Topic: June Surgery

Gina,

Good luck with your lat flap surgery! You must be excited to get this part of your treatment over with. I wish you the best of luck and a speedy recovery!

GinaMaria - I'm doing really well actually. At first having cancer was a hard pill to swallow but I'm really feeling much better now. I somehow feel that I have some control now and that eases my mind enormously. I'm waiting for my surgery date sometime in June and I expect that when I get the date I'll be more nervous. Actually, I even manage to forget I have cancer on some days......

How are you doing? Your surgery is coming up soon as I saw in the June reconstruction thread. Have you just finished your treatments? Maybe we should switch to that thread. I created this one and then realized everyone was posting over there! BTW, your name sounds italian?

Terri

PT6-I was looking for in home care.I got a couple numbers from Susan B Komen Foundation,but they didn't return my call :( It's hard finding and getting help..I was lucky to find one friend to help me. He's dropping me off at the hospital. I told him I could walk, it's less than a mile. I actually thought about doing it, as it may be beneficial. I also considered it kinda like 'walking the plank'. My same friend is going to help me for 2 days. My daughter who's 31 was going to help, but I haven't talked to her in a week.She really has no idea of the strain we go through.

I drink Earl Grey every morning :) I loved my 'sugar in the raw' with it, but have switched to blue agave nectar as a substitute.

Where do you live? 

PT6 - hope everything works out well for you. It's hard when you live alone to find people to care for you. Maybe check with your hospital if they have some kind of home care for the first couple of days. I know that we have that where I live in Canada. It's a free service for cancer patients. Best of luck to you and ((((hugs))))

Terri

Kateri: Sorry that you have to be a part  this forum but you're amongst friends here. The ladies on this thread are all with you. I'm sure everything will go well. Please keep us in the loop on your recovery and our thoughts will be with you on the 3rd.

Terri

Kateri: Wishing you well and a speedy recovery!

JACEE- that's an awful lot for 1 poor girl to handle!  You do have a long haul but please try to stay positive-I'm 10 years post mx, chemo, rads and tamoxifen.  I kept a journal and sometimes go back and read thru it, funny how we don't realize just how strong we are till we're challenged.  I would stress on something one day and the entries 1-2 weeks later I was laughing at being worried about it at all. We are women, hear us roar.

PT6 is having surgery today, sending her lots of positive thoughts.

MAKINGWAY- when is your surgery?

GINAMARIA...I am not looking at the big picture...I know as I get to each stage the grace will be there to go through it. So for now, just preparing for mastectomy on Tues. June 9th. You are so right...one day I'll be emotional and crying (not often), then the next humor all the way..!!!! Gotta love a woman w/o estrogen..lol...never know what to expect.

PT6...Hope all is well as you recover...hugs to you!

Joni 

terri...hope you get your date soon, though I know you are probably enjoying summer. How quickly things change with this disease!!  I thought I would just have a lump and rads and be done....Mine is so weird..my tumor is right on the line between lower outer quad & upper outer quad, yet the snb identified 2 nodes it drains to. One being an internal mammary node, one axillary. And they were BOTH positive. My surgeon who is very experienced said this was the first internal mammary node she'd ever seen that was a sentinel node.It is really not recommended to remove them due to their location (between rib and breastbone, close to the lung and cardiac area). But, she was able to remove it and was very glad, since it was positive. It will present a whole new set of problems with radiation, but that area will definitely need radiation.Fortunately, mine is on the right side and won't be quite has close to the heart.

I've only been able to locate one other person on the board with a positive IMN.....

Anyway, can't dwell on the specifics....just have to put my armour on and fight this battle. I look forward to following your progress as well as the rest of you.

Kateri...hope all went well with surgery and you're resting well. Take care and recover well. ((hug))

 Loving you all...from a distance, but close to my heart,

Joni

Kateri, glad you are home and doing so well.  You definitley need to rest. Sending you (((HUGS))).

Gina

Dawn,

Good luck with your surgery tomorrow.  Hope everything goes well, will keep you in my prayers.

I just joined this site today.  My surgery is scheduled for June 23.  Not sure what I'm having done yet, still waiting for genetic results and full MRI results.  Have it in both breasts, one biopsy done May 18th and another one for the other side to be scheduled this week.  My surgeon blocked off the 23rd for me since she didn't want me to have to wait any longer.  I'm sure the doctors think they are moving fast enough, but its definitely not fast enough for me.

Dawn: Welcome to our thread although sorry  for you that you have to be here. Will be thinking about you tomorrow and sending prayers your way. As for me, no date yet. I'll find out sometime this week.

Cathy: Welcome! Waiting is the hardest part - I hope your biopsy goes well this week and that everything is clear. I've been at this since Jan 15th partly due to a 3 week delay which was my fault so your  waiting until June 23rd isn't so bad. But still, I understand how you feel once you get diagnosed, you just want this whole nightmare to be over and done with and things can never go fast enough!

gina...pt6 started a thread last night on the Surgery thread (I'M BAAAAAACKKKKK). She sounds like she came through surgery fine.  Kinda funny story about her meds and dreams. I'm thinking of you today. I'm sure if you are like me you're busy with alot of running around. I hope all

goes well and  you and your new "baby breasts" have a great time of bonding and healing..

hugs to you,

Joni

Thanks Terri. I hope they follow through and get back with you . I guess there's not a stage in this whole process that doesn't involve waiting!!!!!  Off to surgery tomorrow....will update as soon as I can.

Joni

Ladies...I'm home, ended up staying 2 nights..just because I could. The 2nd night I had IV and everything out so was really able to rest.  I just had a huge headache & nausea the first day and my rt arm where the AND was, was hurting pretty bad, so staying an extra night was welcome to me.

The arm had so many different sensations...sharp hot knife blade like pain, thousands of needles pricking pain, ice cold hand, hot upper arm...fluid collecting around armpit...UUGGGGHH!! Today, just keeping elevated periodically and is much better. Will go to the thread about those issues and see what advice I can find.

The Mx site has no pain and is very clean. Odd to  look at, still bandaged, but might as well be looking at my back......that sides flat and clean as can be :(  I know someday I'll have a boobie again....just stinks for now. Getting rid of this cancer is the main thing, so trying to keep that at the forefront.

Meet with Onc. next Wed to start discussing chemo. Till then, will be dealing with drains and resting. Get a month off work.

Dawn...I had no pain with the radioisotope injected before my SNB either. Didn't feel a thing!!

Glad you are doing well.

Teri....Glad you finally have a date. You'll do fine. Don't anticipate to much. I'm feeling better with each hour that passes.

This really is a LOT to deal with at every end of the spectrum. I'm thankful for all of you. There's no way anyone can understand who hasn't been there.  But I do know God is good and there IS good that will come from this. Your support means a great deal to me.

I was surprised how anxious I was to get home and get back on this board just to get info and touch base with you all.