Bright red swollen breast since lumpectomy

I had a similar problem. Breast is light red and swollen. I saw a physical therapisr last week. She showed me how to massage the breast to dispurse
the fluid. Also to wear a bra 6-12 hrs. a day (I hadn’t been wearing one). I’ll also wear it at night. I hope the massage and bra will take care of it. Best of luck to you. Sounds like we neede patience with this,

Thanks, I hadn't realised the removal of the cancer didn't mean all problems were over. Has given me more understanding and compassion for those in remission

I went through this in 2024...can't recommend the Physical Therapy/massage enough as well as wearing a bra to bed for awhile. Walmart has some buttery soft Fruit of the Looms that are stretchy and super comfortable while offering some mild compression while you sleep. Stay the course, you will get there!

Yes, I’ve experienced mild breast lymphedema. I second the recommendations of lymphatic massage and a tight bra. I wear a snug (not uncomfortably tight) bra 24/7. There are inserts called Swell Spots that you can tuck in your bra for additional help with lymphedema; I absolutely, 100% recommend this. It’s the easiest, most passive treatment and it makes a huge difference! I never even bought an official Swell Spot; my physical therapist made a DIY version using small pieces of soft foam encased in medical tape. I’d just replace when it got a little grungy. Another big help is light exercise. I found a class at a cancer support center near me; the class is called Healthy Steps and it uses the Lebed Method. If you can’t find it or attend a class in person, you can find the exercises online. It’s not at all strenuous or complicated, and is wonderfully helpful.
My breast lymphedema began about a month after my lumpectomy and sentinel lymph node biopsy. We started treating it immediately in all the ways I mentioned, and after a year, it disappeared, thankfully! I do still wear a snug bra, even to bed, out of preference.
Having said all that, I did have swelling and redness at my SLNB incision site. For some reason, no one thought it was infection and it got progressively worse. I finally said, I don’t care if you don’t believe it’s infection, give me some antibiotics and I’ll prove it! I was right. So maybe ask if you might have an infection. I didn’t think redness was a symptom of lymphedema. My lymphedema presented as swelling of the breast, especially at the bottom, with the typical dimpled, orange peel skin. It was never painful, but my breast felt kind of full or heavy. Almost like when you’re nursing. Even though quite a large tumor was removed, the cancer breast was visibly larger than the unaffected one. Now that the lymphedema has resolved, it’s a little smaller and misshapen exactly as you’d expect from my surgery.
Anyway, I know I’m long-winded. But have hope! The treatment methods I talked about are really so easy, which is such a relief when we go through so much with breast cancer that is hard. Good luck!

Thanks you have described my exact symptoms and I shall follow your advice. I have some inserts that I could use for the swell spots.

My breast was also red and enlarged, but not with just fluid I guess. The doctor said the way to tell if there was a fluid accumulation was to use a syringe to draw off fluid - but there was none there. This was 3 months post lumpectomy and about 6 weeks after radiation (no redness at the time of radiation). It was red in the inner lower area, my lumpectomy was on the opposite side on the lower outer area. I did not have whole breast radiation.
I wore the surgical bra 24/7 for 3 months, then wore a soft but supportive sports bra all the time.

I sent a photo of my breast to the cancer center through MyChart. I think everyone everywhere has probably seen my breast, but I’m 70, not like anyone will want that photo! I live over 3 hours from the center - I’ve sent multiple photos over the first 18 months. They seemed to really appreciate the ability to see what I was trying to explain with words.

They said to make sure there was mild compression on that area. But I finally figured out the redness was worse with compression, and would go away when I went without the bra for a while. My regular local doctor looked at it and said there was no infection, and didn’t think there was fluid build up.
My theory - my vascular system was disrupted with the surgery (I also had a mastoplexy at the same time - so lots of rearranging of the tissue) and the compression brought blood to the surface just like it does on any other part of the body (pre-bruise). So I stopped adding compression. And it went away in about a month.

I've been wearing surgical preshaped bras during the day but they are
uncomfortable to sleep in so have ordered some light cotton ones for night
time. I agree the flushing of the breast looks like inflammation and is hot
to the touch and very tender but 3 doctors have assured me it is not an
infection. The blood just seems to come to the surface, probably because of
all the cutting and pokimg around inside. I've never had so many photos of
my breasts taken in all my 79 years!

@shirls45 You are so right on the number of breast pics. We actually took weekly photos at home, just because I wanted to be able to accurately say what had been happening if/when something changed that was a real problem. It was helpful to remind myself that I wasn’t crazy - that the breast had been red that long, big that long, sutures a bit thick in a few areas.
I just started PT to work on breaking up some of the internal scars. I should have done it sooner, it hurt a fair bit, but was also soothing at the end of the session. I had to request a PT prescription. They had mentioned doing light self massage before - but it’s really different to have a skilled person do it.

Hi,
I recommended the wrong bra from Walmart - it is a Maidenform pullover, link below.
And I ditto what the others have said 🙂
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Maidenform-M-Women-s-Seamless-Scoop-Crop-Bralette/3018094268?classType=VARIANT&from=/search

Thanks I really need to learn to do it right instead of kneading it like bread dough!