Some common side effects are discussed below. Talk to your treatment team about the best ways to deal with them.
Learn more about:
Fatigue
Cancer treatment and the emotional impact of the diagnosis can be tiring. Fatigue is common and may continue for weeks or months. Research shows that exercise during and after cancer treatment is safe and can help improve fatigue. Cancer Connect may be able to connect you with an exercise program near you – call 13 11 20.
You can also ask your GP if you are eligible for some Medicare-funded sessions with an exercise physiologist or a physiotherapist.
For more on this, see Fatigue and cancer and Exercise and cancer, or listen to our podcast on fatigue and watch our video on exercise below.
Learn more about managing side effects.
Shoulder stiffness
Arm and shoulder pain, weakness, stiffness and reduced movement are common after surgery and after radiation therapy. Ask your treatment team when you can start exercising your arm. A physiotherapist or exercise physiologist can show you exercises to reduce shoulder stiffness or pain. This may help prevent lymphoedema.
Learn more about arm and shoulder exercises after breast surgery.
Numbness and tingling
Surgery can bruise or injure nerves. You may feel numbness and tingling in the armpit, upper arm or chest area. You may also notice a loss of feeling in your breast or nipple.
These changes often improve within a few weeks but may take longer. Sometimes the numbness or tingling may not go away completely. A physiotherapist or occupational therapist can give you exercises that may help.
Seroma
Fluid may collect in or around the surgical scar and cause a balloon-like swelling. This is most common after a mastectomy. A seroma can also develop in the armpit after an ALND. The build-up of fluid can be uncomfortable but is not harmful.
Some breast care nurses, your specialist or GP, or a radiologist can drain the fluid using a fine needle and a syringe. This procedure is not painful, but it may need to be repeated over a few appointments.
Lymphoedema
Fluid building up in the tissue of the arm or breast may cause swelling after any lymph node surgery. It’s common to have some swelling of your arm or breast after surgery, but this usually settles in the weeks afterwards.
If this swelling builds up over weeks or months, this usually means you have lymphoedema. It can happen any time, even years after surgery (or radiation therapy) to the lymph nodes. See ways to prevent and manage the symptoms of lymphoedema.
Learn more about Lymphoedema
Post-mastectomy pain
It’s rare to have prolonged pain after a mastectomy but you may find the scar uncomfortable for some time. If pain or discomfort is ongoing, let your treatment team know.
Cording
Also known as axillary web syndrome, cording is caused by hardened lymph vessels. It feels like a tight cord running from your armpit down the inner arm, sometimes to the palm of your hand.
Learn about ways to manage cording.
McGrath Breast Care Nurses are registered nurses specifically trained to support people with breast cancer from the time of diagnosis and throughout treatment. There are more than 400 McGrath nurses across Australia. For more information, visit mcgrathfoundation.com.au.
→ READ MORE: Radiation therapy for breast cancer
Podcast: Managing Cancer Fatigue
Listen to more of our podcast for people affected by cancer
Video: Exercise and cancer
More resources
A/Prof Cindy Mak, Breast Surgeon and Director of Breast Services, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, NSW; A/Prof Nick Murray, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Royal Adelaide Hospital and GenesisCare Adelaide, SA; Caroline Bennett, Consumer; Tamara Casey, Clinical Nurse Consultant, Breast Assessment Unit, Fiona Stanley Hospital, WA; A/Prof Joe Dusseldorp, Reconstructive Plastic Surgeon, Chris O’Brien Lifehouse, NSW; Lauren Lores, Consumer; Dr Linda Madigan, Breast Physician, Royal Adelaide Hospital, SA; Catherine Meredith, Consumer; Ash Mondolo, Breast Cancer Clinical Nurse Consultant, Mater Private Hospital, QLD; Chris Rivett, 13 11 20 Consultant, Cancer Council SA; Catrina Ross, McGrath Breast Care Nurse, Northern Sydney Local Health District, NSW; Prof Christobel Saunders AO, James Stewart Chair of Surgery and Director of Research, Melbourne Medical School, The University of Melbourne, VIC; Dr Janice Yeh, Radiation Oncologist, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, VIC; A/Prof Yvonne Zissiadis, Radiation Oncologist, Medical Director, GenesisCare WA and Adjunct A/Prof, Curtin University, WA.
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