NOLA in September?
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Hotels-- In the two surgeries and one consult, I have stayed at the Bienville, hotel Monteleone, homewood suites, ritz carlton. Ritz was great but a splurge because we were only going to be there two nights after stage 2 and it was over my birthday. We had a lot of problems at the homewood. The manager tried really hard to make reparations, he was very concerned about my happiness and comfort, but I wouldn't go back. I had stayed at the Bienville at consult and liked it but for the nights before stage 1, upgraded to their sister hotel Monteleone. It was nice too. Great pool on roof with a view and a bar! But for location and cost maximization, the Bienville wins. Because of this, they are often full if you aren't booking in advance but Katie can usually work it out. They have peanuts and root beer in your room when you check in. Breakfast in the morning you can eat on the beautiful patio around the pool. Overlooks the riverfront. Pralines directly next door at the best sweet shop in town. Several good restaurants nearby. Very close to canal place for a great movie theater that serves drinks and food while you watch. Usually 79 a night. Nothing fancy but big kind beds, new Orleans decor.
Nannykat welcome! I do know someone there next week! Here name is Ana. She is awesome. She will be at Fairway for surgery on Friday and the. In NOLA for a week. Hope you can meet up. Don't think she is on here year.
Further research on the nipple sensation questions..... Closing my eyes, with direct touch by someone else, I cannot feel it. I can feel the tingling up my skin and can tell the nipple is reacting, which the hubby was glad to have, but I don't feel other sensations beyond the prickling you get with nipple erection unless I am touching them, which then is obviously because my fingers feel it and it is harder to distinguish where I am feeling it exactly. So I am glad to have what I do and hope more comes back but that is what I found out when really closely trying to figure out what sensation I have!0 -
SandyinParadise,
I never noticed CRBS on St. Charles because it's like hidden or something with NO Signs labeling the buildings! LoL! All part of their security I guess. If you don't have a reason to know they are there, ya just don't. Never heard of them from my diagnosing surgeon or onc here in Gulfport so close by them! In fact 'they' never peeped a word about Breast Recon! That made 'mastectomy' as bad of news as the BC diagnosis! Only found out about CRBS and DIEP because I had to find a new onc who treats with immunotherapy. This was after the fact that my 1st onc demanded that I give up my Vitamins and supplements to take 4 rounds of neoadjuvent Chemo to shrink my 'golf' ball tumor before a MX could be performed. I'd been reading alot and believed Vitamins and antioxidents enhance chemo effectiveness. I could not believe his thinking! I kept takin my supplements while doing only 2 rounds of TAC and the 4cm tumor shrank to where it could no longer be felt at all. I wanted the MX then but he said no and I asked why not? He said that's just the way it's done! I found my present onc's name in the back of Patrick Quillins book 'Beating Cancer with Nutrition' and he's only 4 hours drive in another town. He said I didn't need any more chemo to have the MX I should have ASAP and sent me to a breast surgeon there. That surgeon is the one who directed me to the NOLA DOCS even though he himself does implant augmentations as his primary business. He informed me of Breast Recon, when I thought MX was all there was and live with it! He said NOLA was the best option for me. At that time, all I wanted was the MX and get the tumor OUT! I couldn't deal with thinking about this 'way out there' surgery and didn't want any more pain! There was NO recovery pain with the MX at all. I never even had a tylenol! So later at my post-ops with him we talked more about recon and DIEP, so here I go in 3 days!
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SpringTime,
Thanks for putting me on the list!
The reason I classified as stage 3C BC is because of clavicular node involvement which is rare. I had no involvement at all in the typical axillary region, but In my diagnosing PET scan, besides the 'glowing' golf ball in my left breast that was completely hidden on mamo due to dense tissue, but showed up on ultra sound wonderfully (I'm against mamos diagnosing BC), there were 2 'supicious' nodules in my clavicular region. The 1st onc said they would melt like butter with the chemo and didn't really act too concerned. My 2nd onc who got me the MX when I wanted it after only 2 rounds of chemo, wasn't comfortable leaving that to chance. He is a radiation oncologist, so of course I had 6 weeks/29 rads on my neck only, NOT the chest wall. The path rpt on the MX tissue revealed no involvement, vascularly, nervewise or to any muscle or surrounding tissue. So he agreed with me not to radiate the chest wall as my breast surgeon said it would be better for recon not to.
I had a Triple Neg IDC, 4cm large tumor, NO axillary node involvement, but 2 very suspicious clavicular nodes. I asked for Biopsy, but was told it was dangerous, hard to get to in that area. So though I did not want radiation, went ahead with it. It gave me a red neck, but I kept magnesium gel on it every day, so my skin never dryed out or blistered. The redness disappeared quickly after rads stopped. My onc has a nice, very affordable boarding house, I got to stay there for 6 weeks in a beautiful little historic town, and had the best time of peace and solitude ever in my life. I would love to live there now! I had NO fatigue or any feeling from the rads, but that red neck! I'm from Mississipp so I really was a RED NECK!
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Oh yea, I forgot to say that my Triple Neg. 4cm tumor had shrank after neoadjuvant chemo, couldn't be felt or seen on ultra sound any more, and after MX, path rept revealed it to be 2.5cm.
1st Onc scared me to death telling me Triple Neg was a bad animal and would kill me without the 4 rounds of chemo.
2nd surgeon told me that all Triple Neg means is that it can't be treated with any hormone blocking drugs, but only chemo, surgery and radiation.
So I got all 3. Now on to Preventative MX on the uneffected breast, BiRecon and thank you God... for much declined CA27.29 markers from 17 at diagnosis, to 12 after MX to 9 at 2 month post rads! I have to believe that the clavicular node was only suspicious but I did precautionary Rads for that even after the 2 rounds of TAC chemo that probably did melt them like butter!
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hi.
I am looking for an artist to correct my areolar tattoo. Has anybody used Vinnie Myers? Plz send me a message if you have.
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hi.
I am looking for an artist to correct my areolar tattoo. Has anybody used Vinnie Myers? Plz send me a message if you have.
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Michelle: We stayed at Place d'Arms and also their sister hotel, Prince Conti. Both were small but very nice. Locations are great and the hotels are safe and secure. Both have special rates as low as $51 a night -- they post them on their website for the current month and one month following. Both have free wireless and a continental breakfast. Both of these hotels are ones that offer special rates to Breast Center patients -- ask Katie. We would definitely go back to either.
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Michelle - Can I blame surgery brain? We stayed at Bienville House before my Stage 1 not Iberville Suites. Sorry about that!0
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I am here in Rm 208. Mrt vick b yrdrday in the looby/ all is wellwih surgert,
I stayed at the Clarion boutiqe. Tired must go/
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Move over JustLaura cause I'm about to apologize to Michelle too! LOL Place d'Arms had a continental breakfast but Prince Conti did NOT. They did have a restaurant right next door (breakfast only I think) and gave a discount coupon if you ate there. Like Just Laura, we also have stayed at Bienville, which was a bit more expensive.
You do know you can stay at Hope Lodge to help out financially. During Stage 1 and 2, we divided our time between Hope and a hotel in the French Quarter. Hope Lodge is clean, with a spatious kitchen for cooking and storage of your foods, a large screen TV downstairs. Laundry facilities for you to use on each floor. Various community members/organizations will often come in and cook a free meal for everyone. The downsize is that the rooms are very basic with minimal furnishings and very plain (verging on depressing if you would have to spend considerable time in it). The location isn't the best either-- not much within walking distance though the folks at the Lodge do have a van and will take you to the grocery store when needed. I will say, we met many delightful people during our stay at Hope and I think it's wonderful that it is an affordable option for those who need it.
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Need2New - that is one of the best post-surgery posts I have seen!!! I hope you are getting some rest and are continuing to do well!0
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Right! Maybe it's a good thing I couldn't figure out my iPad! (c: Hugs Need2new!
Has anyone stayed at the Wyndham La Belle Maison?
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Karen.. I stayed in 208 TWICE!! Its a great room.
Nannykat... I have heard many oncologists (including my own) say to stay away from grapefruit, certain vitamins and all antioxiants during chemo... it reduces its efficacy...
Hope Lodge - I stayed there... its ok, but I much prefer the hotels.
Viktoria.. I haven't used him yet, but I will be.. He is awesome!!
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Nordy-
I am one of Dr. Massey's patients who had lymphedema and had a delayed unilateral stacked DIEP. I had a large radiation area because of of 10 plus cm tumor. My skin was fused to the chest wall ...I had chemo - neo-adjuvant and 22 nodes removed. My arm felt like a tennis ball was stuck in the bicep from the get go...I had upper quadrant swelling as well as upper arm and lower arm swelling. I had some hand swelling. I had achey pain ....
The surgery did help mine. Dr. Massey is going to explain to me the details of what may improve it so I can pass on good info here...but in a nutshell, she did say that removing the scar tissue increases flow and that some nodes may get moved with -in my case- belly fat to the breast area. This helps it all the way around. She told me going in that it could help; I figured that it would not be worse than it was to start because of her knowledge and care regarding the lymphedema issue...I am right handed and my right arm was compromised. I am a big baker, gardener, writer...I wanted the use of my arm without pain more than the new breast! (I will say that I have a nearly perfectly matched set of perky round and high D cups, right created from my belly and left lifted, twice because I lost weight between stages...along with lipo'd back area from below the bra to saddle bag area...avoiding the lymphatic channels) I no longer need to wear the day garment all the time...only if I am doing some heavy cleaning or moving furniture etc. I have a custom night sleeve that I wear , but do not always need it, some days it leaves no indentations...I would say that I have seen about 80% improvement...I do stay hydrated and notice that salt intake does effect it...oddly...being off the Tamox 3 weeks before and 3 weeks after the surgeries also seems to effect it...may be it is that Tamox makes me retain fluid...
Amy
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Ah Amy.. so you had back lipo?? Dr D said he was going to lipo there and then didn't.. I was thinking it was uncommon based on other posts...
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I stayed in 208 ONCE and it was a great room! Huge!
Nanny, that makes total sense! You are the first I have met with clavical nodes. (lucky you, huh?) They blasted me in the clavical region with rads just to be on the safe side. I think it has contributed to my LE! But anyway...0 -
NoWords - thank you so much for your post. I understand that the removal of scar tissue in the axilla can help tremendously. Funny, I go back to my post and think somebody should have called me a wwwwaaaaaaaaambulance with all the whining going on last night! Regardless, I think it was somewhat cathartic as I am feeling so much better about things today!
Need2- love the post op post0 -
Viktoria1, there are women here who used Vinne for their tattoos, hopefully someone will pipe in. SandyInParadise used him just recently and is waiting to see the full results...
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So.. doing crunches today it hurt above my belly button... anyone get that from ab workouts? Am I doing too much?? I am only working my abs every other day and not to an extreme.
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Nordy and Nowords, I had a consultation w/ Dr Massey and was told the same thing, that she would clean out the scar tissue left by surgery and Rads therefore opening up the area for fluid movement. Also, that nodes may be in the abdominal tissue that is transfered for the DIEP. I should tell you I have bilateral arm and truncal LE-23 nodes removed on the right, 5 on the left. I would do anything to have relief from the pain and swelling. I had planned on the node transfer but when I saw Dr. M she suggested I may have better LE relief w/ the DIEP. Honestly, I could live without breasts if I have to but the LE is my first reason for wanting the surgery. I am scared to death that it will make my LE worse. I just don't know what to do! This is a huge decision!
katiejane
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Welcome, Nannycat! Only 3 more days! Only 2 more whole days, since Saturday will already be partway over when you read this, and it will only be part of Tuesday before you have your new girls!
Nordy - I missed a bunch of posts. Sounds like you're going for the lymphedema surgery? Scheduled yet? Do u think your insurance will cooperate this time? (Grrrr!)
Congrats Need2New!
Want to add to dbdaze's recommendation of Place d'Armes. I know one person had a bad experience there, but my husband and I have stayed there more times than I can remember, now, and it has always been wonderful. The courtyards are fantastic, the free breakfasts a real plus, the rooms we've stayed in very nice, and staff always very kind and helpful - including procuring a collapsible wheelchair for me from their other hotel, after my very first surgery. It allowed my husband and I to explore all over the Quarter. When I got tired, I'd plop down to rest and he would wheel me. I love staying in the historic hotels in the French Quarter, so I know I'm in New Orleans and not some hotel that could be in Anywhere, U.S. I guess I always feel the need to defend Place d'Armes because the place has been such a huge positive for me - along with so many positives - in my New Orleans experience. But it's always good to have information - good and bad - when making decisions. It is probably true that the smaller historic hotels in the heart of the Quarter are going to have more possibility of unsavory wildlife than the tenth floor of a concrete highrise. I guess I'd rather take my chances, tho.
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Good morning all!
One more check......
Has anyone stayed at the Wyndham La Belle Maison?
Having the same problem as Michelle but know it will all work out in the end!
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I had dense tissue and MRI failed me, but then mammography picked it up three months later. Very thankful I was having mammograms every six months due to high risk/family history.
Vicktoria, I sent you a message about my new tattoos!
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Hi Ladies,
I am back, although groggy and weak. DIEP Surgery to replace the hip flap was Thur, sposed to be 5 hours but ended up being 8. Should have had the hub come. Last night was rough, some horrible flank pain but I feel much better today. My stomach is so tight! I am walking hunched over! I hope, hope, hope this one works out.
I met Need2new before surgery. I haven't been out of my room but I may go for a walk later and try to find her. So glad I found NOLA--the nurses and staff here are the best, and so caring.
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Has anyone had experience with cyst formation after stage 2 (fat grafting)? I'm a little freaked out since my experience and recovery from stage 1 was basically smooth sailing. I am nearly 5 weeks post op from stage 2. Everything has been going great. I'm back into a workout mode, back to work and have been riding high on thoughts that my reconstruction is done (other than continuing to wear compression garments and work on scar healing). A few days ago I noticed a lump on one breast.Today, my ankle and lower leg on the same side are swollen. I don't know if it is connected somehow. I plan to see my local PS on Monday as well as call NOLA to get info (unfortunately Laura is offline this weekend) but have to wait until then. I don't think this constitutes an emergency but I do feel very uneasy. It is a definite buzz-kill to what has been a celebratory mood.
If you know anything about the course of treatment for an "oily cyst" resulting from fat grafting I'd appreciate any info you are willing to share.
Thanks!
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Victoria, it will all loosen up in time, hang in there. The first few days are the hardest, but skin is amazing!
Buena, I have heard of several women here having oily cycts - I think harmless. Hopefully someone will pipe in.
Good luck to NannyKat next week!
Jan 24 - Nannykat - Stage 1, Dr. S., NOLA.
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BuenaVenturaBarb - I developed a small hard lump ~ cm after stage i that is fat necrosis, which is definitely a poosibilit after stage 2 too. Sorry, I don't know anything about Oily cysts. Celeste is often available for questions when Laura is away. I hope that your leg swelling goes away as suddenly as it came.
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Hi Buena - I don't post too much but I was concerned by your swelling issue and I hope you won't mind me butting in. Although it much more likely to be something harmless, infrequently swelling just on one side can be indication of something serious like a blood clot in your leg. I hope you will call your primary care and the Center tomorrow and not wait until Monday. I have always been able to get one of the doctors (it seemed always to be Dr. Trahan) on the phone very quickly on the weekend. Probably nothing but better safe than sorry. Re oil cysts, my undertanding is that fat necroses can sometimes liquify into an oil cyst. I have no idea if it can happen that quickly after surgery - seems like it usually takes longer, but again, I really don't know. Hoping your recovery gets back on track quickly! I had lots of little complications after my Stage 1 hip flap, but they all resolved eventually, and I am sure yours will too.
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Need2New and Victoria: Sending you lots of healing hugs. My abdominal felt very, very tight after surgery so just know that is normal. I could not walk straight for 2-3 weeks.
I stayed at Hampton Inn on St. Charles this past time and I really enjoyed it because there was Houstons, Zea's, Superior Grill- all so delicious. The street car is easily accessible. Katie made my reservations. It was pricey only because of the Sugar Bowl and BCS bowl. arrgghhh. I'm sure it is reasonable at other times.
NannyKat: That is great that you are only an hour away. You will be in excellent hands. I'm not a perfectionist but my boob and foob is very symmetrical; I am extremely happy after stage 2, only 2 weeks post op. I had a lift on the left and delayed reconstruction on the right.
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Hi Minnesota, I am just trying to book hotel accomodation for March 6 surgery. Seem that there is a Marathon during that time. I'll call Katy tomorrow. They said my husband could sleep in the room with me. Has anyone done this? I think he's afraid of getting no sleep. Thanks for your info.
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