Since my radiation ( and light dose of chemo ) ended I have had sore upper arms and arm sockets. It hurts to reach out or to hold my arms up high. When I asked the doctors about this, both my oncologist and radiation onc. said that they have never heard of this as result of treatment.
It seems logical to me that having one's lower neck radiated could affect the shoulder joints.
Has anyone else experienced this?

Danny G.

I did not feel sore in my upper arm, but I did feel sore in my armpit after radiation. It is just like the sore of lymph nodes, so I asked my oncologist, he said maybe the radiation caused inflammation in the throat which caused the lymph system to react.
Now, it is more than two month after the end of RAD, sometime, I still felt that, but not as often as before.

I just ran into a judge friend of mine at the courthouse who always encourages me to swing a heavy practice golf club called the Momentus. When I told him of my arm pain, he said it is probably from swinging that heavy club! Actually I have trouble believing that the occasional swinging of the club is the culprit, but who knows.

Danny G.

Danny,
John complains of pain across his shoulders and down both arms. His right arm is more sore than his left. His radical neck was on the left. We assumed that the pain was due to the surgery. We have asked the surgeon and the oncologist. Neither have an answer. You did not have surgery did you? Maybe this is due to the radiation that you both had.
Anyway John is getting better.
Meredith

Danny:
I experienced soreness in my armpit area on/off for a couple of months after radiation. I did not have surgery. I have not experienced it since then. The oncologist did not have an answer but the techs that gave me my treatments every day had mentioned that some other patients had mentioned the same thing.

Mike D.

Diagnosed 06/2002, w/Laryngeal cancer, 1st stage