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Swelling Breasts after RT and HT

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Posted 11/28/2023 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
Hi guys. It's been a few months since I posted. I had XBRT (26 treatments) and hormone treatment (Firmagon and Lupron). 5 months after RT my PSA was 0.1 which sort of disappointed me since I was hoping for "undetectable." That was end of August. I recently notice my left nipple in particular was extremely tender. If I just brushed against it I felt a sharp pain. Both breasts are "swollen"--not yet D Cup but noticeably bigger, saggy and not what they should be. I haven't felt any lumps.
I asked my golfing buddies if they had ever heard of this. One was actually having a very similar experience, although he hadn't had cancer or RT. His doctors at UCSF are following up with "tests". I read up on male breast cancer and became concerned. I contacted my oncologist who assured me I most likely didn't have breast cancer but has ordered a mammography.
Has anybody experienced this condition? Any thoughts?

Jim
Posted 11/28/2023 7:10 PM (GMT 0)
Jim, I did not experience this, but it would make perfect sense to me that what you are experiencing is a result of the Firmagon/Lupron crashing your Testosterone levels.
Keep us posted.
Posted 11/29/2023 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
I got a set of moobs from 2 & 1/2 years of Leuprolide chemotherapy, also killed my testicles. T is less than 125 now, was 750 before starting treatments. RO nurse says the boys may recover, will test T again in 6 months when I will have been off the drugs for 3 years.
Posted 11/29/2023 5:22 PM (GMT 0)
Not unexpected, unfortunately.
I have read that Tamoxifen can be used to reduce swelling of breast tissue:
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32536488/
Posted 11/30/2023 1:47 AM (GMT 0)
I have some nice boobs and they began to hurt earlier this year just like you descibed. Since my father had breast cancer my Doc ordered a mamogram. Nothing showed, just man boobs. The "pain" took a few months to subside.
Posted 12/12/2023 11:57 PM (GMT 0)
I had a blood work up which showed my Testosterone is back to normal now(491versus 258 in August) and my PSA is 0.11 which is higher than I hoped (I was looking for undetectable) but my oncologist doesn't see a problem.
I had a mammogram which found no significant masses, calcifications or other abnormalities. Conclusion is mild bilateral gynecomastia.
For now both breasts are very sore from the mammogram. Not a fun experience--now I see why my wife complains about her mammograms!
I asked the technician who administered the mammogram how often men come in for tests. I was surprised when she said "every day".
Posted 1/22/2024 8:20 PM (GMT 0)
My Moob's are larger and tender. I spoke with my RO who thought Tamoxifen might help. I'm taking enough drugs now and I don't want any further side effects like nausea or gastrodistress. I'm going to ride it out and hope the pain eventually goes away. I will try working on my chest muscles and see if that helps somewhat.

Jim
Posted 2/18/2024 10:38 PM (GMT 0)
I began Tamoxifen 10 days ago. So far no side effects. It might be my imagination, but I think my Moobs are less tender now.
Posted 3/6/2024 6:23 PM (GMT 0)
Definitely better now.
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