Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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MarieBernice, Glad step one is done! The entire ordeal could have been made less stressful though.
As I read your post, I was reminded of my surgery day... sounded very similar to yours.... I actually screamed when they did the post wire placement mammogram.... Kept waiting for hours-scheduled for 11am, finally wheeled in at 1:30pm. The person in the next curtain "holding area" was having a loud and serious meltdown.... which added to my anxiety.... Right when they came to take me into the OR, the fire alarm activated and the entire facility had to be evacuated. I was thinking that maybe I should just leave and come back another day! :-)
I hope you have an easy, quick recovery from surgery.... and most of all clean margins and clear nodes! Gentle hugs!
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I was totally loaded the day of surgery. They offered a xanax.. .knocked me on my butt. which also meant i have no clue when anything occurred (on time? late?) I had two wires (was suppose to have one.. doc they 'those people are wire happy') only felt the pinch of numbing stuff and nothing else. but then again i was loaded. I need to really learn not to make the doctors laugh when they have sharp objects in or around my boobs. ;p
I did have a friend argue with me over my pathology report. she swore up and down that I had to be ER+ and was getting rads. I told her no where in my paperwork says anything related to ER+ and when i asked the doc about rads she wrinkled her nose and says nah you dont need it , you dont have cancer, but heres the number for the MO which you should go meet. *head desk* then the doc asked me if i had quit smoking yet (its only been a month.. ) i told her no not yet. Doc says.. well its not IF its WHEN your cancer comes back. *head wall* so she told me i had cancer and didnt have cancer in the same conversation. and people wonder why Im confused
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Panthrah, you might want to make sure your profile is complete (like ER+/-, nodes, etc). But I can sure see why you're confused. That's just plain strange. Hope you get it all sorted out!
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HI,Internal radiation was over rather quickly. My sister who was diagnosed two months after me also had internal radiation. I had the catheter put into my breast on a friday two weeks after surgery, they wanted it done before I was healed. I then had a CT scan each morning- with no contrast- they were just making sure the catheter was in place. And then every morning and evening I had radiation where they dropped in a pellet and I was done on day 5 where they took the catheter out right away. I did get nauseous from the radiation as did my sister. She burned a bit more than I did but then she is a small person where I am larger chested and I did have redness in the area where the catheter had been, but only that small area and I did not peel or anything. it also did not feel like a burn- just red. What I would recommend is that you ask for pain meds when they pull the catheter out. I warmed my sister and she took pain meds and they also put some topical numbing gel on before they pulled out the catheter and it seemed to help her a whole lot.
I am doing well. I did have a seroma that was drained not long after radiation but since then have been doing well. I see my RO on Friday, as he said it would take about a year to heal.
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PontiacPegg- I have an MO appt on the 20th. ill get or try to get all the info i can and be able to update. no nodes now. but as far as er/pr and if the Brac test is needed and if this doc considers my family history high risk or not ( so far 1 doc does and another doesnt), rads? no rads? meds? no meds? LCIS really puts you on the fence in between worlds.
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Some of my experiences for the new lumpies....It does seem like a long wait to get pathology report and I sympathize with you. My SNB report was given to me as well as clean margins before I left day of Lx surgery. It was almost a week before I got the full pathology report. And trying to read and interpret it is another challenge in itself. All I can say is BE YOUR OWN ADVOCATE and ask lots of questions until YOU understand. Keep asking if you need clarification. Write down the questions and answers in a journel cuz you will want to read & reread and for me, to seek to understand (cuz never did I think I would ever say "I have breast cancer").
Surgery was scary at first but with my excellent medical team, my DH and Sister were there by my side and my kids there at home right after, not to mention our HUGE extended family and friends, I did fine and felt pretty calm. I had been healthy my entire life, only in the hospital to deliver my 2 sons and only had 1 outpatient procedure in my life. It was definitely a life changing experience. If you are nervous or anxious about any procedures or treatments ask and talk to you docs!!! The care teams know what you need and what to do to reassure you.
Next step was healing in preparation for radiation. For me it was surgery on 6/3 and I started 1st rad tx on 7/22. Again it seemed like a long wait, but I put my trust in my medical team. I really did need that healing time between and my 3 incisions were really healed good before tx started. Rad wasn't hard, didn't hurt and was really just an inconvenience to go EVERY day M-F for 33 treatments. I did get some SE with red skin in underarm and some underside of breast, so I had a 5 day break near the end before I started 8 boosts. But again, my medical team and RO kept a close eye on me and I used silvadene cream and it healed me really fast. I finished rads on 9/10 and my followup was to meet 1 more time with MO, BS, and RO, then 6 mo checkups with BS and annual Mamm. But today I can shout, I AM CANCER FREE and CURED! You too will join this club in the next days or months and you can shout it out too! I am reminded daily that early detection was the key and will spread the word!! ((((Hugs to you all))))!!!!
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Panthrah, You are in a strange place. In situ is wonderful but it does present challenges. Good luck!!
Mari, This site has a wonderful file on Understanding Your Pathology Report. You can download it. Understanding Your Pathology Report It is REALLY helpful.
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I'm glad to have found this board! I was diagnosed the end of April '14 and began 6 rounds of chemo the first part of June. My tumor is triple positive so the chemo included Herceptin and Perjeta to hit the HER 2neu factor, along with Taxotere and Carboplatin. I go tomorrow for a mammogram to gauge how much the tumor has shrunk. My surgeon and MO both say they can no longer feel a palpable lump or anything "clinically significant".
I will have a lumpectomy to be scheduled sometime this month and the question is whether or not it will be a central lumpectomy and take my nipple or whether there can be clean margins without the nipple. I just want the marker and whatever tumor or tissue is needed to declare the cancer OUT to be removed, if that includes the nipple, so be it!
It was my nipple that alerted me to the fact something was wrong. I was undressing one evening in front of the bathroom mirror and noticed a real difference in my left nipple. It appeared completely flat while the right one was protruding. When I touched the left one it sank in and became inverted and would not come back out. I called my primary care dr. the next morning. It had been 8 months since my last mammogram at that point. I found out about three weeks later, after ultrasound, biopsy, etc. that I had BC. I had found it early. Once the treatment plan was in place I found out it would involve chemo, surgery and, depending on whether I chose lumpectomy, radiation.
So, that's how I got here....ready for step 2 of this plan! Can't wait to find out what shows up tomorrow.
I've appreciated reading about your experiences. I will be anxious when surgery rolls around in the coming weeks.
Has anyone had a central lumpectomy which took your nipple?
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Marie-so glad that part is behind you. Thought of you all day and hoping you were doing well. Sending good thoughts
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Hi All -
I was wondering if anyone had feelings of deep depression following their lumpy. This is day 2 and despite the fact that all indications point to the fact that I am now cancer free - I don't feel the happiness and relief that I should have. No energy to get dressed, or put on my makeup. I do have psych medication which I do take. I could do some work from home for my job, but there is no desire to do that either.
Am I expecting too much out of myself at this point? Has anyone else had an experience like this before?
MarieBernice6234
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good heavens, Mariebernice! Give yourself a break! You've had surgery and your body needs time to heal. Take it easy and don't push resuming a normal schedule for awhile. I want allowed to do any lifting for 3 weeks. And it was about 6 weeks before both incisions felt normal - not that they had been hurting but we're sensitive and I was reminded every so often that, yup, I had surgery. Please just relax. You've had a lot to cope with - depression is understandable. Hugs!
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Thanks PontiacPeggy!
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Thanks so much for the great lumpie advice Alameda and mripp!
Welcome to our group Fionascottie and sorry that you found yourself here but you will find lots of helpful advice here.
Glad that your surgery went well MarieBernice and hope your path report shows clear margins and nodes. I will find out my path results Oct 10 but wasn't told how many nodes were removed etc.
I'm wondering if others have had more swelling and underarm pain after having drain removed? Maybe I'm using arm too much? I'm trying to prop it up more but... Any advice ?
Love the pic Peggy! Looking good
Take care everyone !
Sue
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Thanks Su-CQ51. Thought it was time I dug out some photo to post here. Too bad you have to wait so long for your path report. That's awful. You take it easy and try not to throw DH around too much!!!
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hey Marie- I'm a week out and I have to force myself to stay busy. I certainly don't feel like doing much. I've been walking everyday and getting outside as much as possible. Not much appetite and my stomach feels queasy. I keep reminding myself that it's out and I'm cancer free but not feeling much joy. I think this is all natural. I know I'll get back to feeling like myself but it's going to take a little time. So you are definitely not alone.
Hugs
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Thanks Palameda, your words are what I needed.
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Su-CQ - I had the same thing, very little pain until my drain was pulled. My doctor told me this is normal - caused by tendons and nerves that have been damaged or irritated. I am 3 weeks out now and the pain is almost gone. I had pain under my arm and in the back of my arm as well. Just keep doing your slow stretches, as I did have some cording issues as well, and the stretching keeps that to a minimum. Hope that helps!
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That's interesting - my nurse navigator told me just today that the pain would noticeably diminish once the drain was removed. I guess I'll find out sooner or later.
I am so ready to move this process along!
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PonticaPegg- that is the best article /information that ive read so far. Its clear, easy to follow, broken down like a textbook. not like i can made or tails of my paperwork but if/when i do get it sorted.. Ill be using this to guide me. totally bookmarked and im even tempted to print it. This should be reposted often and all newbies (which is me ) should have a read thru
again.. thank you for that . 0 -
Thanks so much Birdgirl! I didn't have much arm pain or drainage for that matter. I'll definitely keep doing the stretches
Hopeful, the underarm pain at drain site definitely improved when it was removed though. So much better!
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Thanks, Su-CQ51 - that's really good to know! How are you doing now?
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Panthrah, I DID print it out and put it in my folder with test results. I got a kit from the American Cancer Society that has a file to keep everything together and I stashed it there. I like paper
But that article was extremely helpful to me and I thought others might benefit from reading it.0 -
That is a very useful article. It's good to be reminded of the myriad resources here.
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It truly IS amazing how much info is here. Thank heavens! Just have to look. And it is GOOD info.
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i copy and pasted the fill in the blanks part and printed it out. there is sooooooooooo much info on here and everyones personal stories .. it truly is a goldmine of information
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Evening friends.
Just want to let you gals know......My daughter has terminal Fallopian tube cancer and is now on Hospice care as of today, any way, her daughter has been diagnosed with Cervical cancer and her doctor really wanted to have the BRAC test done. When my daughter asked (while in the hospital earlier this week) about it, the genetic person checked and medicaid would NOT pay for it. She did some more checking and let us know that Medicare (which I am on) will pay 100% of the $4200.00 fee. Since I had BC, my mother also, and my mom had ovarian cancer, Mets and took her. Anyway I went down to the lab at the hospital with the Genetic specialist and had it done. For my granddaughters to be tested, should mine come back positive will be a bit over $400.00 each. It will take about 3 weeks for my results to come in. Might be worth checking with your healthcare facility to see if there is some way you can have the test run, should you be interested in it.
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So very sorry about your daughter, Vicks. Good for you, though, for finding a way to do the testing and help provide your granddaughters with that information. I hope things work out better for them.
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Vicks, so sorry to hear about your daughter and also her daughters diagnosis. I pray your daughter is not in pain and has peace. I pray that your granddaughter is cured and the tests you all need are done and get what you all need.
I pray that cure to ALL cancers is sooner than later! Does it seem that everyday we hear or know one or more that are diagnosed with cancer? There's gotta be some answers.......
Peggy, I'll check out that report too, good to know. My BS and RO explained it all to me too, but still a good resource!
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Oh, Vicks, many hugs to you. Peace to you, your daughter and granddaughter. It would seem suspiciously like you have a genetic disposition to BC. Wish I could be there with you and give you all hugs and prayers in person.
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Lumpies, if you've been tested for the BRCA gene and DON't have it, this study might be of interest: BC Survivors tested for BRCA gene Study
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