Almost half of all breast cancer survivors suffer from persistent pain, even two or three years after surgery.

   That's according to a new Danish study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

   The study showed almost 60-pecent of the more than 32-hundred women surveyed experience other symptoms of nerve damage, such as numbness or tenderness.

   Women under the age of 40 and those who undergo more extensive surgery, such as a mastectomy, and radiation are the most likely to report pain.

   In addition, the study also says women experience more pain if surgeons remove many of the lymph nodes in their armpits, which is a common place for breast cancer to spread.

   The study looked at all Danish women who were treated for breast cancer in 2005 and 2006.

   Loretta Loftus from Tampa's H. Lee Moffitt Cancer Center, co-wrote an accompanying editorial to the study.

   She says most breast cancer patients can ease their symptoms with over-the-counter pain relievers.




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