Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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ForHisGlory....will be thinking of you tomorrow and praying for a quick recovery.
KKay5525.....the lymph node incision was bothersome for me too. I've babied that arm. Resting it on a raised pillow while watching tv, and I used a soft pillow (like the one you put around your neck) at night to keep my elbow lifted away from my armpit. It's gotten much better with time. I'm over a month out.
caniac389....I didn't have any bruising, but just wanted to say welcome to the lounge.
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KKay, ForHisGlory and Caniac, that damned lymph node incision stays annoying for quite sometime. The trick, of course, is to wear clothing that doesn't irritate it (and to keep stretching that arm). Loose sweatshirts worked for me. I went braless most of the time too. I didn't baby my arm like Nash did. However, I noticed that if I perspired (who sweats?), it was irritating to that damn incision.
I had hematomas from my core biopsy that didn't go away for 2 months and it took that long for my lumpy one to go away too. BS was not concerned. It was also hard by the incision. But last week I noticed I felt NORMAL! Squishy where I should be. That 3 months plus after surgery. It may have been normal sooner but I wasn't poking around until then.
Eventually all returns to your new normal!! Good luck and HUGS to you all.
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Caniac389
I would most definitely contact my surgeon. When I had my partial Mastectomy in Oct 2011 I developed a huge hematoma in the breast within few days of the original surgery. Surgeon re-opened it and removed over 1100 ccs of fluid. My whole breast was purple and swollen and uncomfortable...Glad I contacted him. Good luck as you begin this journey, I have an appt. with both my RO and MO next Fri. for the semi-annual checkup. So far NED. Still taking Letrozole..
Keep us updated as you progress along. Feel free to ask any question you have or if you just need a place to dump, yell , cry. We have all been through this journey and know how much our new 'sister club' can help us....
Vickie
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Kay, what is happening to you sonds very normal for being only two weeks out from surgery. The hardness where the tumor was removed is called a "healing ridge", it will go away in time. Your doctor can give you some exercises to help you regain range of motion. They can also prescribe physical therapy if needed.
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Hi New Ladies... Welcome to the Lounge! The ladies here are wonderful and have a wealth of information!
You've already received excellent information!
I had a10cmX4cmX2cm hematoma from my Lx. I did not have it drained. My PS wanted to just let it reabsorb. He said that as it healed, the bruising would become more visible and would appear to move down my body. This all happened. Over 3 months post surgery, I still have some visible bruising.
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Poppyk, it took about 10 weeks for my hematoma to absorb (we had our lumpies the same day!). My BS also just wanted it to go away by itself. My lumpy was not quite as big as yours. It DOES go away. I didn't have mine travel around my body. Wonder if my rads helped it go away. The one from the core biopsy sure didn't want to disappear.
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Oops, the dimensions were the size of my hematoma according to my CT scan.
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Hi,
I found out I had a lump on a mamogram late July.. my Mom had breast cancer when she was 67, I'm 63. She opted for a mastecomy because she did not want chemo or radiation.
I had a lumpectomy on October 6th. Left breast. My surgeon said she got it all.
It was .9 cm. The size of a pencil eraser. Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Stage 1, Histologic grade 2.
It was .2 cm from inked inferior and superficial margins.
My lymph nodes were both clear.
She said IF I had the lumpectomy, I HAD to have radiation.
My radiation treatment is supposed to start tomorrow.. He thinks I can get away with having 20 treatments instead of 33.
But I'm scared.. I've researched a lot.. about why I need to have it.. and about the side effects that may.. or may not happen. I had a chest x-ray (I requested) and my heart is not enlarged, and it is in the right place..
I just do NOT want to end up with more issues than I have now..My oncologist is recommending Anastrozole because my cancer had estrogen receptors. She supports my continued use of supplements to build up my immune system.
I started changing my lifestyle as soon as I found out about the cancer.. IF cancer likes sugar, I wasn't going to give it any! Started a Keto type diet.. gave up soda & all artificial ingredients. I have to watch the soy, because soy is plant based estrogen. So I discovered that most all of the fast food places & prepared foods in the supermarket have soy oil or soy protein in them.. The only thing that does not have soy as an ingredient in KFC's original recipe chicken..
I take curcuman, cinnamon, milk thistle, reishi, brazei mushroom, lots of vitamin C and D, B3..Kelp. Spirulina Pacifica.. and more..
When I started the Keto diet in late August, I weighed 218.. (I gained 25 pounds with each of my pregnacies..3 in total.. And kept the weight when I had each baby)
Today my weight was 186.4.. The lightest I've been in 34 years. I'm off my blood sugar meds.. my glucose level is staying in the 90s. I'm off my water pill.. I'm not retaining water because I'm not eating many carbs. My carbs I do eat come from fresh organic fruit & veggies. My BP meds have been cut in half.. 25 mg Morning & night.
Looking forward to knowing you all..
Glenda
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Hi Glenda and welcome. Sounds like you are doing really well with the Keto diet. I'll have to check it out. Great that you are able to cut back on the meds. I just can't seem to get my appetite back since my diagnosis. Hopefully it will return soon. I just finished internal rads last week. So things should start to get back to normal. I haven't started any AI's yet, but see my Onc for followup on Nov 10th...and then I'll know what I'll be taking. Hoping for minimal side effects.
I was told the radiation cuts recurrence rates by about 30%...so sounded good to me.
Good luck on your rads.
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Glenda, please don't worry too much about the radiation. Most of us have no problems at all and feel that any SEs are worth it since it kills CANCER! I had a lumpy in July, .9mm Stage 1 Grade 1 0-5 nodes. So nice and clean. I started Anastrozole 2-1/2 weeks ago with no problems so far. Again, if it prevents the cancer from coming back, I'm all for it.
I haven't changed my diet. My weight etc is just fine. I'm quite sure my BC landed because of the stresses in my life (caring for a very sick DH). Good for you for losing weight! That is hard to do.
Be sure to check out the Fall Radiation forum and the Arimidex (Anastrozole) forum for much more information. And remember NOT EVERYONE HAS SIDE EFFECTS from these treatments. I had mild discoloration from the radiation, no pain, no nothing.
Take a deep breath and make sure you are visiting reputable websites that have good, solid, scientifically-based information.
HUGS!!!
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Nash,
30% sounds like a good increase in odds. I would hate to refuse treatment & have it show up again.
The Keto diet has been easy for me.. I was determined that I was NOT going to fed the cancer. So I burn Ketones instead of glucose. I eat a lot of greens, Kale, Leeks, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Onions.. salads, nuts, berries, grass fed beef, chicken.. all organic.. eggs.. cheese.. I'm learning to bake with coconut and almond flours.. Olive Oil. Coconut oil.
I used to love Potato leek soup.. now I make Cauliflower leek soup..
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Thanks, PontiasPeggy..
Glad that you are progressing so well.. & have had no SE's. Ultimately, I know that I am in God's hands.. and there is nothing that I go through that catches Him by surprise.
My daughter had my first grandchild, a boy, on August 13th. I haven't been able to get there because of all the medical appts, & they live over 500 miles away. So I'm anxious to get the treatments finished so I can travel there and hold him.
I will check out the other forums you mentioned.. Thanks so much!
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Glenda, please update your profile - it helps us all when we are passing out our advice
BTW, have you gotten your Oncotype score yet? Also, I would think that God expects you to do your part and take advantage of all the medical advances that He has helped create. Hope you get to see that grandbaby ASAP! I can imagine how hard it has been to not be able to visit him.
HUGS!!!!!!!
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Welcome Glenda, I had my lumpy in June for a 1 cm tumor, clean margins and clean sentinel nodes. Oncotype score was 27 so had to do chemo before my radiation, finished my 15 days of chemo on Friday. Like Peggy, I had little problems with my rads. RO says I'm a little pink but most of the time I can't even tell that. No significant change in my energy level, some occasional zinging sensations in my breast. The dietician had me eating 70 gm of protein a day during chemo and rads to help with the repair that my body is doing. Just thought I'd pass on what my onc had to say about eating soy foods. She said not to take supplements that had soy in that I'd be taking on a daily basis, but having an occasional meal with soy in it was not going to increase my estrogen and cause the cancer to come back.
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Thanks for the input, Puffin. Glad to know you're not having major issues post RT. And congratulations on finishing chemo!
The info on soy is interesting, although I've been avoiding it for a long time due to concerns about how it's produced. Not that that seems to have done me a lot of good...
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Kay... I was also surprised at the amount of pain from only having 2 nodes removed....and mine got worse a week later due to a seroma development...the size of a softball in my armpit. I walked around like some kind of fashion model with my hand on my hip because I couldn't put my arm down at all! That was done on 9/25. The "burn" has subsided, still numb feeling, and got some good stretches to do from a lymphedema education session. You should probably heal a bit more before stretching. Try keeping a cooled micro-bead pillow under your arm.....I also used ice bags whenever possible. I never used the pain meds for the lumpectomy, but hit them a bit for this node drama. It just takes more time to recover than what we expect, but it will get better. Best of luck!
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Red, thats a might huge senoma you had! I started stretching right away and it never hurt but I didn't have any drama like you - I wouldn't have stretched either. Ice bags are wonderful. Like you I didn't use painkillers either (the occasional Tylenol but that was it) after the one immediately after surgery. I'm curious as to why your lumpy and nodes were done at 2 separate times. Would you have preferred to have them done together? Just heal!!!
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Hi All -
Tomorrow is my first day of radiation therapy. I am not really overly nervous, just a bit. I hope that I get to see the oncology nurse or my radiation doctor, because I have a "dimpling " in my skin just underneath the site where the SNB was performed. It looks like I will be having 33 treatments.
One question though - would I put the corn starch (from the kitchen) on the affected area before or after the Jeans Cream. I will check out the Fall Radiation threads and forum as well.
MarieBernice6234
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Marie, don't put ANYTHING on until AFTER your rad tx. They don't want anything on you during the actual treatment session. I wouldn't use corn starch and cream at the same time on the same area. Fall Rads is a great forum. Good luck! You'll do just fine!
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HI there ladies.. whats the general time frame for the knot left over from lx to go away? (lx was 9/2) Doc said " feel that lump we made that.. dont panic.. " cause its still a smidge tender .. if the cat walks across me or I bump it just right. and I still catch myself guarding my boob like holding it while walking through crowds. I understand its part of the healing process so Im not freaking out.. just curious..weeks? months?? Is there anything I can do to help it along?
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My breasts are still tender and my surgery was in July. It was an extensive surgery, involving the entire breast.
Is the "lump" they made scar tissue? One area of my scars is tender and thicker than the rest. My PS said to massage the area every day when I am in the shower. I can massage it other times of the day and use lotion if I wish. He showed me how to do it... and he used a fair amount of pressure. He said scarring can take a while to improve... but it will improve. Since mine is near the surface, carefully using a heating pad is also an option. If you don't have fully sensitivity or feeling, you shouldn't use a heating pad because you could unknowingly burn yourself.
I recommend you call your doc or nurse and ask them what you can do. As someone here on the Board said "They work for you"!
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For His Glory,
I am 53 (in November). I hope that your surgery goes well! Every day I worried about Chemo and there was "another" test after surgery called the Oncotest - it shows early stage cancer patients risk for recurrence. I had a "low" score…so that was my last test before definitely NO chemo. Whoop!! So now I wait for radiation. Have appointment Thursday to see if I am ready.
Please let me know how your surgery goes and prayers are with you.
Kay
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Panthrah, I was sore then tender and sensitive for nearly 3 months. Nothing like a kitty walking on your chest to tell you that you've had surgery! How do they find the most tender spot? But last week I noticed HEY I'm good now! My nipple is still rather sensitive and at times my SNB area still gets annoyed. My MO poked, pushed and prodded my girl yesterday with me having no hurt! So it will come. It just takes time.
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panthrah, I had my lx on the same day as yours. My breast is still tender in that spot and where I had the SNB. The doctor says it is completely normal. I also do not know how but my cats seem to always find that exact spot.
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Jeanelle and Panthrah, our diabolical cats want to remind us that that spot hurts! Wouldn't want to forget that would we? Good thing we love 'em
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Its been a week since my lumpectomy. Anyone have any burning sensation around their lumpectomy area that seems to travel up the neck??? I just had my postop visit yesterday and he said everything looked good, but today I started having that sensation...strange.
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Thanks ladies.. Ill wait it out. and yes the cats have magic paws to find the pain spots. It is not the scar/incision site that hurts/feel the bump at. (about the size of a ping ping ball) its inside. and I can tell you pmsy boobs definitely makes me feel the spot more... a lot more. Ill try the heating pad tonight
Sheeba I did/do have random feelings- zaps, zings, burning, achy , feels like poking a bruise. but nothing that traveled further than the general area that was messed with. might be the nerve pathway ? Like referred pain/feeling. for example.. my knee pain is actually from my hip being too tight.
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panthrah- I had a lumpectomy on June 24th. I can still feel the knot. It was the size of a Ping pong ball, but I think it has gotten a little smaller. It doesn't hurt and recently I think it's getting softer. I can't tell really because I the paranoid queen checks it everyday
My onc checks it every time I go in. Oh and I know with me they had to cut into the muscle to get clean margins.Nancy
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I don't have a lump anymore. Nice and squishy and I'm from July. But it was just a week ago I realized that I'm now at what I think is my new normal and nothing hurt! Not even the MO checking my girl out hurt.
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I also wanted to add that my tumor was 2.8 cm and was so close to the sentinel nodes that I only have one incision, but it is 2 inches long. I measured it lol. If I am just sitting I can't really feel it but if I lay on my back and put my arm up that's when I feel it.
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