Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Nancy, there something to be said for only one incision. I'm lucky that mine was 9mm. The BS took out a 5 x 4 x 3 chunk. Probably a good thing since she snagged a DCIS in the process
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wow you don't mean inches do you? Centimeters? That's 2 inches as well. I thought gals with smaller lumps had smaller incisions. Maybe two inches or larger is the norm? Yes I thought it was weird I only had one incision. There is one other member here who had only 1 incision.
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yeah the idea of someone "checking things out" right now might drop me to my knees screaming "UNCLE"
or ya know.. I could just be a on edge expecting lots of pain hehe0 -
Nancy,I did mean centimeters. I'm small, very small. but it was a rather big chunk.
Panthrah, I couldn't imagine it a month ago either. Now I'm fine. Probably could even do... a mammogram!
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Well I have a half marathon in 10 days and Im going to flatten my little A-'s down to minimize bouncing as much as I can and to protect them from the herds of the race hehe
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You ladies with your descriptions of your cats with their special abilities to locate the sore spots brought a smile to my face.
When my DH returned from his trip as chaperone for my son's school science camp, he greeted me with a huge hug in front of all the adults waiting in front of the school. He managed to trap my boob in the crook of his arm as he gave me a big squeeze. I cried out.... loudly.... in front of everyone. I couldn't help it; it hurt so much.
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*disclaimer ..husbands and SOs also have the skills to magically find the sore spots.. generally in a public setting
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Thanks Everyone!
I am exercising my arm several times a day with the advise of PT. It is really stiff and after exercise frees up for a while….then gets stiff again. PT said this will continue as scar tissue is building and I must stretch it out continually.
Advice taken on massage and heat for my breast. I feel like it is "better" and will continue with this too. Will see what the radiation doc says tomorrow about being ready yet.. Hopefully. Just want to get it over with - my patience with cancer is not so much!
I am always looking for a "reason" for things, and maybe cancer is to teach me patience! We will see…..
Hope everyone is doing well and I will update on radiation tomorrow. Have a great day :-)
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Panthrah,
I must walk every day as I have an 85 lb American Bulldog who doesn't care about cancer! I took about a week off right after surgery, but have been walking every day since. I find it helpful to wear compression shirt over by sports bra. Using a long sleeve shirt also helps with my "irritation" on the back of my arm. The tighter the better! Actually got a size to small to make sure it was tight….a bit of a chore to get on, but it really helps.
Good luck with the marathon!! You go girl!
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KKay5525...once you start radiation I don't think it's recommended to put heat or ice on the area. Also, I was told not to wear anything tight on my arm where the lymph nodes were removed due to possible lymphdemia.
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Nash,
Thanks. Information out there is so diverse! The Dr. told me if I plan to fly to get a compression sleeve or my arm may swell. But, I guess that's not really tight where the lymph nodes were removed. Hummm, it seems to be OK for me right now, but will check with the Doc. Thanks.
Agree, after the start of radiation no ice or heat, hoping the issue is gone before that. My thought was that they may not start radiation with the breast still tender and with the knot in there? I go tomorrow, so I will know the answer soon :-)
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kkay5525 you made me laugh about your dog. I have two chocolate labs who don't care about cancer either and insist on walks twice a day. I took a few days off after lumpie but that was it. My son was home at the time so he walked them. I am doing chemo and have managed to walk the two spoiled brats every day twice a day. It's good for my mental health.
Nancy
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my surgery is over! One more step completed! I did have seizures in recovery and again later that night so most of my hospital is an ativan blur
I'm wearing a bulky dressing until tomorrow and then I can get a shower and survey the damage. He didn't remove the entire nipple so that is goodMY return appointment is a week from today and that is when I will get pathology results. No entire of making an appointment with a MO or RO yet. I'm so sore...but not taking anything other than ibuprofen and tylenol. Any tips on how to get comfortable are appreciated.
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FHG - glad to know you're back home but sorry you had a rough time. Crossing my fingers for good results.
Nancy - You are SO lucky to have just the one incision. I'm hopeful that will be the case for me, too, since my tumor and malignant node are rather near each other.
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ForHisGlory, Glad you are home. You probably didn't miss anything of importance during the hospital stay. :-) I remember bits and pieces and my BS went over everything in the follow up visit any way. Glad they were able to preserve part of your nipple.
I advise that you stay ahead of the pain. If you need to take something stronger, do so. If not, fantastic. The most important thing for me was keeping my breasts still. They would move even when I was walking around the house. I wore soft bras 24 hours a day. Make sure you do your arm exercises to keep your range of movement. Make sure you eat, even if you don't feel like it. You need food to speed your healing. If you need to sleep or rest, do so. Listen to your body.
You will feel better when you shower and remove the dressing. I wanted to let you know I cried when I saw my breasts post-surgery. They looked fine... great even. I think that's when it hit me.... actually seeing what I was doing to get the cancer out!
I also asked my BS to call me when he got my pathology report. I wanted the info so I could be better prepared to ask informed questions. I'm glad I handled it this way. I found out the cancer was in my nodes... and didn't think clearly afterwards. Finding out over the phone allowed me to get over the initial shock and prepare for the info the BS would give me during our appointment.
Make sure you get a copy of your path report for your records. You will want to refer to it later.
Poppy
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ForHisGlory....Yeah!!! for you. So glad that part is over. As far a getting comfortable, lots of pillows....I opted for the pain meds for 2 days after just so I could get some sleep. I didn't feel bad but took it easy for a couple of days. Praying for good results on your path report.
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Poppy, that's my approach to test results, too. Even if it's bad news, I find it helpful to have some time to digest it before trying to address it with my MD. Otherwise, I'm likely to be too shell shocked to really get the most out of the appointment. So far all of my team have been on board with that approach.
As for staying ahead of the pain - it's been demonstrated in study after study that this is the best approach. There's no special medal for not taking pain medications!
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ForHisGlory - glad that your surgery is over. I took the pain meds for two days and then went to 1000 mg acetaminophen q 4 hours. I don't like pain meds, was sick at first from them, but did it for the sleep! I put pillows under my arm and slept on my back..which was hard as I'm a side sleeper :-( Still sleeping mostly on my back, but can sleep on the non op side if I like. Hopefully you'll feel better soon!!
Nancy2581 - If it wasn't for the dog, I may not walk every day. She keeps me exercising and moving all the time…guess they are like kids always needing attention :-) My kids are out of the house (one of them left the dog) so I don't do as much as I should. Animals have a huge impact on peoples lives (I believe) for the better. Love her.
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FHG: great to hear you have the surgery behind you, over another hurdle. Ask your Dr if it's OK to record your appt with your smart phone/ipod. All my Doc were OK with that, and it really helped to go back later and relisten. Although I took Lew with me for appointments, he wasn't much help in remembering details.
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I absolutely second this suggestion. We've done this with all of my appts. and it's been a HUGE help. Being able to go back and hear the EXACT words, rather than notes jotted down by one or the other of us, can make all the difference in the world. It also allows us to focus more on the conversation with the provider, rather than taking notes.
I always give a new provider's office a heads up that I plan to do this and no one has objected. Interestingly, the MDs I've had the best experiences with will sometimes beat me to the punch and suggest this.
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I third that suggestion! I taped all my appointments and learned something new each time I listened to them! We (my husband, mom and I) would disagree on what was said and the tapes came in handy!
Kay
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Hi -
I am so glad that you are home from your surgery, sorry to hear about the seizures. Hope that the rest of your recovery goes smoothly. I would agree with everyone else - don't let the pain get ahead of you. Then it is too hard to get back on top of it. Just take it slow. You are the expert on you!
MArieBernice6234
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Hi All -
My first week of rads is just about over. Three sessions under my belt. I am very observant of changes in my body, and have noticed some things. First of all, supposedly the "dimpling" is where the lymph node was removed. On the other hand the area that I thought could have been a keloid scar, supposedly isn't related at all to the surgery. I was told that it was natural skin crease, except it was never there before the surgery.
Also yesterday when I went to my post breast cancer exercise program, I noticed that doing some of the stretching exercises were more difficult. I also noticed yesterday a small area on my right side upper arm, It was burning and itchy at times. I thought it would be related to the treatment as it is on that side. I asked one of the nurses today about both of those items and they said it would be soon for them to be related to the treatment. I don't know if I believe that, it is a bit coincidental to everything. You would think that I know my body more than they do, at this point.
Oh yes, I already experienced my first mechanical break down of the radiation machine. My treatment had to be moved from the morning to later in the afternoon.
MarieBernice6234
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I went to RO yesterday and I'm just about "ready". Monday they will do MRI to map and workup their treatment plan. The nurse said that it would take about a week and then they will set up my appointments - four weeks total - last week targeted treatment.
As they went over the paperwork of side effects the RN just kept saying…"you should do fine and not have these"…Is radiation nothing??? I feel like it's a big deal and she was minimizing it. Is it nothing and I am making a big deal out of it? Starting to feel like everyone thinks I have "a little bit of cancer" and it's no big deal - including family and friends. I do act like I don't have a problem because I don't want everyone to feel sorry for me…maybe I should act more like I feel and not to protect them from worry…..
Feeling under (can't find the word!) Under appreciated for having cancer? Under worried about? Under helped? Others expectations too high? IDK Pitty Party over..Thank you for listening. :-)
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Kkay, you're very entitled to have a pity party! Because we are lucky enough to BC that doesn't need chemo, I think our friends and family do think it is "nothing." We know it isn't. It's very hard to convey how devastating the dx is no matter the stage.
Now for your rads. I personally found them to be nothing other than time-consuming. I had a bit of discoloration. The RO had me use Aquaphor though I would have preferred to use nothing, I did use it. My nipple is very dark now and so is my incision. I had the fatigue that often accompanies radiation but I was exhausted before I started my radiation treatment so hard to discern where one ended and the other started. I think RADIATION can sound scarier than it is (at least for me). I never found it scary and was so glad there was something else I could do to kill the damn cancer. Perhaps that thought might help you. Let us know how you do! HUGS!
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KKay....I think our family and friends embrace the positive (caught it early, no chemo, treatable...etc.) because otherwise it would be too scary to deal with. So glad to have these boards where others who are actually going thru it can relate and understand.
I had internal rads, and though it was uncomfortable, it was not a big deal. The bigger deal is dealing with the emotional impact of being diagnosed with this disease and all the unknowns that go along with it.
I do feel better now that radiation is behind me and will feel even better after my follow-up appts (I have 2 next week) are completed. Hoping for no surprises.
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Nash, I think you're absolutely right about how our family and friends react and why.
I see my RO for my 1 month post-rad follow-up next week. My MO put me on Fosamax this week. But there should be anything to be surprised about.
Good luck with your follow-ups!
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I'm so happy many of you have been able to avoid the chemo rollercoaster. It is truly horrible, with long term risks and effects. Many, many of my friends in real life, avoid me.... I think they don't know what to do or say.
I think it's easier for people to focus on the positives when they think about our cancers. Things like, they caught it early, not needed chemo, not having to have a mx...
In no way is anyone's cancer not a big deal, chemo or not. Chemo just makes it very visible to others.
Towards the end of this year, I will be done with chemo and moving on to the radiation portion of my treatment. Radiation will be an ordeal, especially since I am already exhausted from chemo. But based on the info I've received from ladies, such as Peggy, I know I will be prepared and get through it.
Perhaps the personnel at the radiation treatment center are just trying to help relieve your anxiety? That's the impression I got during my appointment at my treatment center.
I hope you all have a better day tomorrow... even feel better this evening.
Hugs!
Poppy
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Poppy, your journey has been rough. It's sad just when you need your friends the most, they aren't there - whatever the reason. But WE are here for ya!
I KNOW that the personnel at the radiation center can make all the difference in the world. Mine were beyond supportive. Hubby was so very ill while I was having my rads and they were very sympathetic and comforting. I do know that I've never found x-rays or anything else to do with radiation at all scary, perhaps that explains my attitude. And, besides, what difference does it make how I feel about radiation? I was going to do it because it was a necessary part of my treatment. Just like you are doing chemo - because it is necessary and you want to kill the damn stuff. Might as well feel positive about something you can't change or avoid.
HUGS!
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I agree with you, Peggy, about the fact that we will whatever treatment (rad., chemo) because we want the best shot at getting this stuff out of our bodies permanently.
However - I don't think we should give the staff or MDs a pass on ANY of our questions and particularly on questions regarding side effects, whether currently experienced or potential.
I think there is WAY too much that's being swept under the carpet. Until it sees the light of day on a regular basis there will NOT be sustained efforts to improve treatment or avoid side effects.
I also found that when I kept pressing for more complete information one of two things happened; either I DID get useful information that helped me make an informed decision (and increased my appreciation and respect for the MD) OR I found out that the MD in question was definitely not interested in having an involved, assertive client (patient) and I walked away from them.
In the long run, I'm not too concerned about radiation, although I AM concerned about its potential for increasing my risk of lymphedema and a few other long-term side effects. I see it as infinitely more manageable than chemo, for example. But would I avoid it if I thought I'd do o.k. without it? Yes indeed.
Nash & Poppy - I think you've hit the nail on the head regarding reactions of friends/family. I'm really fortunate in that I'm one of 4 women in our office dx within the last 2 years (yikes!) AND I have a brother who went through treatment for cancer himself a couple of years ago (and has a close co-worker w/breast cancer) so the whole family is much more aware and o.k. talking about this stuff than many. Plus my step-mom is a retired nurse who helps keep it real. So there's no minimizing what anyone's dealing with, no hiding heads in the sand, no pretending everything's fine just because I don't look any different, plus everyone's pretty well figured out the ins and outs of dealing with the situation. The only obnoxious questions/comments I've encountered have been from medical staff - go figure.
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