Hello CK115

I'm sorry to hear about your diagnosis and all that you've been through over the past few months. 

Having pain after successful treatment doesn't necessarily mean that your cancer has come back although it's natural to feel anxious that that may be the case. Some people get pain after cancer treatments like surgery or radiotherapy. Or, it might be a long-term side effect of chemotherapy. Post-treatment pain can start or get worse, months or even years after treatment has finished.

What strikes me most when I read your post is how much you've described that you're doing in such a short pace after completing chemotherapy and then having a mastectomy and node clearance. Your body has been through a grueling few months. I completely understand the desire/need to get back to doing "normal" things as soon as you're able to. Sometimes though our bodies don't quite want to move at the same pace and we need to be a little kinder to ourselves and take a gentler pace for a while. It's certainly worth thinking about scaling back on things to see if this helps with the aches and pains that you're experiencing. 

You've not mentioned in your post if you've been given any hormone medication such as tamoxifen or letrozole/anastrozole. If you have then some women do find that they have joint/muscular pain related to their medications as well. 

I'd suggest giving our team of nurses a call next week, or your breast care nurse, and just chatting things through. I'm sure they will be happy to offer any advice and support that they can. They're available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0808 800 4040. 

I hope that things settle and improve as your recovery progresses over the coming weeks and months. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator