Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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I was quite swollen for almost 3 weeks post op and it only finally was feeling normal about 1 week ago. Ice can help early on, I did that for a few days post LX. Last night I started feeling like I was getting swollen again and it is quite swollen again, back to feeling like 3 weeks ago, after just 1 radiation treatment. Hope this eases off and doesn't last 6 weeks, it's not painful, but not comfortable either.
I've been told numerous times that MX vs LX is now pretty much even as far as results and recurrence in most low grade cancers, so not sure why many are still opting for the more radical procedure, but whatever works and gives you the piece of mind you need.
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thanks PMR, The Lx actually is healed and no problem. It's the SNB site. healed and incision looks great but still significant edema. The change in bras didn't seem to help. I think since this was the only node that picked up the tracer it must have been the main player and the rest of the nodes are trying to get along an drain
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Hi Italychick my lump is at 12:00. Getting nervous, surgery is next week. Thought I was ready, then I woke up today all emotional and nervous. I have my hospital pre op appointment today. Can someone please tell me what happens? I think I called my BS 4 times yesterday, asking questions, didn't want to bug them again today.Pontiacpeg, you said to make my profile, DX public, and I have, it isn't showing up that way, I don't know what I'm doing wrong.
Thanks to everyone, this is really helping me , being able to read your experiences. You have all answered many of my questions.
Hug
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Boblajo, the pre-op appointment is nothing, they go over paperwork, you pay your copay if you have it, then a nurse will go over all the pre and post op instructions. She'll tell you how the surgery day will go depending on what they are doing and what you can expect. They take your blood pressure. Tell you about not eating after midnight and all that. I think that was it. I was a nervous wreck for the entire week before surgery, but on that day I was actually fine, at least, I felt fine. My blood pressure said different.
You will be fine then it will be done! You got this!0 -
BobLaJo, of course, you're nervous. We've all been there. I don't know what your pre-op will entail. I didn't have one (except maybe bloodwork). Write down all your questions and call your BS again. They welcome your questions.
To make your profile public, go to your Profile and on the Settings tab, make each of the items you've entered Public. That should work.
Some things you may want to ask your BS is if you are having a SLNB. It's possible you may get more information today at your pre-op. At the least, make sure you have help for the first couple of days after your Lx. If you have small children you will definitely need someone to do the "heavy lifting" for awhile. I was advised to not lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk for 3 weeks. Considering I had to lift my DH many times a day, I definitely needed help full time and my sons came in and handled that for me. Also made it possible for me to get sleep (for the first time in 4 years). Make sure you have Genie bras or front opening sports bras to wear after your surgery. The day of surgery will likely be long - 6 hours seems to be average. But it's all doable.
Let us know what other questions you may have.
HUGS!!!
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Boblajo
I have had 2 LX now. This is Outpatient. Make sure you rest. Cold Compress as needed and pain meds. They can constipate you fast! Make sure you have a good BM morning of. Take Senna or whatever works for you. General Anesthesia can shut bowels down too. You got this!!
PMR53
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Hey all!
I am positive that this has been discussed in the past, but I can't seem to find a search function to find your pearls of wisdom. So, I'm asking again.
What's a reasonable amount of time to take off from work after a lumpectomy and SNB? I've got a bunch of time off banked and I work for a great company and manager, so that's not an issue. But other people will have to take on my work while I'm out and I don't want to make their lives unnecessarily hard. I know everyone is different, but does two weeks seem right? Too much? Too little?
Oh, and I work as a writer (currently for a software company). It's not particularly physical, but I do have a mile walk to and from my train stop plus a brick of a laptop to carry.
Thoughts?
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Inkster, I think I would recommend at least a week. If you can take two weeks that would be even better. The laptop is the killer. You shouldn't be lifting anything heavy and I know how heavy they can be. The walk you probably can do after a few days. After 2 weeks, you might be allowed to lift the danged laptop and not mind doing it
Wonderful that you can take off as much time as you need. Make sure you and your surgeon are on the same page with this. My BS said 3 weeks with no lifting. Good luck. We're in your pocket!HUGS!!!
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Inkster....I'm a stay at home mom but I was fine after 3 days. However, if I worked I would take at least one week off....just to rest up after all the stress. Like you said everyone heals differently. Nice that you have an understanding company. You're probably doing rads too so you may need some time for that depending on how convenient your treatment center is to your work location. Many women work during rad treatment but it is tiring. Best of luck. (((Hugs)))
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Guess everyone does heal differently. After my Lx, I never gave a thought to lifting my laptop, even the first night home (of course, I have a very lightweight laptop). I'm a writer, so my laptop is practically attached to me at the hip. No one actually ever gave me any lifting restrictions. I was walking in the fields here with my dogs the next day, or at latest, the day after that, and had my first post-surgery ride on my horse 6 days after surgery. I wasn't exactly up to full speed, mind you. My breast was a little tender, and I was careful to wear a comfortable and supportive bra for all of this exercise and activity. In fact, I wore a Genie or Coobie bra 24/7 for about the first 2 weeks. There is also that anesthesia effect, which can make you feel a little fuzzy-headed at times for a few days up to a week or so. I agree that you should try to take it a little bit easy for a week or two, and obviously listen to both your doctors and your body. I had more fatigue with rads, but not until near the end and for a couple of weeks or so after I finished. Even there, I kept up with exercise and riding, and I think that helped me recover faster.
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Boblajo: Just wanted to tell you as others have that we were all nervous and that is normal. Also very normal to be emotional, even when you go in for surgery. They usually give you a sedative so you feel calm, if they did not mention that at Preop, you can call and ask for something mild to take. Rest before really helps too, I know it's hard because the surgery is all you can think about but if you can get some good rest before your surgery.
Please know that we are all here for you. Hugs.
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Hi all,
To Inkster, I am one week post op, and my SNB site is quite tender and swollen. I have one more week before I go back to work, so I hope that's enough so I feel better. Two weeks is definitely what I need, and I have a 80 milecommute round trip, and I haven't driven alone yet. My arm is too sore to adjust the mirror and close the door!
On a side note, I been running a low fever late in the day for the past 3 days. My surgical sites look ok. My NP didn't seem concerned yesterday, but now it's back again. My post op appointment is Tuesday, where I will find out what's next.
I was a complete train wreck the week before my surgery, but once I got to the hospital, and met the nurses, I felt a lot better. Yes my blood pressure was up, but mentally I was ok.
i opted for the LX because the outcome is statistically the same for what I have, and, I love my bosom!
I do get very concerned when I read about famous people taking drastic measures when dealing with DCIS. I am an engineer , I am wired to trust the science, data, and statistics, and not be ruled by my emotions or fear. However, it doesn't mean I wasn't nervous!
I did read a great article in the New York Times about "overtreatment" of breast cancer patients. It was very interesting. It's such a personal choice, I hope I don't sound too judgemental! I'll try to post the link here.
http://mobile.nytimes.com/2013/04/28/magazine/our-...
I also have to applaud my surgeon's staff, they are doing a wonderful job with my insurance paperwork, and have called several times to check up on me. I live near Baltimore, but chose my community hospital and cancer center for my care, and I am loving the personal attention!
Take care of yourselves!
Midgie
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Inkster: I think that 2 weeks is good if you can swing that. You can heal and rest before getting back to work.
PMR53
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BobLaJo and Inkster, if you're offered a Valium prior to your LX, TAKE IT!! I never take anything like it but figured if they are going to offer it, why not? I was also surprised when they gave me Dramamine. I didn't have a crummy tummy afterwards, so it must have worked! Neat idea.
HUGS!!!
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Inkster I had my lx and snb on Monday 5/18. I stayed home Tues Wed Thursday. Went back on Friday and worked a half day. Back to work full time on Monday this week. I don't think you will need two weeks.
I emptied my laptop bag of everything but my laptop. I carried it only on the good arm last week and on both shoulders this week. I used to carried on my" bad side" cause I am left handed but can't do that now.
I read in my path report today that my dcis-mi was 8cm long in one spot. That's 4 inches! No wonder my scar is so big. My RO wants me to have another mammogram in two weeks now. Erghhh.
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Tresjoli2, I think I wouldn't be real thrilled with a mammogram so soon either.
That IS a pretty long DCIS! I still do most of my carrying on my good side but do carry some on my bad one.HUGS!
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Boblajo, I didn't find the lumpectomy to be that bad, the sentinel node biopsy area bothered me more. I didn't have a pre-op appointment, they did the sentinel node injection and I had my surgery the next day. It didn't really slow me down at all, maybe a few days. The worst parts were that my lumpectomy area sloshed like a water bottle was in there, and the sentinel node incision hurt the most. I was back riding my bike within a week which I think helped. I did tell my surgeon to be generous with removing tissue, she took out 8 cm x 8 cm x 4 cm and got wide margins.
Hang in there, you will get through this.
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Boblajo, my sentinel node injection was done in between my wire locators being inserted and my surgery. My BS did that injection. Every place seems to do things differently. My sentinel node incision never really hurt but, geez, it was so annoying. It still is at times. Your experience may vary.
HUGS!!
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Thank you all so very much for easing my fears, and helping me to understand this more!! I really can't thank you all enough! Pre-op was easy and the Nurse went through this, she had a double mastectomy and was so empathetic and caring. I'm finally starting to feel like I do got this!! Big HUGS!!0 -
Thanks all for the time off input! I've got a month of vacation banked, so I might pencil in the two weeks with the possibility to come back earlier if I'm up and at it sooner (or they let me work from my home office). That will leave me some wiggle room in case I need a bit of down time toward the end of rads. Best scenario: I come back after a week, only take a few days off with rads, and then take a nice vacation when this is all over. Some place with a beach and drinks with umbrellas.
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My Lx and SNB surgery was yesterday and I have spent most of today lying around. The incision sites are tender, but not too bad. The pain is controlled with Tylenol. Since I had a very large, painful hematoma after my first biopsy and a lot of bleeding from the site of a second biopsy on my other breast I am concerned about bruising. I blame the bruising and bleeding on doing too much after the biopsies, although I did try to be very careful after the second one. Did anyone else have trouble with bleeding and bruising?
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Sailorbev, my hematomas from my core biopsies were so bad some of the tumor board thought my cancer was huge. My surgeon held out and said an Lx, not Mx was appropriate and she was right. I was bruised for quite sometime. It WILL go away. I'm not sure that not doing much matters for the hematomas but I suppose it could. Now with your Lx, definitely don't do much so that incision can heal! Glad you're doing pretty darned good!
HUGS!!
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Maureen (Maureen1),Peggy(PontiacPeggy), Nancy(NancyHG), Jo(GypsyJo) and I had a wonderful time meeting up today. The venue, Sand Hill Crane Vineyards was lovely and they have a great selection of wines. We talked non-stop and just enjoyed being together. Hoping that more of you will be able to join us next time. Mary and Carollynn, we missed you!!! You don't have to be nearby - Jo's from Oregon! Michigan Meet Ups
HUGS!
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love the picture!!!!!
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sailorbev, my Seroma grew to 11 cm. but then went away. So I definitely had bruising and bleeding.
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Thanks, MaggieCat!
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Peggy, where's the "like" button? Great pic of you ladies!
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Thanks, Kay! Where are the pictures from the horse show????
HUGS!
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Ack! Peggy, I think I left my brain behind on Wednesday when we went to Devon! So busy talking, never took a single picture! What was I thinking? My friend Judy and I very much enjoyed spending the afternoon with Trudi at the show and briefly at her and her husband David's lovely home. It was very hot & humid, maybe that's why I forgot. Next time!
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Kay, that's understandable. We didn't take any pictures at our first get together. Did better this time! Glad you and Judy got to be with Trudi. Hope the show was fun in spite of the humidity!
HUGS!!!
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