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Postoperative pain and pain after irradiation
Postoperative pain and pain after irradiation
The cause of pain in breast cancer can be not only the tumor, but also:
Surgery.
Radiation therapy.
Chemotherapy.
The recovery period.
Changes in the noncancerous breast origin.
Postoperative pain
Pain after surgery is not so terrible, but it might bother and disturb the patient. This pain is usually associated with the fact that when the incision of soft tissue damaged by small nerve fibers. This leads to the fact that in this area increases the sensitivity. Tissue swelling after surgery - is also one of the reasons for this pain. In addition, during surgery, the surgeon carries out various manipulations with the tissues, which also applied to additional trauma.
After a lumpectomy pain localized in the place of the removed tumor. The reasons for this are described above. Gradually, this pain goes away as the wound healing and repair of nerve fibers.
After axillary lymphadenectomy as indicated pain. It may worsen after exposure to radiation. When you remove the lymph nodes is disturbed lymph flow from the upper extremity. This leads to a known state - lymphedema.
Lymphedema - a swelling of the lymph tissue. In the soft tissue creates pressure, which is also the cause of pain in this area. Lymphedema may be constant, although there are special exercises that can help alleviate some of its severity.
Pain after lymphadenectomy has another source - a nerve plexus in the axillary region. When deleting nodes have to postpone these nerves, which causes them to further trauma. Therefore, in some cases, pain in the underarm area can last from several weeks to several months or even years. Simple painkillers (analgin, ibuprofen, etc.) are ineffective in this case and are usually used special preparations that affect the nervous tissue - is anticonvulsants and antidepressants.
Pain after mastectomy - removal of all breast cancer - can be combined with numbness and weakness in the arm and shoulder. In most cases, these symptoms are associated with trauma to soft tissues of their dissection, and stretching.
Pain after radiation exposure
Radiation can cause pain of varying intensity. Sometimes it is paroxysmal, and in some cases - significantly expressed. In most cases, this pain is expressed moderately and gradually goes away after radiation therapy. Why is radiation causes the pain?
Irritation of the nerves
The appearance of swelling around the scar tissue and the irradiated area,
The skin lesion (like a sunburn)
The friction of the skin irritated about each other (for example, irradiation of the axillary region).
Sometimes the infection.
Pain after radiation therapy are usually wears off after irradiation. Most of the pain goes away in the first year after treatment.
