Nerve Pain After Breast Cancer Radiation and Mastectomy: When Surgery Helps
Struggling with chronic chest or arm pain after breast cancer? Austin-based peripheral nerve specialist and breast reconstruction surgeon Dr. Brian P. Kelley explains how post-mastectomy neuromas and radiation neuritis—not your breast reconstruction — may be the true cause. We discuss evidence-based treatments and options for advanced nerve surgeries like TMR and RPNI. Learn how targeted nerve surgery might provide meaningful pain relief while potentially preserving your breast reconstruction.
Written by Brian P. Kelley, MD — Dual Board-Certified Plastic & Hand Surgeon
Affiliate Faculty Professor, Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin
Partner, Seton Ascension Institute for Reconstructive Plastic and Hand Surgery — Austin, Texas
Medically reviewed: June 3, 2026 · Last updated: June 3, 2026
Educational content. Not a substitute for individualized medical evaluation.
Introduction
A specific clinical situation I encounter often: a patient finished breast cancer treatment a year or several years ago, has reconstructed breasts she is broadly happy with, but is still in significant chronic pain in the chest, axilla, or arm. She is worried that the reconstruction itself caused the pain, and she has often been told that she will have to live with it.
The reality is usually more nuanced. Some chronic pain after breast cancer treatment can come from the reconstruction, but a meaningful proportion comes from two separate, often neglected, but related sources: the mastectomy itself (which involves cutting multiple sensory nerves and can produce painful neuromas), and the radiation that often follows (which damages and irritates the same nerve endings).
When these two mechanisms combine — and they often do — the result is pain that is genuinely treatable, both medically and in some cases surgically. The reconstruction is rarely the cause and can usually be preserved.
I practice as a double board-certified plastic and hand surgeon in Austin, Texas, a partner with the Seton Ascension Institute for Reconstructive Plastic and Hand Surgery, and with academic affiliate faculty appointment at Dell Medical School at The University of Texas at Austin and a focused practice in peripheral nerve surgery.
I take referrals from across Central Texas for chronic post-breast cancer nerve or reconstruction pain. My published work includes systematic reviews on autologous and implant-based reconstruction in the radiation setting,1,2 a co-authored study on regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) for symptomatic neuromas,3 and a co-authored systematic review on normal breast sensibility from our Dell Medical School group.4
This post explains what radiation does to nerves, why post-mastectomy neuromas are common (and often made worse by radiation), how to distinguish nerve pain from other causes, and what treatment looks like — with honest framing about the limits of evidence.
What Radiation Does to Nerves
Radiation therapy works by damaging the DNA of rapidly dividing cells, especially cancer cells. But ... it also affects normal tissues in the treated field — particularly the small blood vessels supplying tissues, skin, and the connective tissue that surrounds and supports nerves.
The result is a process called radiation-induced fibrosis. Microvascular injury reduces blood supply to nerves, and progressive fibrosis around the nerve compresses and irritates the axons themselves. This process unfolds gradually over months to years, not days to weeks.
Radiation neuritis is the clinical syndrome that results: nerve pain, sensory changes, and sometimes motor weakness in the distribution of nerves that passed through the irradiated field.
Importantly, radiation does more than damage normal nerves. When a nerve has already been cut or injured (as is almost always the case during mastectomy or axillary surgery), radiation further excites and irritates the already-damaged nerve endings. Two mechanisms combine. The result is often worse than either would produce alone.
The Most Important Patient Framing
I want to address something specific because I see it repeatedly in consultation.
Patients who have undergone mastectomy with reconstruction often arrive worried that the reconstruction itself — the implant, the flap, the expanders — is the cause of their persistent chest, axillary, or arm pain. They have sometimes been told this directly by other providers.
In a significant proportion of these patients, the reconstruction is not the cause. The cancer treatment or the mastectomy are — and the reconstruction is incidental to the pain.
A mastectomy is, anatomically, an amputation. It involves cutting multiple sensory nerves that supplied the breast skin and underlying chest wall: including potentially branches of the intercostal nerves, the intercostobrachial nerve in the axilla, the medial and lateral pectoral nerves, the long thoracic and thoracodorsal nerves. Each of these cut nerves or branches can form a neuroma — a disorganized tangle of regenerating axons (nerve sprouts) at the cut end that becomes hyperexcitable and produces burning, electric, or sharp pain.
When subsequent radiation is added — as it often is for patients with locally advanced disease or positive nodes — the radiation further compresses and irritates these already-damaged nerve endings. Patients in this situation can have a substantial combined pain burden from both mechanisms.
The clinical implication matters: in many of these patients, the reconstruction can be preserved, and the underlying nerve injury can be addressed directly. Identifying neuromas, surgically treating them when appropriate, and preserving the reconstruction can substantially relieve patient distress and pain without removing or revising the reconstructed breast.
How Common Is This?
The published incidence of post-mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS) — chronic pain lasting more than three months after breast cancer surgery — affects roughly 25 to 60% of patients in pooled series, with the wide range reflecting differences in definitions, follow-up, and the populations studied. Sensory nerve injury and neuromas account for a meaningful proportion of cases.5
Radiation-induced brachial plexopathy (RIBP), at the more severe end of the radiation neuritis spectrum, occurs in approximately 1 to 2% of patients receiving modern radiation for breast cancer — a substantial reduction from historical rates because modern radiation techniques deliver lower doses to the brachial plexus than older techniques did.
What this means in practice: chronic nerve-related pain after breast cancer treatment is common, even though severe radiation-induced brachial plexopathy is uncommon. The conversation about nerve pain after breast cancer is mostly about the milder-to-moderate forms — neuromas, intercostobrachial neuralgia, focal radiation neuritis — not about the catastrophic RIBP that fortunately affects only a small minority.
Distinguishing Nerve Pain From Other Causes
A careful evaluation distinguishes several possible causes of chronic pain after breast cancer treatment. The treatment differs depending on which one (or which combination) is responsible.
Post-mastectomy neuromas typically produce focal, sharp, burning, or electric pain at a specific spot — often along the lateral chest wall, in the axilla, or at the inframammary fold. The pain is reproducible with pressure or tapping over the spot (a positive Tinel sign), often radiates in the distribution of the affected nerve, and may be relieved temporarily by a diagnostic local anesthetic injection.
Radiation neuritis typically produces more diffuse, burning, or electric pain across the treated field — often the entire chest wall, axilla, and sometimes the arm. It develops gradually over months to years after radiation and is associated with skin and soft tissue changes (firmness, retraction, color changes) of the irradiated tissue.
Combined neuroma plus radiation neuritis — the pattern I described above — has features of both. There may be focal trigger points (from the underlying neuromas) within a broader background of diffuse burning pain (from radiation neuritis).
Lymphedema-related pain is heaviness, swelling, and aching of the arm, usually with visible swelling and skin changes. It does not have the focal trigger-point quality of neuroma pain. For more information, read about lymphedema treatment here.
Cancer recurrence is the diagnosis that must be ruled out before any treatment for benign pain. New onset of progressive pain, especially with rapid progression of motor weakness, a palpable mass, or systemic symptoms, should prompt imaging and oncology evaluation before any peripheral nerve evaluation proceeds.6
Other contributors include musculoskeletal causes (frozen shoulder, cervical radiculopathy), pectoralis minor syndrome from scar contracture, phantom breast pain, and central sensitization. Most patients with significant chronic post-breast cancer pain have more than one contributing factor.
The diagnostic workup typically takes several visits: a careful history and physical examination, selective imaging when indicated (ultrasound, MRI, or PET/CT if recurrence is a concern), diagnostic nerve blocks to confirm the affected nerves, and coordination with oncology to ensure the pain is not signaling recurrent disease.
The Honest State of the Evidence
Before describing treatment options, I want to be honest about something important: radiation neuritis is one of the evidence-thinnest areas in peripheral nerve surgery.
Most published series are small. Randomized controlled trials are rare. Published surgical outcomes are heterogeneous and not consistently reported using validated patient-reported outcome instruments. Long-term durability data are limited. The literature is built largely on case series and expert opinion, with high-quality evidence for specific interventions in radiation neuritis remaining sparse.7
This matters for two reasons. First, it means honest patient counseling about outcomes is more important here than in many other clinical situations — the realistic range of outcomes spans from substantial improvement to no benefit. Second, it means decisions are appropriately individualized rather than algorithm-driven, with the strongest indication for any operation being refractory pain that has not responded to conservative measures.
I lay out the options below with this framing in mind.
Medical and Conservative Management
For most patients with chronic post-breast cancer nerve pain, the first interventions are non-surgical. Many patients improve substantially with conservative measures, and a meaningful proportion never need surgery.
Neuropathic pain medications — gabapentinoids, tricyclic antidepressants, SNRIs (duloxetine), topical lidocaine — are the foundation of medical management. Most patients try several agents at adequate doses before deciding what works for them.
Physical therapy and desensitization is often more useful than patients expect. A therapist experienced in post-breast cancer rehabilitation can address scar tissue mobility, shoulder range of motion, and nerve desensitization techniques. Some neuroma pain genuinely resolves with consistent desensitization over weeks to months.
Pentoxifylline and tocopherol (vitamin E) is a medical regimen with the strongest randomized-controlled evidence for radiation-induced fibrosis specifically. A 2003 randomized placebo-controlled trial of women previously irradiated for breast cancer found that combined pentoxifylline (800 mg/day) and tocopherol (1,000 IU/day) produced significantly greater regression of radiation-induced fibrosis at 6 months than placebo, with a synergistic effect (neither drug alone was effective).8
A follow-on phase II trial in the breast cancer population supported a possible preventive role for the combination as well.9
The honest framing on PTX/Vit E: it is the best-studied medical regimen for radiation fibrosis, but the studied endpoint is fibrosis regression (measured by tissue compliance and skin changes), not nerve pain specifically. Many clinicians extrapolate from the fibrosis data to use it for radiation neuritis — that extrapolation is reasonable but not directly evidence-based.
Treatment durations of 6 to 12 months are typical, and the regimen requires monitoring for medication-specific concerns (pentoxifylline can cause GI side effects; high-dose tocopherol carries small bleeding risk concerns).
Selective nerve blocks by an interventional pain specialist are useful both diagnostically (to confirm which nerve is involved) and sometimes therapeutically (some patients have durable response). Ultrasound-guided blocks are now standard.
Autologous fat grafting to irradiated tissue has been associated with improvement in radiation-related symptoms in some patient series, likely through the regenerative biology of the grafted fat softening the irradiated tissue and improving local blood supply.5
Read more about autologous fat grafting.
When Surgery Is Considered
Surgical treatment is appropriate for a defined subset of patients — those whose pain has not responded adequately to conservative care, who have a focal nerve lesion that can be identified and addressed, and who have realistic expectations about what surgery can achieve.
Several distinct surgical approaches exist, each suited to different specific situations.
Neuroma Excision with Modern Adjuncts (TMR/RPNI)
For patients whose pain comes primarily from a focal neuroma at the cut end of a sensory nerve — most commonly the intercostobrachial nerve in the axilla, or branches of the intercostal nerves along the lateral chest wall — neuroma excision is the most established and successful operation.
Traditional neuroma excision with implantation of the cut nerve into deeper tissue produces meaningful pain relief in many patients, but recurrence rates have historically been a concern. Modern adjunct techniques address this directly.
Targeted muscle reinnervation (TMR) coapts the cut sensory nerve to a small motor branch supplying an expendable muscle, directing the regenerating axons into productive reinnervation rather than disorganized neuroma formation.
Regenerative peripheral nerve interface (RPNI) wraps the cut nerve end in a small free muscle graft, where regenerating axons form new neuromuscular junctions within the graft.
Both techniques have been adapted from amputation pain management to post-breast cancer pain. Published series of neuroma excision with implantation for post-mastectomy pain have shown more than 80% partial or complete pain relief.5 My own published research on RPNI for symptomatic hand and digital neuromas supports the broader applicability of this approach for symptomatic neuroma management.3
A specific clinical point worth emphasizing: in patients with post-mastectomy neuromas plus radiation neuritis, addressing the focal neuromas can produce meaningful improvement even when the diffuse radiation neuritis cannot be fully reversed. Some patients describe this as "turning down the background pain to a level I can live with" rather than "complete pain relief." That is a real and meaningful improvement for many patients.
Saving the Reconstruction
When a patient has reconstructed breasts and develops chronic pain, the right operation usually does not involve removing or revising the reconstruction. Most post-mastectomy neuromas sit at the lateral chest wall or axilla, accessible through small incisions that do not disturb the reconstructive tissue or implant.
Neuroma excision with RPNI or TMR can be performed as an outpatient procedure with limited recovery, the reconstruction is preserved, and pain relief — when achieved — does not require any change to the breast shape, volume, or position. This matters substantially for patients who are happy with their reconstruction and were worried they might have to start over.
External Neurolysis with or without Vascularized Tissue Transfer
For patients with refractory radiation-induced brachial plexopathy whose pain is the dominant symptom (and where the diagnosis has been confirmed and metastatic disease excluded), surgical neurolysis — releasing the plexus from surrounding fibrotic tissue — has been described.
The published outcomes are mixed. A small systematic review found that approximately 80% of patients undergoing external neurolysis experienced significant improvement in neuropathic pain, but 80% experienced worsening of distal motor weakness over six months. The honest interpretation: neurolysis can help pain, but motor function may continue to deteriorate or even worsen after the operation.7
Some surgeons combine neurolysis with omentoplasty — wrapping the released plexus with a vascularized omental flap to bring new blood supply into the irradiated tissue. The published data is again largely case series, with reasonable pain improvement in selected patients but uncertain long-term motor outcomes.
In theory, this may be the ideal treatment given that omentum also acts as an option for free lymph node transfer as well. So, for patients with post-radiation lymphedema, this is an option worth more consideration. However, omentum harvest requires intra-abdominal surgery and carries significant donor site risks and microsurgical skill.
The main indication for neurolysis is refractory pain in patients who have failed conservative management, with the understanding that motor recovery is unlikely and motor worsening is a real risk.
Nerve Transfer for Functional Restoration
For patients with motor weakness from radiation-induced brachial plexopathy who have intact nerves below the level of injury that can serve as donors, nerve transfers (rerouting a healthy nearby nerve to power a more important target) have been described in case reports and small series.
The first published case of nerve transfer for elbow flexion in radiation-induced brachial plexopathy reported partial functional improvement in a patient 12 years after breast cancer radiation, supporting that this approach is feasible in selected cases.10
This is highly selective work, generally performed at centers with specific brachial plexus expertise. It is rarely curative, but in carefully selected patients can restore meaningful function that no medical treatment can achieve.
Realistic Outcomes
The honest summary across the published evidence:
For focal neuromas (with or without overlying radiation neuritis), surgical excision with TMR or RPNI produces meaningful pain relief in roughly 80% or more of well-selected patients in published case series.5,3
For diffuse radiation neuritis without a focal neuroma, surgical options are more limited and the evidence base is thinner. Medical management with PTX/Vit E plus neuropathic pain medication is the foundation; selected patients with refractory pain may benefit from neurolysis, with the caveats about motor outcomes noted above.
For radiation-induced brachial plexopathy with motor weakness, the published data are sobering. The natural history is gradual progression in many patients, and surgical neurolysis may improve pain in many but does not reliably arrest motor deterioration.7
The strongest predictor of a favorable outcome across all these scenarios is appropriate patient selection — focal, identifiable nerve targets confirmed by examination and diagnostic block, with realistic expectations and a multidisciplinary care plan.
Recovery and Timeline
Recovery from neuroma excision with TMR or RPNI is typically straightforward. Most operations are outpatient. The incisions heal over a couple of weeks. Pain relief often begins within days to weeks after surgery and continues to improve over months as the regenerating nerve interacts with its new target tissue.
Restricted activity is typically four to six weeks, with gradual return to normal activity over six to eight weeks. The final pain-relief outcome is typically apparent at three to six months.
Recovery from larger operations (neurolysis with omental transfer, nerve transfers for functional restoration) is longer, with hospital stays of one to several days, drains, and more extended restricted activity. Functional outcomes from nerve transfer take 6 to 18 months to develop as the transferred nerve reinnervates the target muscle.
Across all these operations, the realistic expectation is that meaningful change in pain often begins within weeks but continues to evolve for months. Functional change (motor recovery) takes substantially longer.
Risks
Surgical risks include the general risks of any operation (bleeding, infection, scarring, anesthetic complications) plus specific considerations for irradiated tissue.
In radiated tissue specifically, wound healing is meaningfully more challenging than in non-radiated tissue. My published systematic reviews on breast reconstruction in the radiation setting documented elevated complication rates for both autologous and implant-based reconstruction in irradiated patients.1,2 The same biology applies to peripheral nerve surgery in irradiated fields — small incisions in heavily irradiated skin may heal more slowly, and surgical exposure of irradiated tissue requires meticulous technique.
For neurolysis specifically, the risk of worsening motor function is real and should be discussed explicitly before any operation. The pain-improvement-with-possible-motor-worsening trade-off is the central consent conversation for this operation.
For neuroma excision, the main risks include incomplete pain relief, recurrent neuroma formation despite TMR/RPNI, and sensory loss in the distribution of the divided nerve (this is usually present preoperatively from the original surgery, but can extend with neuroma excision).
Selecting a Surgeon
For chronic nerve pain after breast cancer treatment, several considerations matter when choosing where to be evaluated:
Fellowship and residency training in peripheral nerve surgery, hand and microsurgery, or a related subspecialty. The technical demands of careful neuroma surgery with modern adjuncts (TMR, RPNI), and especially of brachial plexus work, are not within general surgical training.
Experience with post-breast cancer pain specifically. The differential diagnosis is broad, and surgeons familiar with this population are more likely to identify which patients are surgical candidates and which are better served by medical management.
Multidisciplinary care. Coordination with oncology and surgical oncology (to rule out recurrence), with the original reconstructive surgeon (to preserve the reconstruction), with pain medicine, and with rehabilitation matters substantially. A peripheral nerve specialist embedded in this kind of network can offer more comprehensive care than one working in isolation.
Honest counseling about realistic outcomes. Given the limited evidence base in this area, be cautious of any surgeon who promises specific outcomes. Honest specialists describe the realistic range of outcomes and acknowledge what surgery cannot reliably do.
A Note on Local Care in Central Texas
Patients in Austin and across Central Texas with chronic pain after breast cancer treatment — particularly those worried that their reconstruction is the cause and concerned about losing it — deserve careful evaluation by a peripheral nerve specialist familiar with this clinical situation.
I see patients from across Central Texas for evaluation of post-mastectomy and post-radiation nerve pain, including patients who have already been evaluated elsewhere and are seeking a second opinion. The reconstruction can usually be preserved, and the underlying nerve injury can usually be addressed directly. Referrals from breast surgical oncology, medical and radiation oncology, primary care, and pain medicine are welcome.
Related Topics
- Painful neuroma after prior surgery
- Peripheral nerve surgery, RPNI, and TMR
- TMR vs. RPNI: what is the difference?
- Nerve transfers vs. nerve grafts: how surgeons choose
- Breast reconstruction after radiation: choosing a durable option
- Lymphovenous bypass for breast cancer lymphedema
- Capsular contracture after implant breast reconstruction
- Finding a peripheral nerve surgeon in Texas
- Breast sensation after mastectomy
- Autologous fat grafting
Frequently Asked Questions
In many patients, no. A mastectomy is anatomically an amputation that cuts multiple sensory nerves, and any of those cut nerves can form a painful neuroma. Subsequent radiation further excites and irritates these damaged nerve endings. The reconstruction is often incidental to the pain, and in most cases the reconstruction can be preserved while the underlying nerve injury is addressed directly. A careful evaluation by a peripheral nerve specialist can distinguish which contributors are dominant.
Other scenarios, like capsular contracture or poorly understood elements like breast implant illness could be related to a reconstruction pain.
Radiation neuritis typically produces burning, electric, or shooting pain across the irradiated field. It often develops gradually over months to years after radiation. When focal neuromas are also present (as is common after mastectomy plus radiation), the pain may have specific trigger points within the broader background of diffuse burning.
Radiation-induced nerve symptoms typically appear 6 months to several years after radiation therapy, with most cases presenting within 1 to 4 years. A small minority of patients develop symptoms 10 to 20 years after treatment. Earlier onset and rapidly progressive symptoms — particularly with motor weakness — should prompt evaluation to exclude cancer recurrence before peripheral nerve management is pursued.
Not fully. Radiation-induced fibrosis is a progressive process that can be slowed, partially regressed with medical treatment (pentoxifylline plus vitamin E has the strongest randomized evidence), and locally improved with surgery in selected situations. But the underlying tissue damage from radiation cannot be undone. The realistic goal is meaningful improvement in symptoms and prevention of further progression, not return to normal.
The Delanian regimen — pentoxifylline 400 mg twice daily plus alpha-tocopherol (vitamin E) 1,000 IU daily for at least 6 to 12 months — was studied in a randomized placebo-controlled trial published in 2003 and showed significant regression of radiation-induced fibrosis after breast cancer radiation. The combination is synergistic; neither drug alone produced the same effect. The regimen requires monitoring and is most commonly used for radiation fibrosis with associated nerve symptoms.
Yes, in most cases. Post-mastectomy neuromas usually sit at the lateral chest wall or in the axilla, accessible through small incisions that do not disturb the reconstructive tissue. Neuroma excision with TMR or RPNI can be performed as an outpatient procedure with limited recovery, and the reconstruction is preserved. Many patients are relieved to learn that their nerve pain can be addressed without starting reconstruction over.
Radiation-induced brachial plexopathy (RIBP) is the more severe end of the spectrum, occurring in approximately 1 to 2% of patients receiving modern breast cancer radiation. Symptoms include progressive arm weakness, sensory loss, and pain. Treatment options are limited and outcomes are honestly mixed. Medical management is the foundation; selective surgical neurolysis can help refractory pain but does not reliably arrest motor deterioration. Nerve transfers for functional restoration have been described in selected cases.
This distinction is critical and is the most important diagnostic priority. Features more suggestive of recurrence include rapidly progressive symptoms, a palpable mass, lower brachial plexus involvement (weakness in C8/T1 distribution with grip weakness), Horner's syndrome, and systemic symptoms. Imaging — typically MRI and sometimes PET/CT — and oncology evaluation should be coordinated whenever recurrence is being considered. Peripheral nerve surgery is appropriate only after recurrence has been excluded.
As a fellowship-trained hand and peripheral nerve surgeon in Austin, I see patients from across Texas for evaluation of post-mastectomy and post-radiation nerve pain. Referrals from oncology teams, primary care, and pain medicine are welcome, and direct patient inquiries are accepted depending on individual insurance plans.
1. Kelley BP, Ahmed R, Kidwell KM, Kozlow JH, Chung KC, Momoh AO. A systematic review of morbidity associated with autologous breast reconstruction before and after exposure to radiotherapy. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2014;21(5):1732–1738. PMID: 24473643.
2. Momoh AO, Ahmed R, Kelley BP, Aliu O, Kidwell KM, Kozlow JH, Chung KC. A systematic review of complications of implant-based breast reconstruction with prereconstruction and postreconstruction radiotherapy. Annals of Surgical Oncology. 2014;21(1):118–124. PMID: 24081801.
3. Hooper RC, Cederna PS, Brown DL, Haase SC, Waljee JF, Egeland BM, Kelley BP, Kung TA. Regenerative Peripheral Nerve Interfaces for the Management of Symptomatic Hand and Digital Neuromas. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery — Global Open. 2020;8(6):e2792. PMID: 32766027.
4. Schafer HA, Leathers KO, Mumford KC, Ilangovan S, Vetter IL, Henry SL, Kelley BP, Torres-Guzman RA, Egeland BM. "Toward Breast Reinnervation — What is our Endpoint": A systematic review of normal breast sensibility. Journal of Plastic, Reconstructive & Aesthetic Surgery. 2024;91:383–398. PMID: 38461623.
5. Yan Y, Eisemann B, Mauch JT, et al. Post-Mastectomy Pain Syndrome: An Up-to-Date Review of Treatment Outcomes. Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery — Global Open. 2021. PMCID: PMC8426165.
6. Kori SH. Diagnosis and management of brachial plexus lesions in cancer patients. Oncology (Williston Park). 1995;9(8):756–760. PMID: 7577375.
7. Surgical Treatment of Radiation-Induced Brachial Plexus Neuropathy in Breast Cancer Patients after Adjuvant Radiotherapy: A Systematic Review. Indian Journal of Orthopaedics. 2025. (Available via Springer; DOI 10.1007/s43465-025-01540-0.)
8. Delanian S, Porcher R, Balla-Mekias S, Lefaix JL. Randomized, placebo-controlled trial of combined pentoxifylline and tocopherol for regression of superficial radiation-induced fibrosis. Journal of Clinical Oncology. 2003;21(13):2545–2550. PMID: 12829674.
9. Magnusson M, Höglund P, Johansson K, et al. Pentoxifylline and vitamin E treatment for prevention of radiation-induced side-effects in women with breast cancer: a phase two, double-blind, placebo-controlled randomised clinical trial (Ptx-5). European Journal of 10. Tung TH, Liu DZ, Mackinnon SE. Nerve transfer for elbow flexion in radiation-induced brachial plexopathy: a case report. Hand (NY). 2009;4(2):123–128. PMID: 18843522.
Closing Disclaimer
This article is educational and does not establish a doctor-patient relationship. It does not replace individualized consultation, examination, or review of personal medical history and oncologic treatment plans. Patients with chronic pain after breast cancer treatment are encouraged to seek evaluation by a peripheral nerve specialist and to coordinate that evaluation with their oncology team to ensure appropriate consideration of the differential diagnosis.
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