Pain

[ceegee]

Hi. Diagnosed DCIS in 4/03, wide tissue excision, radiation treatment which ended 07/03.  Tamoxifen for five years.

I read the posts here quite often and thought that most of the time someone complains of pain then the answer is that pain isn't usually associated with cancer.  But, the other day I read a post where the answer was that if the person had a new pain that didn't go away then she should see her doctor.

I have been having pain and a burning sensation in my right breast, the one that was treated for over a week now.  I just had a mammogram on 9/10 and they said everything was okay.  The pain is not constant but it does occur frequently on a daily basis.  

Should I not worry about it since I just had a negative mammogram?

Thanks for the site, it is very helpful.

[CCF-RN,MSN-rf]

Dear ceegee:  You will see us refer a person to a doctor for pain that does not resolve not necessarily because we think it is cancer but to see if the source of the pain can be identified so that the pain can be relieved.  Pain is not common in breast cancer.  But scar tissue -perhaps from radiation therapy - may cause some discomfort.  If the pain gets worse or doesn't go away, you could address it with your doctor but it is unlikely, especially given the negative mammogram, to be cancer.

[surgeon]

It's true that the "typical" cancer doesn't cause pain. But it can. So when there's a new finding, whether it's lump or pain, or pretty much anything else, it's best to have evaluated. Pain that comes and goes is even less of concern. What more needs to be done depends a bit on whether the pain was mentioned at the time you saw the doc who ordered the mammogram. In other words, a normal mammogram doesn't rule things out: it's a reassuring part of an evaluation, but when there's something going on, it's important to have a good physical breast exam, and a plan of followup assuming nothing is found. Seeing your original surgeon might be useful, as well.