Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Hi Lumpies
Beccc - call your BS and arrange to drop by office to do show and tell...is your skin irritated by the steri strips...my skin is...could be you are too...but go, show, ask!
Zephyr - the girl has been thru battle and all is slowly renewing. Talk with your BS and RO.
My girl is still tender underarm a bit swollen with some positions uncomfortable. I think ths is my new normal ...at 3 & 6 mo checkup Drs were happy and said on schedule..
When in doubt go back to the dr and ask.
GoldyCat123- welcome and congrats on 10 days pst and all clear in nodes
. And we'll be in your pocket for your next lx for that margin...you will rock rads
Newbies time for a 2013 Fall Rad thread...you can prepare and encourage each other through the next step in treatment to zap any rouge cells into oblivion puff!
Happy Monday...here's to a great week!
(((Hugs)))
Cindy0 -
TeamKim, beccc81, momcat1962, teachersbc1, Hope we all will be dancing some time this week!!!. The waiting for results is awful. My breast seems to be healing well and the black and purple shades are fading into greens and yellow!!! Did anyone get a rash under boob? I noticed it right after surgery and thought it was from my "comfort" sports bra, but I put gauze pads underneath and although it seems to be going away it is still there. I changed bras and stuck a cotton cloth under boob but still there. I don't usually get rashes and wonder if maybe I was allergic to antiseptic or something. Thinking of all of you and sending positive energy.
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Thank you, Canuck47! I had what I think was a yeast related rash under this breast a couple of months before this whole process. I put Desitin and antifungal powder on it and covered it with gauze before putting my bra back on.
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Thanks I will try that. I was afraid to use anything before I had good healing on incision but I think it looks fine so I will go ahead and treat that area.
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Hello ladies...I have been reading posts and such for about a week now and I am so grateful to be able to come here and let out some of my anxiety. I am thankful for everyone who has reached out to me and hope I will be able to give back once I am more sure of myself.
My surgery is Wednesday. I have never had surgery before and today the butterflies have started. I am not sure what to expect and I know knowone knows either but it maybe helpful if I can hear for some of you how you felt after your lumpectomy. My mass is .07 cm at 6 o'clock and the MRI showed a very small nodual close to the primary mass. The Dr said it may be possible that I could work the day after surgery. My question is after having a lumpectomy how soon did you feel good enough to go to work?
Thanks for you support. God bless you all.
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Lovewins, are you having a sentinel node biopsy at the same time as the lumpectomy? I've had two lumpectomies and a separate sentinel node biopsy--for all of them surgery was on a Thursday and I went back to work on Monday. With the first one I would have been fine going back to work the next day. With the other two I was gald I had the extra day and weekend. I think it makes a big difference where the lump is located and also what kind of work you do. I am a school library media specialist, so I don't spen all day at a desk, but it is also not a really physical job.
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Thank you ! I was surprised I have to have surgery again, but relieved that the surgery is just to get the margins again ! Next is the wait to see if I am triple negative or not since I am ER- and PR- , and they'll tell me in a couple weeks .... I don't have to have chemo but I worry about the triple negative bc and it being harder to fight possibly :-/
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Hi Lumpies --
Welcome lovewins -- as you have seen as you are reading along with us, you have found your way to a place where people share your journey and we are here for you. My lumpectomy was pretty extensive (as you will see below) and if you are having a smaller bit of tissue removed, your surgery will definitely be significantly different. Even with all the "work" I had done, though, I was feeling good enough after 4 days to go out to dinner! I am a professor, so don't start back to teaching until the fall semester starts, but if I had to teach a class this week (7 days post surgery) I think I could get through it. As book woman said, depends on your work. My approach is usually to hope for th best, plan for the worst and try to keep things simple as possible.
The one thing I didn't plan for was the constipation caused by surgery and pain meds -- Day after surgery I encountered some flushing and intestinal distress, which scared me a bit until I figured it out. It turned out OK, but be sure to have what you need on hand to deal with it. There is a constipation thread on this site which is helpful.
Most important -- You will be fine! You are in the hands of people who know what they are doing and your part is to breath and heal and kick this stupid disease! You can do it!
My update -- forgive me, I will probably be rambling a bit here......
Just got back from BS 1st postoperative check up. BS is happy with the progress -- removed my drain, which hurt a little during, but feels great to have it out. The SNB incision, closer to my underarm, does hurt some, but no worse than my biopsies did during the weeks after. Just taking Tylenol.... Feeling like I have come through this in decent shape.
Got the written path report as well -- she took a lot of tissue (wedge shaped 10.5 x 7.2 x 4.2 cm) at about 3:00, left breast. I got out my trusty ruler and drew a life-size picture -- gads!! No wonder I needed the PS to "rearrange!" Within that wedge were two areas, one combo DCIS with a 1.5 cm IDC within it and another separate area of DCIS. Few microcalcifications, so my cancer is sneaky, and mostly was invisible on mammogram. Thank God for MRI! Margins are good -- the invasive cancer is at least 10mm from all edges. Nodes both clear.
The down side is the cancer is high grade, 8/9. I am still learning about what that means, but I am guessing that chemo is in store for me before I start rads. BS is referring me to MO who is especially good at the genomic stuff and, since I will be traveling and healing for the next three weeks, she is ordering the mammaprint test to be completed in the meantime before I meet with MO at the end of August. So if I need chemo, I will cross that bridge when I come to it. Trying not to think about losing my hair, etc......
For now, I am going to treat myself to a cute new haircut, pamper myself and help DS get ready to go away to college in two weeks. Feeling so blessed to have modern medicine! DH is diabetic (Type I), DS was only possible with infertility treatments, and I am kicking BC. DH and I discussed how our entire family is only here because of modern medicine. God is good!
And, I have to say again, that I am SO grateful to have found you Lumpies -- your advice, caring, information, sympathy and just knowing others who are also going through this wonky journey means SO much! Thinking of all of you!!!!!!0 -
Thank you Ladies for responding to my post. They are taking setinal node and putting in a port. Time will tell...I will just hope for the best.
Take care and thanks for sharing your journies.
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Glad everyone is hanging in there...Im one week and one day to go to surgery and glad its finally coming soon...want to find out size, type etc etc to have more info.
Did anyone have lx with the oncoplasty at same time? Better known I guess as the ps moving things around in there.. Ill have him rearrange and lift both although the lx is on the right side. Im just wondering how recovery was for that amount of surgery vs what Im reading about lx recovery. I took 2 weeks off work, but can add or subtract as needed. I sit at a desk (911 operator) and answer a phone moving my right arm to the side all day.
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Yay for today!
Clear margins! No need for further surgery (my biggest fear)! RO and geneticist will be contacting me for appointments. Sad that we're celebrating radiation but we are!0 -
Lovewins,
I had my surgery a week ago and just feel myself today. I slept on and off for a week. I'm a teacher (obviously from my screen name) so I had the luxury. I also had never had surgery before my lumpectomy. You need to take time for yourself if you can.
I'll keep you in my prayers and keep us posted.0 -
Hi All,
Let me introduce myself: had my lx on July 25, 4 weeks after my "bad" biopsy. Been lurking here ever since. I had IORT which left me exhausted. Thanks to all the propaganda Zeiss puts out, I didn't expect the exhaustion, thanks to this board, I knew others had felt it too. When I went for my post op on Friday, my surgeon, said "oh yeah, it causes fatigue."
My surgeon did oncoplasty. No matter how much she messed around in there, unless jiggled, (ouchie) my boob (was a DDD, maybe will be a DD now) isn't bad. It is of course, the 7 nodes biopsied that really ouch.
I got my path report, and am now waiting for an oncotype to see if I'll be doing chemo. I'm stage 1, er/pr+, her-, but I'm so freaked over it being grade 3. Ugh!!!0 -
Aviva5675 -- I had the oncoplasty along with the Lx in my lefty only, last Tuesday. Read my post above for more info. I feel like I could go back to work tomorrow if I needed to, but another few days for the SNB pain will give me a little more pep. Feel free to PM me if you have questions. Everyone is different, but I fel it has been an easier recovery than I anticipated. Hope that helps! You can do it! ((Hug))
PatAlameda -- I am right there with you waiting for the genomic results to see if chemo is in order. I am also stage 1, Grade 3, ER+\PR+/her- Trying to put it out of my head and enjoy the couple of weeks without a Dr. Appt -- lol! Hope it turns out you can pass chemo and go directly to rads. Let us know when you find out -- I will keep you in my prayers.0 -
Hi Lumpies
PatAlameda - Welcome! Great warriors, great info, great site! Having complete path report is so comforting...answers and game plan:) but waiting for all the pieces
. Rest and recoup
Pamper yourself watch the arm...I had 7 nodes and its tender for awhile.
TeamKim - all clear! Great news luv you drew out your bad junk...mine was a golf ball with a Vienna sausage coming out ha! Yeah, for MRI. Renew and reshuffle those girls...will you need a post lx MRI before next step? Now R&R time.
Aviva - breathe, you got this...soak in fun it will soon be out so gone and your tension will be gone...promise:)
(((Lovewins))) - hoping you have a wonderful fun day with family and friends...a day that brings a smile to your heart and makes you forget c...and know how much you are cherished
Michelle - we are there {{{squeeze }}}
Sending healing thoughts and prayers to all:)
Cindy0 -
Hi,
Hope everyone is having a good start to the week so far. I hope that you don't mind, I have two questions on my mind.
1) How do you cope with people who have been informed of your situation and tend to want to pump you for information to use for their own purpose? (In my case, there are several "well meaning" family members who are on the gossipy side and always dramatize things in order to get sympathy from others.) I know that eventually people will find out, either by me telling them or thru the grapevine. I would rather be in control of my health information and have told those who I felt comfortable telling, but now I am hearing from relatives that they have told, asking nosy questions like "What stage are you?", etc. These are things that my own doctors have not told me yet, because they won't know until after the procedure.
2) Is the report of findings after the procedure what the team uses to verify that the treatment plan is correct? What happens if I were to have the procedure and the margins are not clear?
Thank you for your help and advice. Hope you all have a great week. You are in my thoughts and prayers.0 -
Thanks RMlulu -- I had an MRI and then MRIguided biopsy during my diagnosis phase. This was after the original Dx of DCIS, and the MRI found my IDC which had been surreptitious. Even after the MRI found it, I had another mammo and US where it was invisible. So BS said I am good candidate for an annual MRI, since my breast tissue seems to be dense. No MRI before next step though, just the Mammaprint genomic test.
Your posts are always so uplifting for me -- thanks for being there...for me and for all of us. ((((Hugs))))0 -
Aviva5675, I had a bilateral oncoplasty with my lumpectomy and have had a fairly easy time of it, all things considered. I still have some breast pain but it gets less over time and I barely notice it now. I'd check with your PS about activity post-op. Mine had me on very limited activity for a few weeks although I certainly felt like I could do more. I did start a thread with some general oncoplasty information and possible post-op hints here: http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91/topic/805399?page=1#idx_17 Hopefully something there might be of help. Of course I can only address my own experience, but the recovery is a little different than with a regular lumpectomy because of all the lifting, reducing, and re-arranging you go through. And, of course, if you do both sides at once that makes it a bit different as well.
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Hobbe - it is difficult to control news...we do want to be in control...so be cautious on when and whom...we learn sometimes the hard way who we can entrust and who just can't wait to share...
breathe ...think is it thoughtful, helpful, inspirational, necessary, and kind. Ask them to think!
Or is it like toothpaste squeezed out of the tube all over the bathroom sink mirror floor ugh:(.
Have a quite sit down with family...(together or separate)...share your feelings and ask for them to honor and respect your wishes. Then pick and choose who carefully. Sorry that you've been violated...:(
Stage is determine by path results from surgery...you will receive a copy at 1st post op appointment. Remember every c is different so don't listen to the loose lips flapping...trust your BS and breastcancer.org for info on staging
Path report will guide your BC team...they may do oncotype tests or similar to determine chemo or straight to rads...and you have the final determination of your course of treatment.
Breathe, you have an excellent team...you've got this...they will help you as you move forward in slaying the beast.
Focus on today:)
May tomorrow be a good day warrior!0 -
Hi All,
Thanks for the good wishes RMlulu and hello sister, TeamKim. My appointment with the medical oncologist isn't until September (unless my gene test comes in earlier) so it's time to recover, relax, and try to think of other things. Our one fully fledged son comes home for a visit late in the month, so I can look forward to a sorta-stress-free visit with him. Our baby doesn't go back to school until mid-September, so he's around to help for a while.
TeamKim, is this your son's first year at college? How exciting, and heart-string tugging, especially in these circumstances.
Isn't it funny: a year ago I would have been horrified to think of undergoing chemo, but now, if its necessary, I will reluctantly embrace it. I'm trying not to stress myself out too much, fortunately my Dr. gave me an rx for sleeping pills. Without them I'd be a sleepless AND nervous disaster! It's awfully hard to go from being an incessant long-range planner to living in the moment. Ugh, I hate personal growth...0 -
PatAlameda - I, too, am a planner and BC has driven me crazy with the unexpected blows to my ordered world.... Personal growth is a positive way to spin it!
Yes, DS is an only child, starting his freshman year at Cornell U, so I was determined to be able to make the trip to the other coast to take him to college. It will be tissue time for sure, saying goodbye, but I am so proud of him....0 -
Well just got my path results but still waiting on FISH. The news wasn't what I was hoping for but I will deal with it! My cancer is now IDC 2 mm. My IHC is 2+ and they are waiting on FISH. I am ER+ 95% PR-. Margins were clear 3 mm from invasive ca. I will need to have a Sentinel Node Biopsy. This was just the info from the nurse practitioner. I meet with BS on Monday Aug 12th to get full report, her recommendations and to schedule my SNB. I can't say I didn't cry for 5 minutes especially when telling my DH about more surgery. I am pulling my big girl panties up even as I write!! I guess this changes my medication plan. Still absorbing the news....
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Awwww, Canuck, that stinks! Don't apologize one second for th tears -- Good news is you acted on the Dx and you have information early enough to have your BC team hop on it. Hang in there, we are here for you!
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Canuck, I'm sorry! You have a great attitude. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers.
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Hi all, I am joining you here waiting for my surgery. I will have a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy, for two areas of IDC, and an area of suspicious calcifications that have not yet been biopsied. The areas are close enough together, that my surgeon said it was technically feasible to a lumpectomy. So after a lot of thought, I decided to go this route (vs a mastectomy.)
My surgery is scheduled for August 23, which is a Friday. I have a desk job, and I'm trying to anticipate how long I will be off from work. From what I've read on these boards, it seems like the recovery time varies quite a bit. The surgeon will take a fairly large area - I'm not sure if that makes a difference or not. I'm assembling a list of questions to ask her before the big day.
Just trying to get everything organized, so that I can have a few days away before surgery. My first week of vacation this summer was sacrificed in order to get an MRI done, and I just cancelled a hiking trip planned for October since I won't know whether I need to do chemo until the final pathology comes back from surgery. This cancer stuff is certainly inconvenient.
I think the shock of diagnosis has finally worn off, so now I just want to get on with things.
Thank you to all who continue to post here after your surgery is complete, as I've learned so much reading on these boards over the last month. And to those who have upcoming procedures, we will get through this, hopefully with good news from here on in!
Take care, Ridley0 -
Just popping back in to say my trip over the weekend went well. Felt awesome to be with my friends again! Kind of exhausting, but it seems like everything is more tiring since surgery, ugh.
Here's a few travel tips -- TeamKim, don't know if you're flying out to take your son to college, but if so, try to get a seat where your surgery side/arm is on the plane's window side so it's not jostled. That helps. I also put a folded-up sweater on the armrest for extra padding. Make sure to get up & walk around, stretch, at least once an hour, whether you fly or drive. Feels better & is supposed to help prevent LE. Hotel bed did hurt my back, but sleeping has become my #1 problem now so no surprise. I can't get comfortable. Otherwise, travel was almost normal
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TeamKim & Momcat1962. Thanks. We are all here for each other as no one else can be and I appreciate the support, the info sharing and yes the humor. I am learning so much from others on this site and it keeps my spirits up. So again I say thanks and I am appreciative for all the prayers, the hugs, and just being able to vent.
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Hi Lumpies
Canuck44 - sorry that your path report was disappointing. Don't understand why some BS do lx&snd at one time...so much easier to have all the results on the table and only 1 surgery with 2 incisions...ugh:( yeah clear margins put on your prettiest big grl pants...your doing good brave warrior!
Ridley - Welcome! Glad you found us, but sorry that you qualify to join us. I had 2 areas 7mm/3mm in same quad removed BS did a good job. Ask what girl may look like...helps. I'm glad I did lx. Will you have lx&snd? If so consider arm movements...you will feel great right after its the swelling and tenderness...I did leave for a month vacation the day after my stitches came out no problems! Then back to reality...your BS will give you a good idea of timing. Sorry you had to cancel your trip. My BC team has been great working around my work/travel plans...always ask when you may escape and take breaks. The breaks are great no c zones. We will be in your pocket brave warrior and you will be fine.
Batcatlady - yippee fun travel time with friends...recharges us for battle. Good flying advice.
(((Love wins))) and (((Michelle))) - we will be in your pockets tomorrow. Sending calm confident thoughts and prayers for your lx&snd and path report discussion.
Speedy healing and solid sleep to those recovering.
(((Hugs)))
Cindy0 -
Thanks for the info..nyama I think I read that link right when I found out about all this, so reading thru it again now makes alot more sense and is more helpful. I feel that I have a 'best case' situation going on and feel guilty for even really posting my stuff when so many others here are in worse off shape. I know thats crazy, my stuff is legitimate, but, anyway... Made first appointment today with the rad onco dr- 3 weeks after the surgery. Guess it'll be a first exam, discussion, followed by 2d appointment to lay out an actual plan of attack. This Thurs is second/final appointment with ps before surgery next week.
Im completely off the hrt now and have some Effexor. I havent started them yet as Ive been waiting to see what symptoms come back- hot flashes etc..so far its been at night and so my sleep is way off again. Saw my primary today for pre-surg blood work and he said go ahead and start it- not only would it help with the hot flashes and sleeping, but will help with stress/anxiety of whole upcoming situation. So I guess Ill take the plunge tonite and dinner and start it.
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Thanks Cindy. Yes lx and sub (learning the lingo). Thanks for the tip on figuring out when I can get away. Right now, I just want to get step one done. I started down this path in early May with bleeding from my nipple. Since I had a clean mammo and ultrasound callback last fall, the initial thought was that i probably had an intraductal papilloma. Unfortunately that didn't turnout to be the case, so bring on the MRI and multiple ultrasounds, mammos, additional biopsies and I'm looking at multifocal IDC. My larger tumour looks to be between 1 and 2 cm, but I guess we will see once it comes out. Just crossing my fingers for no lymph node involvement now.
Ridley (real name Cindy)0
