Pain
- Medical Review: Lori B. Ranallo, RN, MSN, CBCN, APRN-BC
It’s very common to worry about whether breast cancer and its treatment will cause pain. People diagnosed with any stage of breast cancer may experience pain caused by the cancer or its treatment. Still, not everyone experiences pain.
If pain does happen, the level, type, and nature of pain can vary. The pain you feel may be very different from what someone else feels, even when it comes from the same source.
Being in pain can make it harder to eat and sleep, take care of yourself, do daily activities, or be with others. Pain can affect your overall health and quality of life, so it’s important to let your care team know if you're having pain. There are many things you can do to prevent pain, or to manage pain if it develops. Getting relief is an important part of your breast cancer treatment and care.
What does pain related to breast cancer and treatment feel like?
Pain caused by breast cancer or breast cancer treatment may feel:
- Aching
- Sharp or stabbing
- Burning
- Itching
- Dull
- Pinching
- Throbbing
- Pressured
- Shooting
Describing pain with a pain scale
Because your experience of pain is unique to you, it can be hard to describe or measure it. Your doctors will use a pain scale, or range, to help you explain how much pain you feel. Using the pain scale helps your care team observe how pain changes or stays the same as you try different management strategies.
The pain scale may look like this:
- 0-1: no pain
- 2-3: mild pain
- 4-5: moderate pain/discomforting pain
- 6-7: severe pain/distressing pain
- 8-9: very severe pain/intense pain
- 10+: unbearable pain
There are also visual versions of the pain scale that include facial expressions (smiling, neutral, frowning, upset) that you can circle to describe how severe the pain is.
In addition to letting your care team know how severe pain is, it also helps to let them know how long pain lasts. This can be described as:
- Acute: Acute pain is happening right now.
- Intermittent: Intermittent pain comes on, goes away completely, and then comes back. This cycle can repeat.
- Chronic: Chronic pain is always there, though it may get worse or better at times.
What causes treatment-related pain?
Different breast cancer treatments can cause different types of pain.
Surgery can cause pain for several reasons:
- Surgery to remove breast cancer (mastectomy and lumpectomy) can damage tissues and nerves.
- Sometimes the scars from surgery may hurt.
- If you have breast reconstruction surgery, pain can be related to the type of reconstruction you have:
- Implant reconstruction may involve stretching the skin over tissue expanders to make room for an implant, which can cause temporary pain. For some people, scar tissue may harden around an implant (capsular contracture), which can be painful.
- Tissue reconstruction procedures, also called flap reconstructions, remove donor tissue from other areas of your body to create a new breast shape, which can temporarily cause pain. In rare cases, chronic pain can develop.
- Lymph node removal can lead to pain in the armpit, arm, or chest. Removing nodes or cutting lymphatic vessels increases the risk of lymphedema, which can cause pain and swelling.
- Some people feel phantom pain after a breast is removed. Phantom pain is pain that seems as though it's coming from the breast that is no longer there. This pain is real, and it comes from signals in the spinal cord and brain.
Pain can also be caused by other breast cancer treatments:
- Chemotherapy and some targeted therapies may cause pain due to mouth sores, hand-foot syndrome, or neuropathy.
- Radiation therapy can cause painful skin irritation, blistering, and scarring.
- Hormonal therapy, especially aromatase inhibitors, may cause bone, joint, and muscle pain. Tamoxifen also may cause these types of pain.
- Olaparib (Lynparza), a PARP inhibitor given to people with BRCA gene mutations, can cause joint, muscle, and back pain.
- Chemotherapy, CDK 4/6 inhibitors, tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), PARP inhibitors, and some hormonal therapies may cause headaches.
- Pembrolizumab, an immunotherapy, can cause back pain, muscle pain, mouth sores, ulcers in the nose or genitals, and abdominal pain.
How long will pain last?
Some pain begins soon after a treatment starts. Other pain develops much later. It may take only a few hours for pain to end, or it can take days. Other pain may come and go. Chronic pain continues steadily for several months or longer.
It's important to know that you do not have to suffer through any pain that you may be feeling. If you have pain, let your care team know. They can help identify the source of the pain and recommend ways to control and treat it.
How can I manage pain?
Good pain treatments exist. You may need to try several ways, or a combination of methods, to find what is best for you.
It’s a good idea to keep a pain journal where you can write down details about your pain to share with your care team. Whenever you have pain, write down:
- When you have pain
- Where you have pain, such as the back, the knees, or the fingers
- What the pain feels like
- How intense the pain is
- What makes the pain worse
- If the pain comes and then goes away completely, or if it’s always there
- How you would rate your pain on a scale of 0–10
Be as specific as possible, and let your team know how much the pain impacts your life.
If you're having difficulty with pain, your care team might refer you to a cancer pain specialist or palliative care specialist. These specialists work to prevent and manage pain and discomfort. Palliative care team members can be nurses, social workers, spiritual care professionals, pharmacists, or other medical providers. If you do not have access to palliative care specialists where you get care, your regular care team can help you.
There are medical and nonmedical ways to get relief from pain. If your doctor or nurse prescribes medicine to keep pain from starting or getting worse, do not wait to use it until your pain is intense. It’s easier to prevent pain than it is to manage it once it starts.
Medical methods to manage pain include:
- Over-the-counter medicines for mild-to-moderate pain, such as aspirin, ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin), and acetaminophen (Tylenol)
- Antidepressants and anticonvulsants for nerve pain
- Corticosteroids for inflammatory pain
- Medical marijuana for chronic pain
- Physical therapy for pain caused by damage to muscle or tissues
Complementary, or nonmedical, methods can also help relieve pain and may be used in addition to pain medicines. Cancer centers often offer complementary medicine programs, which can include:
- Acupuncture
- Yoga
- Gentle massage
- Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction
- Hypnotherapy
- Guided imagery
- Relaxation exercises
- Tai Chi
Pain, especially chronic pain, can be frustrating. It can affect your mood, your outlook, and your relationships. For some people, it can help to seek emotional support along with other methods. Counselors, support groups, religious or spiritual communities, and trusted people can help.
Pain and metastatic breast cancer
If you have metastatic breast cancer (MBC), pain can be caused by treatments you receive or by metastases themselves.
Metastatic tumors may cause pain in bones, tissue, and elsewhere by pressing on nerves and organs, or constricting other areas. There are several types of treatments that can shrink tumors to reduce pain.
Treatment for MBC is ongoing, and managing pain caused by treatments is important. If a treatment causes significant pain that doesn’t ease with pain management methods, your doctor may recommend switching to a different treatment or changing the timing or dose of your current treatment. Studies show that changing the dose or timing of treatments does not interfere with how well it works against the cancer. Keep your care team informed of how much pain you feel and how often.
Treating pain specific to MBC
Since metastatic tumors can be found anywhere in the body, they can cause pain in more areas of the body than early-stage tumors, which are contained mostly in the breast and chest area.
Treatments that can ease pain caused by metastatic breast cancer include:
- Bisphosphonates and other medicines that treat pain and protect bones from complications of bone metastases
- Radiation therapy for bone metastases
- Interventional radiotherapy techniques, such as radio frequency ablation for bone metastases
- Surgery to treat metastasis-related fractures or spinal cord compression
- Anesthetic procedures, such as nerve blocks, to ease pain by removing or reducing feeling
MBC treatments that may cause pain
Some MBC treatments can cause different kinds of pain. These include:
- Chemotherapy, which can cause painful mouth sores
- Fulvestrant (Faslodex), a hormonal therapy injection, which can cause muscle and joint pain, as well as pain at the site of injection
- Elacestrant (Orserdu), a hormonal therapy pill, can cause muscle pain, joint pain, and stomach pain
- Targeted therapies:
- mTOR and CDK 4/6 inhibitors, given for hormone receptor-positive disease, which may cause abdominal and back pain
- TKIs and monoclonal antibodies, given for HER2-positive disease, which may cause stomach pain or bone and joint pain
- Margetuximab (Margenza), given for HER2-positive disease, which can cause neuropathy, a side effect that can include pain in the hands or feet
- Olaparib (Lynparza), a PARP inhibitor given to people with BRCA gene mutations, which can cause joint, muscle, and back pain
- Sacituzumab govitecan (Trodelvy), an antibody-drug conjugate given for triple-negative MBC, which can cause stomach pain
If treatment-related pain is difficult to manage even after following your care team's pain management recommendations, talk with your doctor about options, such as adjusting the dose or trying a new treatment.
It’s also possible to take opioid or narcotic medicines for ongoing and breakthrough pain. These include medicines such as the fentanyl patch, morphine (MS Contin), and oxycodone. Taken as prescribed for cancer pain, you are unlikely to become addicted to these medicines.
And no matter what might be causing pain — whether it's a treatment, the cancer, or you're just not sure — always let your doctor know. The goal of MBC treatment is to keep the cancer under control for as long as possible while supporting your quality of life, and that includes relief from pain if you're experiencing it.
Related news
- 5 surprising benefits of exercise during endocrine treatments
- Managing and preventing breast cancer side effects a focus of 2023 ASCO meeting | ASCO 2023
- Managing pain with Joshua A. Jones, MD, MA
- Black and in pain: getting care for breast cancer side effects, with Pat Washington, RN, PhD, OCN
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- pruritus
- psychiatrist
- psychological
- psychologist
- psychosocial
- psychotherapy
- PTSD
- pump
- punch biopsy
- qi
- qigong
- quadrantectomy
- quality assurance
- quality of life
- radiation
- radiation brachytherapy
- radiation dermatitis
- radiation fibrosis
- radiation necrosis
- radiation nurse
- radiation oncologist
- radiation physicist
- radiation surgery
- radiation therapist
- radiation therapy
- radical lymph node dissection
- radical mastectomy
- radioactive
- radioactive drug
- radioactive seed
- radioisotope
- radiologic exam
- radiologist
- radiology
- radionuclide
- radionuclide scanning
- radiopharmaceutical
- radiosensitization
- radiosensitizer
- radiosurgery
- radiotherapy
- raloxifene
- raloxifene hydrochloride
- randomization
- randomized clinical trial
- receptor
- RECIST
- reconstructive surgeon
- reconstructive surgery
- recreational therapy
- recurrence
- recurrent cancer
- referral
- reflexology
- refractory
- refractory cancer
- regimen
- regional
- regional anesthesia
- regional cancer
- regional chemotherapy
- regional lymph node
- regional lymph node dissection
- registered dietician
- regression
- rehabilitation
- rehabilitation specialist
- relapse
- relative survival rate
- relaxation technique
- remission
- remission induction therapy
- remote brachytherapy
- research nurse
- research study
- resectable
- resected
- resection
- residual disease
- resistant cancer
- resorption
- respite care
- response rate
- retrospective cohort study
- retrospective study
- risk factor
- Rubex
- salpingo-oophorectomy
- salvage therapy
- samarium 153
- sargramostim
- scalpel
- scan
- scanner
- scintigraphy
- scintimammography
- sclerosing adenosis
- screening
- screening mammogram
- second-line therapy
- second-look surgery
- second primary cancer
- secondary cancer
- secrete
- sedative
- segmental mastectomy
- selection bias
- selective estrogen receptor modulator
- selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor
- sentinel lymph node
- sentinel lymph node biopsy
- sentinel lymph node mapping
- sepsis
- sequential AC/Taxol-Trastuzumab regimen
- sequential treatment
- SERM
- sertraline
- Serzone
- sestamibi breast imaging
- sexuality
- sibling
- side effect
- silicone
- simple mastectomy
- simulation
- Single-agent therapy
- sleep disorder
- social service
- social support
- social worker
- sodium thiosulfate
- soft tissue
- solid tumor
- somatic
- somatic mutation
- sorafenib
- specialist
- specificity
- spiculated mass
- spinal anesthesia
- spinal block
- spiral CT scan
- spirituality
- sporadic cancer
- SSRI
- stable disease
- stage
- stage 0 breast carcinoma in situ
- stage 0 disease
- stage I breast cancer
- stage IA breast cancer
- stage IB breast cancer
- stage II breast cancer
- stage II breast cancer
- stage IIA breast cancer
- stage IIB breast cancer
- stage III breast cancer
- stage III lymphedema
- stage IIIA breast cancer
- stage IIIB breast cancer
- stage IIIC breast cancer
- stage IV breast cancer
- staging
- stamina
- standard of care
- standard therapy
- statistically significant
- stent
- stereotactic biopsy
- stereotactic radiosurgery
- sterile
- sternum
- steroid
- stress
- strontium
- study agent
- subcutaneous
- subcutaneous port
- subjective improvement
- subset analysis
- supplemental nutrition
- supplementation
- support group
- supportive care
- supraclavicular lymph node
- surgeon
- surgery
- surgical biopsy
- surgical menopause
- surgical oncologist
- survival rate
- symptom
- symptom management
- symptomatic
- synergistic
- synthetic
- syringe
- systemic
- systemic chemotherapy
- systemic disease
- systemic therapy
- TAC regimen
- tai chi
- tailored intervention
- talk therapy
- tamoxifen
- targeted therapy
- taxane
- Taxol
- Taxotere
- Tc 99m sulfur colloid
- technician
- terminal disease
- therapeutic
- therapeutic touch
- therapy
- thermography
- thiethylperazine
- thiotepa
- third-line therapy
- thrush
- time to progression
- tinnitus
- tissue
- tissue flap reconstruction
- TNM staging system
- tomography
- tomotherapy
- topical
- topical chemotherapy
- topoisomerase inhibitor
- total estrogen blockade
- total mastectomy
- total nodal irradiation
- total parenteral nutrition
- toxic
- toxicity
- tracer
- traditional acupuncture
- tranquilizer
- transdermal
- transfusion
- transitional care
- translational research
- trastuzumab
- trauma
- treatment field
- trigger
- trigger point acupuncture
- triple-negative breast cancer
- tumescent mastectomy
- tumor
- tumor antigen vaccine
- tumor board review
- tumor burden
- tumor debulking
- tumor load
- tumor marker
- tumor volume
- Tykerb
- ulcer
- ulceration
- ultrasound-guided biopsy
- ultrasound/ultrasonography
- ultraviolet radiation therapy
- uncontrolled study
- undifferentiated
- unilateral
- unilateral salpingo-oophorectomy
- unresectable
- unresected
- upstaging
- urticaria
- VACB
- vaccine therapy
- vacuum-assisted biopsy or vacuum-assisted core biopsy
- Valium
- vancomycin
- vandetanib
- vascular endothelial growth factor-antisense oligonucleotide
- vascular endothelial growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase inhibitor
- vein
- Velban
- venipuncture
- venous sampling
- Versed
- vertebroplasty
- vinorelbine
- vital
- vomit
- watchful waiting
- wedge resection
- Wellcovorin
- Western medicine
- WGA study
- white blood cell
- whole cell vaccine
- whole genome association study
- wide local excision
- wire localization
- wound
- X-ray therapy
- Xanax
- Xeloda
- xerostomia
- Xgeva
- yoga
- ziconotide
- Zinecard
- Zofran
- zoledronic acid
- Zoloft
- Zometa
Living Beyond Breast Cancer is a national nonprofit organization that seeks to create a world that understands there is more than one way to have breast cancer. To fulfill its mission of providing trusted information and a community of support to those impacted by the disease, Living Beyond Breast Cancer offers on-demand emotional, practical, and evidence-based content. For over 30 years, the organization has remained committed to creating a culture of acceptance — where sharing the diversity of the lived experience of breast cancer fosters self-advocacy and hope. For more information, learn more about our programs and services.