Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
Comments
-
Dyan, you sound like you are in a much better place now. It's good to hear. I don't know about you but I feel so much better once I've made a decision. I detest indecision. You obviously phrased your talk with Dave perfectly. I'm relieved and so glad he's on board. Of course, he's worried. We can't get rid of that
How neat to have a wig made of your own hair. Smart! It will be comforting to wear. You seem to have a team that takes your concerns very seriously and wants to help you now. That's good. I hope the heart tests reassure you that you'll do well with the chemo. You've done what YOU need to do by researching everything so you know the questions to ask (that's the hardest part - at the beginning you have no clue as to what questions you should ask, you don't know anything!).
The person you're consulting at the Cancer Center should be able to help you both cope with this crap diagnosis. Good for Dave for going to all your appointments. I'm really glad. You need his support so much right now. It appears that you hit just the right note on your situation vs his Dad's.
I'm so glad that you seem much more comfortable with your journey ahead; more positive. It's good to hear.
HUGS!!!
0 -
Thanks UpstateBee! Very helpful. I plan on ordering up a front closure bra today. It will be a long day. I have to be there at 8:30 and I don't have surgery til 3pm. I have no idea if they will glue or not - I never thought to ask that. Unfortunately it's on my left side and i am hopelessly left handed. I was supposed to facilitate the meeting on Thursday - it's my meeting that I was supposed to run with flip charts and white board work. I've resigned myself that I might be able to show up and contribute to the coversation - but someone else is going to have to drive the meeting and take notes. Sigh. It's one of my major deliverables for the year. are you from upstate? I'm originally from Syracuse :-)
dyanbrooks I am sorry to hear about your news - but you will make the right choices and get through this! Your fiance is just being protective I think - my husband is very angry at the world too - so is my dad. I think you just have to let him process his feelings. In the end it's your decision. Good luck... how long did it take for your pathology to come back after surgery?
Peggy you rock!
0 -
Peggy....you remind me of "Dear Abby"....I think you've found your calling! Thanks for providing positive vibes for a very scary situation.
(((hugs)))
0 -
Nash, oh my heavens! Dear Abby? That's pretty elite company. Thank you. If I can make even one lady less stressed, then I count myself blessed.
Tresjoli2, you should be able to drive and write. Just don't lift. That is an awfully long day. As I recall, my day started at 7 and I was home by around 1 or so. I had my surgery on Wednesday and Friday evening around dinnertime my surgeon called me with the results of the path report. I was astonished. I figured I'd have to wait a week! She is exceptionally considerate and I appreciate that!
HUGS!!!
0 -
tresjol2 it seems we were diagnosed about the same time. Sorry to hear that but I feel a little less on my own. With my surgery being fresh in my mind, I can say go with front enclosure or one you can pull up with no enclosure. You won't be able to pull it over. Also check for seams and where it sits in your armpit. My incision from the sentinel node removal is more painful than the lumpectomy one. Higher in the armpit is better and thin seamed. Oh, and the ladies were right about the button shirts. Once again go with a size or two larger. At home I stuck with these over sized midriff night shirts. Got them at Walmart. They were large, soft and comfy, plus easy to change in and out of. In fact they were very cute. They will get reused after this is over.
I have one seamless which was nice first couple days but then needed more support. I have C cup breasts so the weight pulled on the incision. I used sterile combine pads at first for cushion in my bra which worked well. They are nice and thick and almost like a large older kotex. Which gave me the idea for what I'm doing now. Once the bandages were removed and needed less cushioning, I am now using the thicker Always sanitary napkins in my bra. They are soft and good cushion, soak up any last drainage, and you can stick them to your bra so they don't move and end up with your bra rubbing directly on the incision.
I work, which is what brought me here in first place. By Thur you should make the meeting but expect to still be off a bit. Your body will still be in a little shock. Give yourself extra time getting ready and getting there. I would have to stop for a few minutes here and there to rest.
You might get woozy or upset stomach a bit but crackers are your friend. No flipping charts. Just be happy to be there. Once again expect that boost of energy and then your body saying hang on you just had surgery - your not superhuman. I did half day on my fourth day and full time on 6th and I am on my feet walking around all the time. Been fine since. In fact, felt better getting up and around.
Expect a lot of drainage at first. That shocked me, but apparently normal. And if they use blue dye it will drain for couple days. It'll also look like the Tidy Bowl man took up residence in your bathroom. Neon blue - no kidding. Was the most humorous part of the whole thing.
0 -
Oh, oh... one last thing. I found a prep list for surgery on here and it was right on spot. The only thing I would add is a body pillow if you can do it. You can lean up against it or wrap yourself over it. The extra cushion helps hold things from pulling while you sleep. Otherwise extra pillows.
Peggy where did I find that???
0 -
Dyan, no clue where you found it. But there is a ton of stuff here if you just spend a few minutes looking. I found the boards before all the info. It's impressive how much information is here, constantly updated. What a great resource. Here's one link, maybe the one you found, Dyan. What to Expect the Day of Surgery. Just remember that your experience may be slightly or very different. But the essentials are here at a minimum.
I had no drainage issues, no blue "blood" for me (must be too plebian!). I didn't realize that the underarm incision would be the one that was the pisser. It's not horrible, just soooo annoying. Even sweat irritates it. Argh!
HUGS!!
0 -
Dyan, I got tears in my eyes reading your update. I am so glad to hear where you are now. I was shocked that I needed chemo. But I agree, I am willing to have a rough year to gain many more years! There are many chemo cocktails available, so the docs should be able to find one that will work best for you. Everyone's cancer is different!
I want to say Happy Mother's Day to all of you on the board! You are all "women of influence". It doesn't matter if you are a daughter, mother, sister, aunt, grandmother.... you all have influence. Thank you for your support and friendship!
Poppy
0 -
Poppy, Happy Mother's Day to my surgery-date twin! I have a month to wait to see my sons and I can't wait! Hope everyone sees lots of their family!
HUGS!!
0 -
I just had my LX today!
I was a bit worried because they called me yesterday to tell me I should have another blood test first thing this morning before the surgery... Not sure why, but I had been low on Potassium and anemic. Made me worry that surgery might be postponed... But got all the way to being set up for the Needle/Wire Localization before the surgeon told them to go ahead with it since the bloodwork was fine. Whew!
They had to put in 3 wires because of some small areas of calcification they found on the magnified mammograms... I hope this didn't mean they were taking even MORE tissue, but it probably did! I joked that I must look like a porcupine. They had to take out a few of the wires and put more in, so it seemed like there were 5 or 6 in my breast! ... They told me to keep looking the other way and they made sure to pad and cover everything with gauze, so it really wasn't so bad after getting the numbing shots (those were stingy, but better than feeling needles and wires getting put into me, I'm sure).
Once I finally went into surgery, all I remember was scooting over to the operating table and then being told it was all over and scooting back to the gurney!
In recovery it felt like someone had beat me up in my breast, but the nurse put in some pain meds through the IV and I felt better. They filled a pain pill prescription for me, so I have those at hand if things start feeling bad again.
I got to finally eat and drink stuff. And i'm icing my breast a bit. I'm thinking of taking a nice nap now, before my pain meds wear off!
UpstateBee -- I had nothing that opened in the front, so I went to Target and picked up a couple of shirts and a hoodie. I'm wearing them now. You're right, I definitely wouldn't want to move my arm around that much!
They put me right into a post-surgery bra when they wrapped me up after surgery. I'm supposed to wear it for 3 days. Then go to something comfortable but supportive after that. I'll have to see what I have. I do have a front-closing racer-back bra. Hopefully that'll be OK... might not be supportive enough, though...
I probably won't need all my pain meds, but I'm pretty sure I'll need a few! I was pretty achy when I woke up from surgery...h
Chemo is definitely very tough to do. I think you could ask them to stop it if it got too bad, though... but I'm guessing that losing hair and possibly nails and things like that wouldn't be worth doing and then stopping. If it's something that isn't overwhelmingly recommended, I can totally understand you skipping it. Though... it might be easier to stand for someone younger. But maybe not! It's impossible to predict how bad your side-effects might be.
I think me being HER2+ is the main reason I get the full-monty of treatments: chemo, surgery, radiation, long-term targeted treatment. *sigh*
GoodConstitution -- Terrible that you had to have so many LX's!!!
I had a B-cup and a 3cm tumor, so they were definitely thinking I'd have a huge divot after an LX. That was one reason I thought doing chemo before surgery, where I had a better chance of shrinking the tumor and killing the cancer cells that might be in the margins and getting a better result. Of course, the chemo was terrible and my breasts shrunk to an A-cup!!! And tumor shrunk a bit ---to 1.2cm, but then they spotted lots of calcification that they wanted to make sure to get during surgery! So the surgeon was still wavering between recommending an MX instead of an LX, but at last moment figured it would be better to try to conserve the breast as much as possible...
I fear I may still end up with an MX... I'll have to wait to see what my path. report says, I guess!
--If you seem to be having a decent result after 3 LXs, I'm not sure why they'd suddenly think things would be THAT much worse after 4! I have to have radiation no matter what, so my choices have been easier so far. I wonder if getting a second opinion might help? But I really don't know. I do wish all the best for you, though. And I hope you find a good answer that works well for you...
0 -
April25, so very glad it's over! Sounds like you did really good. Get a good night's sleep. Take pain pills so you are comfortable. And just take it easy. Hoping for a great path report. HUGS!!!!!
0 -
April25 hooray it's over! Both you and dyanbrooks posts are very very helpful to me. I think the shock of having cancer has worn off, and fear is trying to take over. Information like this is so helpful. Dyanbrooks did you have a drain put in? I didn't think they did that for a lumpectomy? I have front closure work shirts...will pick something up for when i am home. I don't know what I would do without you ladies!
My daughter turns 3 tomorrow! Trying to focus on that for now!
0 -
April, glad things went well for you!
Tresjoli, happy birthday to your little girl! 3 is a big year.
0 -
Tresjoli - No I didn't have a drain, but the incisions drained quite a bit after into the bandages. A lot of it was the blue dye they used during the sentinel. I mean aot. They shot me full of it, then another shot of it, then add more over the lymph nodes after incision to find the "sentinel nodes" or the ones most likely to have become invaded by cancer near the tumor. I guess the radioactive dye helps those nodes show up more distinctly. Which gives them a better chance of biopsying the right nodes. Anyway, you can expect some draining from the wound. I had cranial aneurysm surgery 8 years ago and a c-section in 1991, both drained some afterward. Not like this, but some. The node one will drain more because of your bodies normal circulation of fluids through the lymph system.... and no, I;m not a brainiac with this yet, but had a surgeon sit for 45 minutes with me before hand and explain the whats and whys.
You might not have as much drainage, but don't be shocked if you do the first couple of days. Apparently it is normal.
I am finding I look forward to logging on each night now. I see why they call it "support." Who else could I talk about my neon blue pee with? hahahaha Your all just lovely!
0 -
Dyan, that's the best thing about this group - nobody freaks out when you say "I have blue pee"! We all just laugh with you. HUGS!!!
0 -
Talking about the blue pee. When I had my surgery, my granddaughter, daughter and my husband were all with me. After I had the injection of the dye, I mentioned to them that I was told my pee would be blue. A few days later, my husband stopped by the granddaughter's house and the great -granddaughter (3 at the time) told him to look at her doll. It has blue pee...
We have had several chuckles over that one..
Vickie
0 -
PontiacPeggy -- Took a nap after I got home and then was up puttering around a bit at night, but took a pain pill and got to bed and slept like a log! After surgery it felt like my breast had gotten beat up, but this morning the SNB incision was a bit more achy... nothing bad, though, but I took another pain pill anyway! Why not be comfortable? With the pills, I really don't feel anything-- just well-padded over my breast... And with a wad of padding under my arm. I grabbed a bag of that fake ice from the fridge and stuck it in a paper napkin (to soak up any condensation-- and stuck it in the surgery-bra they have over my bandages. And here I am, having some iced milk tea and checking the internet!
Having the fake-ice ready in the freezer was helpful. I hadn't been warned about that until I went home from surgery and they gave me one of those cold packs to put over my breast. I couldn't feel the cold at all, though, since there was the surgery bra and bandages in the way! But they said to ice for 48 hours, so, OK...!
Tresjoli2 --- I know! The posts on this site are just SO helpful! Much more informative than all the print-outs the nurse handed to me. I read through them all, but they still don't seem to really give you a good idea of what happens! --I have to say that so far everyone is right, the surgery is not bad (of course, I had a LX not an MX, so it really shouldn't be bad!). So nice to be out-patient and get a good night's sleep after!
They told me that after 3 days or so, I'd need some sort of "supportive bra"... And I think it would help if that opened in the front, too--or at least was easy to get on. I'm not sure what I'll wear... I wouldn't mind continuing to wear the thing they put on me--the post-surgery bra. It's white and nothing pretty, but has a zipper in front... maybe it's too snug for later? It doesn't feel too bad, really, but I kind of like the idea of something holding everything together after surgery! It feels kind of protective of my breast, anyway. It doesn't cover the SNB site under my arm, but I'm keeping that arm down against my body, so it's nearly like something is holding that together, too! And the pain pills totally work! I'm feeling nothing! And not like I'm about to fall asleep, either!
dyanbrooks -- Wow, they weren't kidding about the blue pee! That stuff is SUPER BLUE! Like those old toilet-bowl cleaners that had a lot of blue dye to show it was in there working, but even more! They also said that some people got blue skin--sometimes in their faces-- from it! That was freaky, but so far I haven't seen any sign of that, thankfully!!! They did tell me that my breast and that whole area might turn blue, though. I haven't been looking!!! But so far I don't look like some blue alien. I can see bandages peeking up past my neckline, but it's nothing too scary-looking. Whew!
I'm relieved that it's slight less blue today. It was pretty crazy just how blue the pee was. I pictured all that going through my body and I'm really surprised that I didn't turn bright blue myself!
I didn't get any draining tube, either. I think that's mostly the MX folk. I'm really hoping for no complications-- just bandage me up and do a check at my post-surgical appointment and that's that! I am REALLY hoping margins are clear and there's no lymph involvement, but that's all up to the path report... Nothing I can do about that until it's revealed to me, I keep telling myself!
Vicks1960 -- That is so sweet about your granddaughter and her doll.
0 -
April25, did the nurses tell you to "walk" your SLNB arm up the wall to stretch it out? Don't push it, just walk it until it feels tight. Do it in the shower once you can shower. Even me with my A cup boobs was very happy to have a bra on all the time. I wore my Genie bra for 3 weeks or more (can't remember exactly). I do know that once I started my rads, I went braless. That support feels good. Ice is good, keep that up!
Hard to wait for that damned path report, isn't it?
I don't recall having blue pee. I know I got that radioactive dye. Maybe I've just forgotten. So much was going on at that time that blue pee wouldn't have even made a blip on my radar.
Continue to take it easy. An Lx is still major surgery and your body is working really hard to heal, so rest it. Keep taking the pain pills if you're uncomfortable. Glad you're doing so good!
HUGS!!!
0 -
PontiacPeggy -- I haven't had any advise about stretching yet. Mostly just the typical "do not lift anything heavy for the next three days, maybe longer!" I'll definitely try gently walking up the wall when I can shower... I'm sure I'll want to get some range of motion back. It's not easy remembering to keep my arm down as it is!
I used to be a B-cup before chemo turned me into an A-cup! Made me worry because my tumor wasn't small to begin with and they were telling me I might not have a good-looking outcome with smaller-sized breasts! ... Now I'm not so worried. I really don't want more surgery, basically, no matter what it ends up looking like! I'm hoping that part of the treatment is now over...! (Though I know there's always a chance it isn't.)
The pee was shockingly blue! I didn't think it would be that noticeable, but wow! It was super blue all yesterday and is only slightly less blue today. They really went to town with the blue dye!!! You might have had some other kind of solution, though... Or just not recall. There IS a lot of stuff going on, after all, and blue pee is the least of it. (But it's kind of funny, I think!)
0 -
April25, I just checked my diary and I didn't write a thing about blue pee so must not have had it or didn't care. I agree that it IS funny. Like you, I am not a bit interested in any plastic surgery. Luckily, everything seems to be fairly balanced. My incision is on the underside of my breast and a biggish chunk was removed even though the tumor was very small (9mm). I don't know anything about chemo so didn't realize it could shrink your girls. BTW, I suspect you won't know what your breasts will look like until sometime after radiation (which I assume you will have). I haven't noticed any shrinkage. But I think that isn't usual.
Have a great weekend and sit back and do lots of nothing.
HUGS!
0 -
ok...I am so glad that you all warned me about the blue pee. Smurf pee. Got it! My surgeon did s great job describing the procedure but not the aftermath lol...
April25 when are u supposed to get your path results? I'll be thinking about you.
My daughters birthday was amazing. A good time had by all. My last hurrah beforemy surgery...
0 -
Evening ladies. Peggy - you would have remembered the blue dye thingie - it doesn't just hit your pee - if you know what I mean. Takes a couple days to go through but - well - yeah. lol
I am on day 10 after the surgery and doing really well today. Just to give a frame of reference, my incision was on the far back side of my breast as the lump was towards the back of the breast at 9 o'clock. I have a 5 inch incision from that part. I then have a 4 1/2 incision from the SNB. The SNB is healing really well but a bit more painful than the lower one and the lymph nodes underneath actually swelled and hurt. Asked surgeon about that and she said it was completely normal reaction that happens sometimes after surgery. The lower one is less painful but have had more problems with it as the weight of my breast was pulling on it at first even with the sport bra. I ended up getting a front fastening sports bra that was a bit tighter through the cups. Same size but felt tighter with the small amount of swelling I had. Thought it would be uncomfortable but after got use to the tightness was glad as the support helped alot and I started healing better.
Felt pretty much normal today. Energy high and spirits better. As a note, I am diabetic but control with diet, I have been having issues keeping my blood sugar down since surgery but was back to normal today as well. Probably was stress from surgery.
My unexpected path report finally settled in and I'm back in "OK, I can do this" mode again. I like this mode so much better. :-) But now back to the having to tell family about the change in diagnosis and go through managing their reactions again. That is plain exhausting. I seem to be more to the point and get to the part where I say I am not dying, quite looking at me like I am, quit acting like I am, and quit rubbing my back like I'm 5 years old. I didn't ask for pity. I'm just telling you because you will probably notice when my hair falls out that something is up. And please please please quit going on the web and then telling me about quack treatments in Figi or some far off place that someone somewhere scammed some congressman into giving them money to research and promises instant cures. I AMA DOING REAL MEDICINE
because I want to live a long and full life. As well quit telling me with that shit eating grin on your face that I can get my med marijuana card now - are you hoping I will share or something? Yes, I got cancer so I can smoke pot - I'm sure it will be worth it. Idiots!Hope all your days went well.
0 -
PontiacPeggy -- I started keeping a diary, but stopped after a while... Too much work! I have a hard enough time keeping track of all the doctor appointments and tests and such! But I think it's a great thing. I'm sure I won't remember anything useful at all! I can barely recall things as it is!
Chemo caused me to lose about 30 lbs and it all seemed to come off my breasts first! Chemo attacks all fast-growing cells, which, aside from hair and nails, also means a lot of the gastro-intestinal tract, which is one reason people get nauseous, get heartburn, find food tastes funny, get mouth sores get diarrhea and constipation-- pretty much affects everything from the mouth downwards! So it can totally mess with eating for some people. Anyway, I pretty much could barely eat anything in the middle of each cycle of chemo and would get dehydrated to the point of having to be hospitalized... Not everyone gets that way, but a few of us have that. Anyway, I think my breasts shrunk as much as the tumor!
My tumor is at the top of my r. breast-- 12:30-ish. I have no idea what it'll look like... I'm wrapped up in bandages and the surgery bra. Surgeon said he thought it would be OK when wearing a bra... but if they have to go in and take out more, I think that would start to get to the point where they should take it all and start thinking about plastic surgery... I think I'd do that just to keep things more balanced... I'm not too worried about how things look, but I like things easy and convenient and having to pad one side would get annoying, I think... But hopefully won't have to go there!
Tresjoli2 --- I have a followup appointment on Wednesday, I think! Maybe will hear path report then??? Or maybe they will just be checking my incisions?
... I wasn't getting a lot of explanation from anyone, but that really doesn't bother me too much... sometimes it just makes me think about things too much! I got things explained a bit more right as I was going into the wire placement thing... and not anything at all about the actual surgery--- just got wheeled in and put out with anesthesia... although the anesthesiologist was there beforehand to ask questions about what drugs I regularly took and stuff like that. Explained they'd put a tube in my throat, but not the kind that goes beyond the larynx and helps you breathe... I actually had a bit of a sore throat when I woke up after surgery... and a weird taste in my mouth...! bleh. It went away after a while, though.
Best wishes for a quick and smooth surgery and recovery!
dyanbrooks -- I'm on my second day of blue pee. It's less blue today, though! I think that's a good sign... that it's finally getting out of my body. I wonder if my breast is blue under the bandages? They said it might be!
I have no idea where my incision is, but my tumor is on the upper part of my breast so I figure it's somewhere around there! And I can feel the under-arm SNB incision, but don't know how long it is...
Are you having to get chemo? Is that the change? Is that because of the node involvement? I had to have chemo because of HER2+ I think. I have to get pretty much everything because of that-- radiation no matter what, chemo, and a year of Herceptin and something like three more years of something else-- femara? bleh. Chemo is a big bother, but of course, do-able. I didn't do any mj, but plenty of people do! It might have helped, actually...! I wish you all the best with your treatment. It all kills the cancer, so that's good, anyway!
0 -
April25, I had a lymph node biopsy with my lump biopsy and it was fine, but they didn't take ones from my armpit, they took ones from in my breast at about 6 o'clock and closer to my nipple. They thought they looked funny on the ultrasound with the mammo. Anyway, they were negative. After the surgery Laurie, my surgeon said that she thought the lymph nodes looked good when she removed them. Turned out they found a 1mm in one of them, but the kicker was there was some vascular invasion. It hasn't broke through into my bloodstream yet, but they found cells attaching around the vessels. If they break through I end up truly metastatic and it can go anywhere through the blood. So going into ugly chemo ASAP. Having port put in on Thursday; would have been sooner but couldn't get all the pre-op appts in sooner. Then 1 1/2 weeks or so to finish healing as much as possible, a PET-CT and Echo, and into chemo for 20 weeks. The plan right now is 8 weeks of Adriamycin and Cytoxan every other week dose, and then 12 weeks of Taxol weekly dosage. 7 weeks of radiation, happy 2016 new year, and then endocrine treatment.
So I was hoping for surgery and 6 weeks of radiation but I guess I am getting the full package deal hold the mastectomy. I hate being sick. I can handle pain better than nausea, etc.
Ladies, I guess the open question is the low immunity part. How low will it go? They say you can probably work part time but I am in close contact with people all day long at work. Is that going to be a problem?
Took a nap after work and had a weird dream: I was with friends that were taking me for a girls day out nail appt. We all sat down at the tables to get them done, put my hands out, and I had no fingernails. I was having fake nails glued to my fingers. It wasn't scary or anything but said something for my subconscious. Apparently it thinks that if I can get fake hair, I can get fake nails too. hahaha
Heading to bed. Good night. Catch up with ya'll tomorrow.
0 -
Dyan, obviously I didn't have blue pee! Of course you can do the chemo! And we'll be right here supporting you, holding your hand when it's rough and fist pumping as you finish each phase! I sure do understand about family and friends looking at you like you're dying. My DH did that. I had to have a talk with him and tell him how that was sooo unhelpful. I need positive vibes all around me - just as you do. Good grief, you're going to be going through a really challenging patch but you'll get through and be able to move on living your life. And yeah, get breast cancer so you can get your pot card. Wonderful. Assholes!
April25, I keep a diary anyway and just created a special one for my breast cancer journey because I knew I'd never remember all the details, what was being done and what I was feeling. It's been helpful. I have also learned that it is important to keep track of ALL the tests (for any reason, not just BC) I have. By the time you get to your 60s you need this information and I can guarantee you won't remember if you had a CT of your gallbladder when you were 40 or a stress test at 45. I keep that information in a file and have it on DropBox so I can always access it.
it is hard to tell what your breast will look like when things settle down. Yours have certainly had a lot of change prior to surgery. I wouldn't have thought about you losing so much "bustiness" from chemo. I think you're right to see if the girls are fairly balanced after 6 months to a year before deciding if plastic surgery is desirable. Mine are balanced, not beautiful, but fine.
It's very possible that you will get your path report on Wednesday. Fingers crossed!! And yes they will be checking your incisions.
Happy Mother's Day to the mothers here!
HUGS!!
0 -
I just had a lumpectomy 5/4. I'm not in any pain but I did have to go back and have some fluid drained from the breast. It doesn't look as bad as I thought but my doctor came in and told me about my pathology she told me that she found some cancer in the nodes which I guess can change the coarse of treatment after. One thing that I noticed was that it has taken me until today to feel kind of like myself. I never had surgery before and I found that I was so fatigued after. I would get up and try to function, then I would have to lay back down again. I'm 44, a single mom and I am used to getting up and going. I exercise regularly and I work night shift in a hospital and I usually put in more then my share of hours. Is it normal to feel this tired after? I'm just afraid of how getting chemo and radiation will affect how I function after. I need to keep things as normal as possible for my kids.
0 -
resp1243 - The fatigue is normal. I had surgery before and had the fatigue every time. And that is exactly how it feels. You start to get a little energy and get moving, then have to just stop because all the energy just drains out of you. That continued for a good 7 days but go better after that.
Did they talk to you anything about treatment before the lumpectomy and finding the node involvement? That was the big change for me. I was HER- so they didn't expect me to need chemo, just surgery, radiation, and anti-hormonal. Then they found it in one node and everything changed. I also had "suspicious vascular involvement" (which means that it hadn't broke through into the blood stream yet, but was headed that way. All of a sudden I was looking at ugly chemo for 20 weeks and then the radiation, etc.
0 -
Resp1234, your body is working awfully hard to heal and all its resources are geared towards that end. That's why you need to take it easy. Rest and sleep a lot. Do as little as possible and let your body do its thing!
I gather that chemo can make you exhausted. I don't know though. However, radiation can give you fatigue. You might find you do what you absolutely have to then collapse and do nothing for the rest of the day.
You have a challenging journey ahead. We're here for you. You might want to check into one of the chemo boards for more information on chemo. And if someone offers to help out, put them to work for you!! As hard as it can be, you have to think of yourself first right now. Once you've killed the damn cancer and are through chemo and radiation, then you can go back to taking care of everyone else.
HUGS!!!!
0 -
I just spent some time reading through the articles that were recommended for me when I did my profile. I wish I had read through the surgery ones and diagnosis ones prior. They were on the spot. have gone through the chemo ones and some of the radiation ones today and they are extremely informative. I also love the "Myth" ones - myths of cancer, myths of radiation, myths of chemo, etc. They helped a lot. Good stuff!
0 -
Dyan, I'm a diet controlled diabetic also. My sugar levels went up due to stress and then lack of exercise during radiation because I was so tired. Just had my HA1c redone now that I'm done with treatment other than taking Arimidex and it was my lowest reading since diabetic diagnosis 9 years ago. I have been trying to walk 3 miles a day 5 days a week to get my strength built back up and it sure has helped the blood sugar levels. As far as people go, I learned real quick who true friends are and who I now just consider people I know. One of the few benefits of having bc.
J
0
