Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Hi Pontiac, I went to see the plastic surgeon on Thursday of this week. He said what he would do was put me to sleep for an hour and then lipo about 3 to 4 ounces of fat from my stomach, spin it down etc and then insert it into my dent in my breast and it should look like a bump for awhile until the fat absorbs and if it absorbs to much he can redue it again in 6 months. The downside is it could calcify and show up odd on a mammogram. So like I said I am not sure it is worth it.0 -
Ndgrrl, that doesn't sound as bad as I was imagining. But I'm not sure it would be worth it either. But I might change my mind down the road....after all, I AM a girl
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I guess what scared me the most was the calcifications could cover up a new cancer. I went to the American Plastic Surgeon site and they said there is no proof that that has happened though its relatively new. So not sure...
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Ndgrrl, I produce enough calcifications without help. That would worry me too. So many "ifs".
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Nitengirl and anyone else facing chemo.....i had 6 rounds this summer, every three weeks from June5 until Sept. 18 and you can do it! I had a port put in because I will continue Herceptin infusions until next June. I love the port.....blood samples are taken from it and chemo goes in from there. I was so nervous about chemo, but it was truly OK. There are medications given before the chemo that combat any nausea or other reactions. One is Benedryl. My MO also had a standing order for Ativan if I wanted it. I opted for the Ativan 5 out of 6 times and found that between that and the Benedryl I dozed through most of my treatments which generally lasted about 5 and 1/2 hours each time. The nurses were wonderful. There were wam blankets and snacks, etc. I did find that chemo messed with my tastes and like someone else noted, I found tomato juice and pasta dishes with tomato sauce to be pretty good. Chicken and rice were standbys. You will find your favorites, too. Just be good to yourself. If you have energy, get up and go! If you're tired, take a nap.
I have a wig, soft knit caps for sleeping and scarves for wrapping or making turbans. There are Youtube videos about wrapping scarves. Etsy has a chemo cap maker whose last name is English who makes scarves ready to pop on your head in a variety of color and prints. I also got my knit caps from her. She ships very quickly! I also got a couple of silk predone scarves called beaubeaus.......they are lined and nice, but pricey. The website is 4Women and she is also on Etsy. She ships quickly. One of my orders came in the wrong size and I had to return it. It took about 2 weeks to get the replacement and I was not credited for my return shipping when it was their error. That kind of left a bad taste. The silk is beautiful, though, and I wear those when I am dressing up a bit. I also favor big earrings these days!
You will do fine...and the discussion board is wonderful for side effect advice. Good luck and keep your eye on the prize.....chemo can be a VERY effective tool in our battles against cancer.
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tough decision ndgrrl....the procedure sounds relatively easy but the calcification thing is concerning. I guess it comes down to how much the indentation bothers you. Sounds like you are really on the fence. I wouldn't make a decision until you feel 100% one way of the other.
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hopeful do you have a surgery date?
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Hi, Nash - Ready for a long response? Cup of tea in hand?
I was going to have surgery 10/14 but changed protocols (and BS) and it's now on hold. Instead, I'm taking Femara in hope of a) having a pcr in the positive node and b) bringing down the Ki67 marker, which is high, at 43%. I'll have to have another set of biopsies mid-November (not looking forward to that to see how everything's responding to the Femara. If it's working, I'll be on it for a few more months before surgery. If it's not, we'll revise our strategy at that point.
So there's a lot that's up in the air until my meeting with the surgeon on 11/21 but I'm very hopeful that this is working. If it does, we'll be able to avoid the ALND, which would make me VERY happy, as would seeing the Ki67 fall substantially. (If anyone wants to pray for that or send good energy, I'd really appreciate it.)
My husband, family and I are all really interested in this protocol - it's an off-trial replication of a trial that my MO had mentioned, without the risk of being randomized to the "wrong" arm of the study. At the very least, we'll come out of it knowing how my tumor responds to Femara, which will be useful info in the long run. So far (crossing my fingers) NO side effects from the Femara.
Thank you for asking, Nash. I hope you're feeling pretty good today, a month out from your surgery. I'll be interested in hearing how your internal rad. goes. I probably won't be able to go that route but it sure sounds like a great option.
Have a good weekend, all.
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Hopeful, definitely sending positive thoughts your way. Obviously hoping this protocol will be extremely positive for you. You seem to know that you had positive lymph nodes. Were some removed or did they extract "stuff" from them? GOOD LUCK and many HUGS!!!
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Thank you so much, Peggy. I really do appreciate the good thoughts and hugs.
The radiologist spotted an enlarged node on my follow-up mamm. and took a closer look at it in US (had them back to back). I didn't realize what it was I was seeing on the screen, although the breast tumor looked pretty concerning to me, so when he sat me down and showed me first the tumor and then the lymph node, the news was even worse than I'd expected. Still, the BiRad said "suspicious for but not classically typical of cancer" - which left a little bit of room for hope. And since I'd recently had some gum surgery, I thought 'well, maybe that's why the node's enlarged.' Unfortunately, the biopsies were malignant for both.
So, yes, I've known all along that there was nodal involvement, which is maybe better than finding out after surgery.
Fortunately, both the bone scan and CT scan were pretty clean. Interestingly enough, the bone scan showed lots of activity where I'd had a fracture 4 years ago, which just goes to show how long it can take for something like that to finish healing. The human body is pretty fascinating and amazing, isn't it?
How're you doing now that you're a very little ways out from your rads, Peggy? I hope you're getting your energy back and doing o.k. on HT.
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Hopeful, doing well now that the rads are done. Finally am not exhausted though have some fatigue still. I was so exhausted before I started this journey that I could only go down. With hubby in rehab I am getting some relief and can sleep when I want. And that's a huge help. After 9 days on HT, doing just fine. Thanks for explaining your journey. It was one I hadn't heard before. Lots of positivity headed your way!!! HUGS!!
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I'm glad to hear you're getting some good, solid rest, Peggy, and hope that will continue. I also hope your husband's rehab is going well and will have lasting and profound benefits.
It's good also to hear that you're doing well with Arimidex. I think we tend to hear more about/from women who have problems than those who don't. (I'm not even reading the posts on Femara, as I don't want to go looking for trouble!) The great thing about the AIs is that there are several of them, so if one doesn't suit us, there are alternatives.
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Hopeful, I have read a lot of the comments on Arimidex but I also am very positive, not looking for trouble. I don't blame you for not reading about Femara. It is very nice we have choices. I certainly intend to stay on AIs as long as my MO wants me too - even 10 years (which I read some are now recommending). Whatever it takes to make sure this crap doesn't come back.
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Thanks for sharing Hopeful.... I am sending prayers and positive thoughts your way. I had my first rads on Friday and it went well. I'll go back on Monday and finish up Thursday. I'm counting down the days. The physical part is not bad...just a tad uncomfortable but definitely doable. It's the emotional part that's challenging for me. I'm keeping a positive outlook most days but this just really sucks. I hate that any of us have to go thru this but it definitely helps having people on this board that understand. And wow I didn't even realize it's been a month since my surgery.
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Nash54 don't discount the actual effect rads has on your mental status. It releases all sorts of cytokines and other gunk into your bloodstream from tissue death, and thus into your brain. Radiation can be very very taxing mentally. Some people breeze right through it, but for others (including myself, who had been in treatment for six months before I started radiation) it can be the point where the emotions finally catch up with you. I'd never once broken down until radiation. It is hard to do in such a different way than chemo which you just sort of grit your teeth and barge through. Radiation is more insidious in its effects. Fatigue, depression, anxiety - all common during radiation. Be kind to yourself, and know that this too, shall pass.
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Palameda, you've gone through so much more than I have. I didn't suffer depression or other mental problems through my rads but I didn't start where you did. Fatigue is definitely a problem whether you've had chemo or not. I suspect chemo exaggerated everything. When you got to the rads, which perhaps seemed like "nothing", you felt you could relax and let your emotions finally loose. Of course, everyone has different reactions to each phase of our treatments.
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Thanks Palameda
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Hi All Here -
I am about to enter into the next phase of my treatment. This Tuesday I am going for my rads sim visit. So I would imagine that would set the stage for radiation to start the following week - Nov. 3rd. According to my RO it will be actually 6 and a half weeks. The first 5 weeks, the whole breast will be treated, and then the remainder of the sessions will be spent just on the area where the tumor was located. Also, last Friday I found out that by the numbers of my hormonal level indicate that I haven't gone though menopause as I thought had already happened.. So the hormone of choice, when I get to that phase will be Tamoxifen. As I am currently taking Zoloft, I have to start transitioning from the Zoloft to Effexor - kinda like see-sawing between the two.
Not my choice to do this and it just throws another unknown into the picture. Hopefully, the changeup won't be too difficult on me, because it will be ongoing while the radiation starts and ramps up. From what I have read here - radiation can lend itself to depression.Trying to find out if others have had this experience as well?
MarieBernice6234
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MarieBernice, bet that WAS a surprise finding out that you hadn't gone through menopause. I take it that Zoloft and Tamoxifen don't play nicely together.
I had 27 whole breast and 6 boosts (to the tumor area) for a total of 33. I didn't notice any depression from the rads, just fatigue. But everyone is different. Perhaps you won't have any issues since you are taking Zoloft/Effexor and are ahead of the game! Good luck transitioning, I am sure that can be challenging.
You'll do just fine!! HUGS!!
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Hi Pontiac Peggy -
Yup, I certainly was surprised about the menopause thing, but my MO thinks I will probably be going through it (maybe during treatment). With luck, I will have enough on the Effexor side built up while the Zoloft side is plummeting.to have minimal problems during the rads. I was wondering though, as I am ER + won't the presence of Tamoxifen and the inability to cling onto the receptors sort of make menopause occur anyhow. Maybe I am naive?
MarieBernice6234
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Pontiac Peggy -
No Zoloft and Tamoxifen do not play together nicely in the sandbox or anywhere else. One month cancer free tomorrow.
MB6234
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MarieBernice, my understanding is that you will be in an "artificial" menopause from Tamoxifen, maybe real. But I don't know for sure since I'm nearly 30 years beyond. Maybe there's help here in the Tamoxifen articles.
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MarieBernice....thanks for the reminder that we are indeed cancer free! I needed to hear that today. Congrats on your Onc score! I was in the "dreaded intermediate range" so now I'm waiting for my mammaprint results. Should know in about 2 weeks. I'm doing 2 internal rads per day and will be done this Thursday!!!
PontiacPeggy....you are one tough cookie. Send me some of your "no nonsense approach".
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Nash, thank you for the very kind words. I really needed them today. Sometimes I think BC is much easier than coping with DH's medical, physical and mental challenges and caregiving them. (I think that's rotten English!). We ARE cancer free! I know those rads killed any bad stuff lurking and the Arimidex will stop anything else in its tracks.
Fingers and toes crossed that you won't need chemo. It must be terrible being in that intermediate range. It should be cut and dried. HUGS!!!!
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Hi ndgirl: lots of info out here on fat grafting - my insurance has declined the procedure and it is in appeal so first please make sure your insurance will cover the procedure. I am also facing the insurance attitude of "reconstruction only needs to be covered after a mastectomy by law" so prepare yourself for a possible battle or maybe your request will breeze through - which I hope it does.
Su: you are in my thoughts and sending you hugs and positive energy for this next round as you fight BC.
Nash: THAT must have scared the crap out of you! I am so glad you said you were not comfortable with what he said, I'm not sure I would have said anything! I have learned a very valuable lesson from you today! THANK YOU.
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Here is some info on insurance and paying for reconstruction:
Breast reconstruction procedures should be covered by your health insurance plan, whether they are done right away, soon after mastectomy/lumpectomy, or many years later. This includes procedures that may be needed over time to refine the reconstructed breast and/or to create symmetry (balance) between the two breasts.
The Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998 requires all group health plans that pay for mastectomy to also cover prostheses and reconstructive procedures.
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dogsneverlie ...it sure did scare me. I also learned a valuable lesson that day. Not to get so caught up in all the emotion and to slow down a bit. I'm not trying to be a pain in the butt but I'm sure asking more questions.
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Thanks for thinking of me dogsneverlie ! Hugs and positive thoughts are very much appreciated!
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Just a thought, Ladies. I finished up my rads 1-1/2 weeks ago. Since then I had not done any stretching of my SLN arm. Why would I? I had had absolutely no trouble with it (other than the incision being a pain). Well, yesterday my underarm felt tight and was bothersome. So I stretched it good. I should have been doing it sooner. It was tight. It did loosen up right away. Apparently, I need to do this regularly and that had never occurred to me. So now I will do that. You might want to remember to stretch that underarm regularly too.
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Thanks Peggy....good to know.
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