Should I be concerned about this breast pain?

Hello @kamra how frightened you must feel right now. I still get lumps and bumps and painful spots. My rule is this, if it is still there in two weeks, or gets any worse, I get it checked. I figure this is a two fold thing, it gives me grace to quit worrying over it because I have marked it on my calendar. If it is still there, I make an appointment, by the time appointment rolls around it might be gone (caffeine) or not. Then if the doctor says it is nothing, I am able to forget it, but if it requires testing and turns out to be something, then we found out early.
Is this your first scare since your diagnosis? How are feeling about this?

Yes, it is the first. Thank you for that good idea. I see my oncologist in December, so my plan is to wait for that appointment if it doesn't get worse. I'm glad to know that this may not be too unusual. I keep wondering what I've done to cause the pain--caffeine? exercise? carrying something heavy? But I hope that it's just natural and nothing to worry too much about. How long ago was your surgery?

Is the lymphedema on the same side as the pain? I had a unilateral mastectomy five years ago and have lymphedema on that side. Periodically I get sharp pains in my arm pit. My lymphedema therapist told me that when we use the lymphedemetous arm we are using far more energy than we expend using our other arm because it is filled with fluid. I think picking up something heavy (and it doesn't have to be that heavy.) can cause pain on that side if that's the side you are getting the pain. Another thought is I don't know how deep the tumor was. For me the surgeon had to go through several layers of nerves. I sometimes get shock like pain. It's fleeting. Nerves heal very slowly. My oncologist said it is very common and unfortunately it doesn't completely go away. If it doesn't get worse, December isn't that far off. Be sure to ask your oncologist.

Today is a year since my biopsy. I did surgery in November lumpectomy and 3 nodes removed, did 23 rounds of radiation in December/January. I have tenderness and tightness where they removed the nodes. I stretch them and get massage done. Next month I will be doing my 1 year check up. I hope this helps…

It is 20 years this year for me since my first lumpectomy. I have had a few excision biopsies, and a few that were scares with nothing. The reality is I spent the first five years panicked because I had an aggressive cancer. The good news is that my doctors are pretty patient with my fears and I document when I find something so that if I do go in and show it to them, I can say when I first noticed it.
I can say that pain isn’t really an indicator of wether it is cancer or not. They say breast cancer doesn’t hurt, but mine definitely did. A few lumps later I can say some did, and some didn’t.
Unless we have a mastectomy, we are just as likely to get the same lumps and bumps as other women, we just have to be more diligent about them.
Did you get caffeine lumps prior to BC?

Wow. 20 years. Congratulations! And thanks for the perspective. I will definitely be thinking about it every time there is something off or weird, and I will be more diligent than I have been about getting checked out. Yes, I have had sensitivity to caffeine a few times, and I have had cysts that were aspirated prior to BC. I remember two and I had them checked because they were tender. I can't feel a cyst now--but it is tender. Thanks!

Thank you! Yes, it is on the lymphedema side, and what you say makes sense. I did carry a lot (including a kitchen stool) quite far in our yard right before this happened, so it is possible that that caused it. My tumor was not deep and almost in the cleavage area. This pain is closer to lymph node removal, I would think. But good perspective. Thanks. I hope your lymphedema is under control. How are you doing with it?

Thank you. I know that feeling. It took about a year to forget about the tightness and tenderness. That was May for me. I'd been happily going along, doing yoga and weights and not thinking about it too much. So the pain was a surprise, but a reminder that we went through something traumatic to our bodies. Thank you, and hope you'll feel better and better.

Could it also be related to your radiation treatments? My lumpectomy and lymph node removal for small stage 1 was almost three years ago and radiation was Feb 2022. I have a tender spot when I press on it just below my armpit around the point where they marked me for radiation. At my recent mammogram I gasped when they squeezed the area because of the pain. The doctor can feel some dense tissue but not sure if it’s radiation or lymphedema related. My mammograms have all been clear. From what I’ve read the pain may just be something that takes time to go away or may never go away. Just keep doing the stretching and massaging.

I had stage 1 cancer in left breast and have lymphedema as a result of radiation. I keep it under control with diet and exercise, but very often have pain. I believe it is directly related to lymphedema. I continue to follow everything doctors and physical therapists recommend and with regular checkups assume if there is a problem it will be caught early. I know all our journeys are different, but hope this eases your concern. Prayers for all of us.