Come join others currently navigating treatment in our weekly Zoom Meetup! Register here: Tuesdays, 1pm ET.
Take our poll: Caregivers, what do you find most difficult about caregiving?
Weigh in: What are the best and worst gifts for people with breast cancer?

Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

1…2627293132…949

Comments

  • elizabeth22
    elizabeth22 Member Posts: 2

    Hi all:



    This is my first time posting here (or anywhere!) as well. I was diagnosed with grade 1 IDC in early June, and had a lumpectomy yesterday. The plan had been a sentinel node biopsy, but when I woke up the doctor said she'd removed four nodes. I asked her why, but I was too loopy to remember what she said (my husband was there, but wasn't clear on it either.) Had something to do with how many nodes turned blue from the dye they injected--and from reading, it sounds like there can be 2 or even 3 sentinel nodes, but 4? Anyone have experience with that? I've called my BS and left message asking that question, but just wondered if others had experienced it. Thanks, and happy healing to you all...and to those who are sharing your advice from experience with us, many thanks!



    Liz

  • michelleaz
    michelleaz Member Posts: 15

    aww Canuck...sorry you have to go thru more surgery...hang in there we will be in your pockets for good luck!!

  • doxie
    doxie Member Posts: 700

    elizabeth22,

    My BS removed 7 nodes and it shocked me.  He said two lit up and the others were tiny and came out with the others.  I don't think even he knew that so many had been removed until the final pathology report.  I wasn't pleased but it's not like they could be put back.

  • Vicks1960
    Vicks1960 Member Posts: 393

    Elizabeth22

    It is common for them to remove the sentinel node + several ancillary nodes.  My BS removed 5 total nodes.  I would certainly prefer that they do so to be sure there is no more of the dreaded disease there.  In my case they were all clear.  the dye is injected so the surgeon can see where the nodes are.  It sounds like they were able to remove the beast, which is wonderful.

    Hope you can keep reading/posting here,  it will give you a lot of information and put your mind at ease.

    Good luck with your follow up.

    Vickie

  • DivaGG
    DivaGG Member Posts: 19

    Hey Elizabeth 22. I had my lumpectomy and SNB 2 weeks ago and had 4 removed as well. I was told by the surgeon and at preop that they would remove at least 3 but that some people have a lot more in the area than others. A friend of mine had 20 removed in a smaller area than my 4! just as Vicks said, they want to make sure that they get a few of them to make sure nothing more is there. I get my results on the 20th so I'm super looking forward to it as I want to know my next steps!

    Hope your healing goes as well as mine has.

    All the best!

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570

    I have a question maybe some of you can help me with...I had a lumpectomy last Wednesday and they took tissue about the size of a kiwi I was told...although I have taken a shower everyday the tape is still securely on.  I have an appointment Monday with my surgeon for a post opt visit.  This is my first surgery and I am wondering now if I should have taken the tape off?  I can't remember if they said to.  It seems to be fine and I haven't had much pain.  Thanks for sharing....I am so thankful to have this place and grateful to all the warriors who havr walked ahead of me and shared their experience....M

  • Vicks1960
    Vicks1960 Member Posts: 393

    lovewins,

    Negative on removal of the tape.  Those surgistrips will usually loosen and come off in about 10 days +/-.

    Good luck on your follow up appointments.

    Vickie

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570

    Thank you Vickie....I feel better now. Laughing

  • travlmom
    travlmom Member Posts: 18

    I had a very brief call from my BS tonight. She is on vacation so only gave me a snip of my results. Which is good because we were headed in to a restaurant to grab a late bit to eat and i did not have my questioon binder with me. Good news my lymph nodes are clean so the 1 that was questionable was clean! YEAH. But like you Canuck - I have to go back to get a clear margin toward the chest wall. I am scheduling my follow up for next week and if this swelling under my arm pit does not clear up she will drain it. Then 2 weeks later will have the re-cission done. So some good news tonight.



  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570

    Travtmom...congrats on the good news!  Sorry you have to have re-cission done.

  • lovewins
    lovewins Member Posts: 570

    Good Morning ladies....I know I read on here where some of you had a lumo under your arm and the Dr drained it for you.  Is there something I can do or not do?  It is just starting to get painful.  My surgery was last Wed.  I do have a Dr appointment on Monday and I will let her know.  Thanks in advance for any input....M

  • Vicks1960
    Vicks1960 Member Posts: 393

    Lovewins

    It might be a good idea to let your doctor know what it going on.  Sometimes it is easier to prevent problems than to solve them..GOOD LUCK friend.

    Vickie

  • Palameda
    Palameda Member Posts: 91

    Hi All,

    Elizabeth, I had 7 nodes removed during my SNB. My lump was at 11 o'clock, and kinda near my armpit, which made it easier for cells to get into the lymph system. Yay, they were all clear, but damn the arm takes a while to get functional. Canuck, I'm a rightie too. For 1 day I ate with my left hand, but since then I've progressed daily, and 3 weeks out I've got almost complete range of motion. As I tell people, the bad news is I'm right-handed, but the good news is I'm left-hearted so I don't have to be concerned about radiation damage to my heart: that good news trumps the bad news! The only big inconvenience was that I had to trade cars with my husband. My ginormous SUV has a too large steering wheel and a gearshift on the steering column, it was too hard to drive so I swapped for my husband's little VW bug. Next week my husband gets his car back!



    Is anyone else out there in estrogen withdrawal? I was happily on HRT which I had to quit cold turkey. OMG the sweaty heat waves! At this point they're my big complaint (so anyone with upcoming surgery, that should be assuring). Since I've got bad migraines and take triptans, I can't use Effexor due to drug interactions. From what I gather chemo and adjuvants are only going to continue this one. Hardly deadly, not painful, but ugh!!!

  • canuck46
    canuck46 Member Posts: 62

    elizabet22 - my BS said same as Vicks1960 that if she needs to remve some ancillary nodes to get a better read she will. 

    Michelleaze Thanks.  I just want to get past the surgery so I can begin treatment. (whatever that ends up being!)  You are such a positive warrior and I appreciate you.  We all want a good outcome.

    Yeah travlmom on clean nodes!  Hope you did the happy dance!

    PatAlameda thanks for info.  Loved how you phrased  the bad and good news - hope you don't mind if I borrow it???

    Again healing thoughts and prayers to all who are going through this.  Hugs, M

  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 836

    Well surgery done and path results in. Went for double lumpectomy Tues- 1 dcis lower right, removed 2d area upper right which they deemed previously as benign. Had oncoplasty right side, reduction left side.

    Path report today- dcis removed completely. But they found a 2.2 cm invasive tumor in the 'benign' upper right. and a 1cm invasive in the tissue removed on the left during reconstruction. The bs said hes never seen benign like that come back invasive. wonderful.

    SNB on both sides during surgery.

    Still in shock. Double mastectomy to follow, in next 2 weeks I guess. Have to talk in depth to both surgeons. I guess no radiation but possibly chemo depending on stages found.

    Anyone going thru similar or been thru= comments and suggestions welcome.

  • TeamKim
    TeamKim Member Posts: 301

    Aviva5675 --- so sorry for the yucky outcome and more surgery on the horizon. Were the nodes positive? I can imagine the shock -- I guess the imaging can only reveal so much.... Sometimes BC is very sneaky. Hang in there, brave warrior! we are all behind you!!!

  • elizabeth22
    elizabeth22 Member Posts: 2

    Thanks so much to all who responded about numbers of nodes removed. Final call from my surgeon said that she'd taken 5, not 4...but as most of you said, it was necessary, and even better, all were clear. And so I move happily on, opting not to have radiation (which my surgeon is fine with), and also hoping not to have hormones (which she is less thrilled about). I'll meet with an oncologist to discuss. Anyone have pros or cons to share about that?

    Aviva5674--what a shock. I am so sorry! And I'm with TeamKim: we are all behind you. This board is such a relief. Even having a strong and loving support system is not quite the same as talking with others with cancer. 

    Liz

  • Palameda
    Palameda Member Posts: 91

    Aviva5674,

    So so sorry about your news. I was whining to my surgeon about how I was tired of always getting bad news, even when it was mixed in with good, and she said, "Someday you'll come in and the news WILL all be good. We just have to wait for that day." There are a lot of us in that same boat, waiting for that only good news day.

  • L2girl
    L2girl Member Posts: 58

    Hello, this is my first time posting here. This seems like a great group! I have been reading since I was first diagnosed, but finally got brave enough to post. I had a bilateral lumpectomy and bilateral sentinel node biopsy last week. Originally I was diagnosed with IDC in left breast, then through a series of follow up tests, (PET scan and MRI) it was found I also had something in the right breast. (Originally they thought that was DCIS, but turns out it was also IDC). Yesterday was my first follow up visit and got my pathology report. A few surprises: Both tumors were about twice the size originally estimated. There was also a small amount of cancer in the left lymph node. And, of course as I mentioned above, IDC instead of DCIS in right. At first I felt a bit disappointed in my report, but I guess overall it is still very good. I am glad everything was caught early. But now I don't know if I am going to need chemo as well as radiation. Also, having lumpectomies and SNB on both left and right sides has been tough, with pain and not being able to sleep on my sides! But, each day it is getting better. I'd appreciate any support!

  • Vicks1960
    Vicks1960 Member Posts: 393

    L2girl

    Welcome, We are sorry for your circumstances (like each of us)  but glad you have found us.  The gals here are such great support for each other.  This is a place where we can rant/rave/cry/laugh and know anyone else reading here knows what it is about...

    Keep us updated on your progress with treatments.  Hope you have BIG POCKETS, because we will all be trying to crowd into them to cheer you on.

    Good luck with whatever you decide needs to be done.

    Vickie

  • TeamKim
    TeamKim Member Posts: 301

    Welcome L2girl, to the best club nobody wants to be in! We are a supportive bunch -- many of us are at your same point waiting for the treatment plan from here on in. Keep us posted and know there are plenty of wise warriors here who can help with questions and fears, and plenty of sisters to hop in your pockets when the news is challenging or share the happy dance when the all clear is sounded. Hang in there -- each day does get better!

  • schoolmom
    schoolmom Member Posts: 327

    Remember that all of our situations and decisions are different. As you go through treatment decisions we r here. Check with your onc on oncotype testing to help with chemo decision. They send tumor cells off to a lab to see if you would benefit from chemo. Good luck

  • L2girl
    L2girl Member Posts: 58

    Thank you all for your welcoming replies. I didn't realize before how much it means to be able to talk with others who are going through the same thing. Earlier this morning as I was getting dressed I caught a glimpse of my body in the mirror: 4 sets on steri-strips covering 4 still painful incisions, when suddenly I was filled with this overwhelming sense of strength, because for the first time through this whole ordeal I felt that I really wasn't alone. Thanks to all of you on this forum.

    Now I just need to get through the next week and a half or so till I see my oncologist.



    P.S. I forgot to mention he did order an oncotype dx test after my surgery. The results take 14 days, so hopefully that will help with treatment decision. Also, I have been having trouble finding anyone else with synchronous bilateral breast cancer, like myself.

  • aviva5675
    aviva5675 Member Posts: 836

    Interesting reading about how many nodes being removed during the surgeries and stuff. Ill have double modified mastectomy probably this Fri- with temp expanders in then. BS says he removes a few nodes each side (SNB), and if pathologist finds cancer he might remove a few more. Said tho that when final path comes back - he does not generally go back in for more if more is found, so Im glad about that.  Tricky trying to understand what treatment might come next- I understand its dependant on staging, etc- if it will be rads,chemo both or nothing.

    But most worried/scared now about reading about horrible pain for weeks with the TE- Im starting to get really nervous about that.

    PS thanks for not kicking me off the lumpies board even tho Ive moved on!  JK

  • Palameda
    Palameda Member Posts: 91

    Hi L2girl,

    You're hardly alone in the wondering if chemo situation. I'm guessing I've got another week until I get my oncotype score, and my near-term future gets decided. I'm coming to terms with the likelihood of chemo, but find it hard no knowing yet if so, how long treatment will last, etc. The uncertainty is a pain in the butt! I'm getting invitations and opportunities for October, and I just don't know how to respond.



    I'm just trying to enjoy my now, which is pretty good. I'm getting nicely healed from the surgery, so Ive no complaints. I guess that's as good as I'm going to get right now,

  • travlmom
    travlmom Member Posts: 18

    My followup appointment is this Friday.  I am calling everyday though to see if there is a cancellation.  My surgery areas are not painful but I have pain in my shoulder blade and highly sensitive from the mid point in my upper arm past my arm pit and down my side. I really want my results and to get my recission scheduled.  

  • serenamuse
    serenamuse Member Posts: 25

    Hi,

    I had mine on July 30th. There were some complications because they lost the metal clip, had to go back in digging around searching for it. Brought in a large xray machine to make sure it wasn't still in me - all in all I was on the table an hour longer than expected with a lot more digging around. At this point I am wondering about pain management. I quit taking the hydrocodone acetaminophen after day 2 because it made me so ill. The surgeon's assistant told me to just take extra strenght tyelonol but that is not cutting it. I have a general level 5 discomfort at all times, with stabbing pains (I liken to knitting kneedles) that are a 7 to 9. I am wondering how long to expect this and how best to deal with it? I did not have radiation or lymphnodes removed. It was up high on my breast near the chest wall.

  • genise
    genise Member Posts: 1

    I had a left breast lumpectomy on July 13,2009 and a drain was put in.  On August 17,2009 I had to have more breast tissue removed to get all the cancer out.  The hard and the most painful was the drains. I had the drains for one long week.  On August 6,2013 I had my right breast reduced to match the much smaller left breast.  I would recommend that get your breast to match just to make you feel good about yourself.

  • PaEaglesFan
    PaEaglesFan Member Posts: 57

    Thanks Genise.  I'm having a reduction done on the 5th and still feeling guilty about having something done just for the sake of appearances.  Your post makes me feel better about it :)

  • beccc81
    beccc81 Member Posts: 27

    I had my Lx done on 2 Aug 13 and did not get drainage and because so much taken ive had excess fluid issues (gushing out - ER trip) but it is calmed down dramatically now but I have to have wound dressings again and it is nasty looking :/

Categories

Join Us on Zoom: Upcoming virtual meetups. Read more...
Give your account some personality! Add a profile photo.