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Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

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Comments

  • ElleRusin69
    ElleRusin69 Member Posts: 12

    What is going on with all of these L side breasts??? I just read back thru the thread and many of us have an issue with the L side but yeah good luck on the 28th RMlulu please let's us know how you are 😃happy thoughts any positive energy out to everyone facing more testing, its amazing how I went from being so modest - I mean my 17 yr old daughter I don't think has seen my boobs like ever till about a month ago she was the only one to help me after surgery- now every appointment I'm like hey look at this! Does this look ok to you cause it really hurts still!!! She's like mom cover yourself up!! ( Rolls eyes shakes her head) love & prayers to you all and ill try to keep my shirt on when I meet the oncologist tomorrow I have no idea if they will need to take a look or not. I still really new to this whole world

  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 495

    Torigirl - I have not had a breast MRI ever. After my lumpectomy and node removal I had several scans - bone scan, head MRI, and CT scan before starting chemo. After surgery/chemo/rads I saw my oncologist every 3 months and he did CBE each time. Now I am at 6 month appointments, and he always does a CBE. At my yearly PCP visit, I get another CBE and then I have an annual (now) mammogram. So I get looked at 4 times a year and I try and spread out the appointments. To be honest, I don't have a regular schedule for SBEs. I figure I get seen often enough.

  • CameraKim
    CameraKim Member Posts: 33

    I have my lumpectemy next Wednesdsay, 3/5, and I'm anxious to get it over with. Looks like I'm the only person so far on this thread who had neoadjuvant chemo first. This makes me a bit nervous still. I had an aggressive her2 tumor and our thought was to do a mastectomy when I was first diagnosed. The chemo seems to have worked really well though and my tumor shrank by 85%....so we've now decided to do a lumpectomy since the tumor is now very small and hopefully only scar tissue remains.

    Just wondering if anyone else has been through a similar ordeal. Seems like most here that opted for lumpectomy had a very small tumor and had it removed right away....

  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 2,234

    I had 4 AC chemo for a 6 CM tumor, then 12 weekly Taxol and Herceptin, then lumpectomy.  Clear margins were 1mm, so surgeon went back in to get 2mm margins and all had been good since.  The tumor had shrunk to almost nothing by the time of surgery.   Continued Herceptin for the rest of a year total.   Almost 5 years since DX.   Also, no radiation.  

    The only MRI I had was before chemo with dye and breasts hanging down.  Annual mammo, no more onco visits.    

  • CameraKim
    CameraKim Member Posts: 33

    GramE, Thanks for sharing that! I feel a little better now. I too will continue Herceptin for the remainder of the year! I am hoping this lumpectomy is all I need followed by radiatioin.

  • ElleRusin69
    ElleRusin69 Member Posts: 12

    CameraKim good luck next week!!!

    I was schedueled for a surgical duct removal due to BND in jan but when the surgeon saw all the "junk" he felt it was best of course to get it all out. I have had no other treatments but meeting with oncologist tomorrow. So I have no idea well a feeling she might want an MRI cause no imaging as of yet revealed all that nastiness that was in there. Hoping for no more surprises but this is life and one just never knows. I've been so lucky thus far compared to so many others and I'm grateful for what I've had to deal with.

  • GramE
    GramE Member Posts: 2,234

    As many have said before, each diagnosis is unique and each of us is unique.   There is no one quick fix for this beast.   With HER2 positive, I feel very fortunate for Herceptin. None of this is easy, but the support of these threads is what helped me most to get through one step at a time.   I send my best thoughts for a good outcome for all.   

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

    My lumpectomy was last Thurs, 2/21 and I am still in enough pain to need pain killers when I get home from work. Is this normal??? It has been 5 days since then. When I had the biopsy, I was fine by day 3. Also, the itching is driving me insane! Ugh!!

  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 245

    April, have you checked with your doctor? I had my surgery 2/22 and am not taking pain meds any longer. Ice helps the soreness. I was sore for 3 weeks after my biopsy but this has been easier so far. Other than waiting for the path report, that is.

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

    I called the doctor and she just called me back after I posted that and she said because my lesion was pretty deep that pain for about a week is not uncommon and expected. I worked all day yesterday and today and did not take anything for it at work cause I did not want to be too loopy as I see clients and have a rather detail oriented job. I am used to pain killers as I take them for my knee, but I seem to need more for my boob than I did for a bone on bone knee and that concerned me. I always dose myself properly for my knee and avoid taking any at work. I guess with the lumpectomy, I need more than normal so she told me that it would be fine most likely by Thurs or Friday. I think part of this is psychological cause I am nervous for that path report! Who knows?  Thanks for responding!

  • crazyride43
    crazyride43 Member Posts: 42

    CameraKim, I also had neoadjuvant chemo to shrink my tumor, followed by a lumpy and rads.  IYou are not alone!

  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 245

    I just got my path report and I am SO relieved. DCIS stage 0, margins clear, nodes clear. I'm waiting for the final word from the RO but should not need more radiation. I think the next step is a visit to a MO for an aromatase inhibitor.

    I think I aged 20 years since I learned my mammo was abnormal in mid Jan. I just got 10 of those years back in that single phone call from the BS.

    Thank you for all of your help on this board. You have kept me sane over the last weeks. Smile

  • ajvdb
    ajvdb Member Posts: 1

    I am scheduled to have a lumpectomy on March 7. 

    I had a core needle biopsy this week monday that came back negative which I am glad for but I noticed from the spot where the needle went it isn't right on the lump so I am not totally convinced that is accurate.  I am wondering how accurate these biopsies are?  They also did a diagnositic mammo that day and that came back saying treatment it recommended.

    I am confused and I don't want to be surprised when they take the lump out.

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

    Ajvdb, core needle biopsies are said to be somewhere in the range of 98 - 99% accurate. Hoping that yours was too.

    Savgigi! Doing the VERY happy dance with you! CONGRATS! I hope I get the same good news. Still waiting on my path report and won't get it until Tuesday when I have my post-op appointment. She won't give me any reports over the phone, as it is her policy. It just means I have more time to sweat it but I guess I will live. High five on the great news!!Smile

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

    By the way, Savgigi, I noticed they did lymph nodes on you. My doctor did not touch mine. Was there a reason? I see that about half of the people with DCIS have a SNB. I was told I did not need one. Wondering why that is...hmmm.

  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 245

    Thanks, April. I hope to be doing a happy dance for you next week!

    They did the SNB because my biopsy report showed high grade and there was one area suspicious for microinvasion. At first the BS said no nodes necessary, then we decided to do SNB because of the possible microinvasion. Just to be on the safe side. I was afraid the SNB would be more painful than the lumpectomy but they have both been manageable.

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

    I kind of figured it was your Grade 3 that determined that. Mine is a grade 2 and so she opted not to take any nodes. Glad yours were all clear with no Microinvasion!

  • ElleRusin69
    ElleRusin69 Member Posts: 12

    Congrats Savgigi!!!! Praying everyone gets a clean bill of health!!! So happy for you!!!

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748

    Hey all..

    Like to see that the conversations are moving along!

    Here's my question...for those of you that have gotten a lumpectomy awhile ago...did any of you do any kind of surgery to correct anything afterwards?  I know some ladies say that the indendation of where the surgery was was bothersome or that the symmetry of their breast was gone...so, some elective surgery was done.  So, I'm just curious...

    What about those of you who had radiation?  I finished my radiation in April of 2011...my radiated breast is still smaller from the unaffected one.  My husband says it doesn't bother him in the least...me?  Yep..it kinda does...plus, I still have that "tan"...  :)

    I know that before I was diagnosed, I so badly wanted to get a breast reduction...now I wonder if it's still an option for me...Does anyone know?  Has anyone done that?

    Thanks in advance for your input...

    Tori

  • rmlulu
    rmlulu Member Posts: 1,501

    ToriGirl

    My lumpx 1/23 plan after rads to ask for rt side reduction/lift.

    Post lumpx MRI today so next week will know my status. But symmetry is up for discussion :))

    Want the girls to look good... Lumpx or mx rt side is going to match. Ins covers.

  • ElleRusin69
    ElleRusin69 Member Posts: 12

    As my swelling continues to go down (LX was jan 24) I can really tell a major unevenness but considering how much the surgeon removed even that's to be expected. I would really like a reduction if they aren't willing to do a PBX but first though I'd like a MRI and some genetic testing before I decide for sure. I read on one of the boards recently that a reduction of 50 % is the protocol in Sweden and Canada ( I might be wrong about Canada so don't quote me) after a bc dx . My L breast now kinda reminds of a down pillow that was flattened and the nipple is lower than right side. So well see how it looks in a few months . I'm 45 and my Hooters girl days are over . But then again if I get some new perky ones all bets are off ; ) good night ladies







  • snorkeler
    snorkeler Member Posts: 10

    Being already rather small-chested, I was afraid of asymmetry since there isn't much there to work with. But after my surgeon removed the 9mm tumor with wide margins, I'm quite happy with the frontal view. The main issue that is remaining is with the nipple/areola. Part of the nipple and areola had to be removed (1:00 position), which I knew, but what I wasn't prepared for was the disappearance of the rest of the areola as well. It started to come back towards the end of radiation (May 2012), but then we did the boost and it went away again. Lately I noticed that it seems to be trying to come back. Although I have feeling in that nipple, it doesn't react the same as the non-surgery one. It seems to be always "erect," but maybe that's part of the general firmness resulting from radiation.

    My next follow-up with the surgeon is in a couple of months, so I'll ask her then. The rest of my follow-up schedule for the near term: oncologist and surgeon twice a year, left mammogram twice a year, right mammmogram once a year, MRI once a year. Mammograms didn't pick up my lump because I have very dense breast tissue, so the MRI gives me peace of mind.

    Thanks to everyone for posting their experiences. It's been a little over a year since my surgery, and I'm glad there's someplace to still talk about it.

  • crazyride43
    crazyride43 Member Posts: 42

    Jumping in to the lumpectomy lounge!  I had my left side lx in June, with re-excision for clean margins in early July 2012.  Finished 6 weeks of rads at the end of September 2012.  I also have the asymmetry, with my "good" side a full cup size larger and a little more droopy than the treated side.  It's not too obvious in clothes, but would be in a bathing suit.  I would like to explore a reduction/lift, and possibly a lift on the treated side as well if I can find a PS willing to work with radiated skin.  The skin looks "normal" to me almost six months out, but I'm not a surgeon LOL and I know there are risks involved!  I have lost 20lbs and still have another 15lbs to lose (all weight gained through treatment), so I will hold off until my weight is stable before I make any final decisions.  Honestly, I could do without more surgery and recovery, so if the further weight loss reduces the volume in righty a little more I can probably live with it! 

    Very interested to hear about other experiences with reconstruction after lumpectomy, especially after radiation.

  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 245

    Thanks, ElleRusin. I have been doing the happy dance all evening. I hope everyone else gets good news as well.

  • torigirl
    torigirl Member Posts: 748

    Thanks for all the replies...

    I don't know...to be honest, any kind of surgery right now, just makes my stomach hurt...Does it bother me that much that I won't to endure all the extra pain and recovery?  There is a lot to consider, that is for sure.

    FWIW, crazyride43, I talked to my MO about breast reduction after radiation...he said to wait at least a year before starting the process...it's doable, but complications can arise.  But, then again, that can happen with any surgery you do, right?

    Great news savgigi!  Doing the happy "chair" dance for you!

    Hope everyone else is doing well...

    Tori

  • FireKracker
    FireKracker Member Posts: 5,858

    Nice goin Tori!!!!!

    Im an old one who got BC out of the blue.Shocked was not the word.No one in my family had it either...so i started something.damn.

    Its 3 yrs now and my breast is still like a kantalope.

    And i smoke.1-2-3 a day.Depending on the stress.lol.

    Tori and I did Rads together....and here is what I have to say to you about another surgery......does it really bother you that much?Seriously...didnt you have enuf?????Most of these girls are new here but we have been there and done that.

    I dont believe in elective surgery....

    I wish all of you an easy ride.Everything is doable you just have to show up.....

    Grannydukes

  • LibraryLynn
    LibraryLynn Member Posts: 33

    Okay everyone, if the snowpocylpse doesn't keep me from the hospital, I have my lumpectomy and SNB tomorrow (Tuesday 3/5). I so just want the surgery part to be done with, but I'm really having trouble keeping it together lately. I told the hospital lady who called today that they just better get the jolly juice pumped in as soon as I walk in the door. I had a horrible biopsy experience, and that has made me very anxious. I can feel your strength from here, so send me a little extra tomorrow to make it through!

    And then, on to the next step! You have all been so wonderful! This forum has been a great comfort to me since I was diagnosed (was it only 3 weeks ago?), and I want to thank you all for being here, even though none of us would choose it. Thank you.

    LibraryLynn

  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 495

    Hope everything goes well tomorrow Lynn. Keep us informed.

  • savgigi
    savgigi Member Posts: 245

    Hi, LibraryLynn. I also had the biopsy from hell and was very anxious about my surgery last week. But I have to say that everything was a LOT better than the biopsy. They injected a radioisotope for the SNB mapping and that just stung for 30-45 sec. I had a needle localization and told the radiologist I was more terrified of what she was about to do than I was of surgery - precisely because of pain with my biopsy. She was very kind and gave lots of lidocaine, talking to me the whole time and checking on whether I had pain. She ran into an area of firm tissue and slowed down until the lidocaine was effective. I think that firm tissue was the source of my pain during biopsy. All-in-all, surgery day was 10 times better than the biopsy.

    I hope all goes well for you tomorrow and that you have a good experience also.

  • april485
    april485 Member Posts: 1,983

     It really was not that bad in the scheme of things. A little bit of post op pain but they gave me good drugs Laughing Will keep you in my thoughts that it goes smoothly Tomorrow I get my path results from my lumpectomy! Pray for clean margins for me will ya? I also have my first appt with the medical onc and next Monday, I meet with the Rad onc. Ugh...our new normal.

    Hugs Library Lynn...it will soon be over with.

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