farther at a faster pace, and do longer sessions of stretching. If you injure the inside, while it is still healing, it will be an even longer and painful recovery. Please check with your surgeon first! 🙏

My Lung surgery was for a pleuradesis and the used the robotic surgery. I'm the process an intercostal nerve (runs along rib) was damaged. It felt like wearing a bra 3x too small or like my ribs were caught in a vise grip.

The doctor managing my pain put me on gabapentin. It helped but the dosage was strong and made me sleepy. We tapered it down to 200mg/day from 270mg and I only used it during waking hours.

Also, I found a bra that was comfortable and held the girls still. It has a soft wide band at the bottom, wide straps, closes in front with 9 hook and eyes. It's made by Fruit of the Loom. Alternatively, shop for one with better support at a store that has a fitter that specializes in mastectomy bras.

It's been a few years now since pain stopped bothering me. The surgery was in 2011.