Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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"Zingers" as the are sometimes called, are stinging pains which come from the nerves reconnecting after surgery. In my case, there was quite a bit of tissue removed, then the remaining healthy tissue was "rearranged" in a kind of breast lift. doing all of that required an incision in the shape of an anchor: all the way around the areola, straight down, and along the crease below my breast. I also had a drain and I had an SNB, so there was an incision for that.
Not everyone gets zingers, but I did. I was glad that I read about them here, so I wasn't scared when it happened. Generally, my pain was very manageable -- I stayed on the pain meds for two and a half days, then switched to Tylenol only for about 7 days.
I was anxious before my surgery, but the support of the amazing women here, along with their advice, really helped. My first biopsy (I had 2) and the recovery from that was actually worse than the surgery for me.
Breathe and try to focus on the fact that you will beat BC -- we are behind you 100%!0 -
A zinger is a very sharp pain that comes in the 'bad boob'. My RO said it is a normal thing that happens when the nerves, that have been 'damaged' during surgery, repair themselves. Sometimes it is just a little nip other times strong enough you want to grab it. But they do get better and less frequent as time goes on.
Vickie
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You'll know it when it happens! I had a few but not for a duration to even take some meds for the quick pain. These forums are so helpful- full of information and alot of support. The one thing to keep in mind is everyone's experience is very very different...I freaked myself out reading boards about TE troubles, and was terrified of horrible pain after the surgery for a few weeks. Nearly didn't get them. But all went well- its one week after bmx with the TE and while Im not feeling normal, there hasn't been the pain I was dreading and it's been pretty good overall...So read with a grain of salt but we all have different reactions and recoveries.
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Tomorrow is my five week post surgery mark. I phoned my surgeon on Friday concerned that I may have an infection. Of course everyone had left early for the long weekend. The incsion just became angrier and dripping yellow stuff, so I went to urgent care. The doc there was really surprised to see this happening so late following surgery. He took a culture and gave me a shot in the behind of antibiotics. He told me to see the surgeon ASAP as he thought she might have to go back in and clear out the infection from the depths of my wound. I nearly started crying right there, but held it together. I just feel so angry. I asked him how it might have happened but he didn't know. I go back to teaching tomorrow morning. I'm part time so don't have substitutes. If I get one I have to pay out of pocket and can't affrord that. So I guess I go teach and hope the surgeon can see me late in the day. I want to scream.
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Sorry for the problem you are having with your incision. I hope your BS will be able to take care of it w/o more surgery being necessary. Glad the urgent care Dr. gave you the antibiotic to get the start on getting rid of the infection.
Keep us posted as to your progress. We are here to be your sounding board, so scream here as much as you need to....
Vickie
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Hi, serenamuse,
Sorry to hear about your infection. I remember last week you were mentioning you had some oozing, but last I remember you said your acupuncturist said it was just the teas bringing out the toxins. I was wondering whatever happened regarding that. Sorry to hear it turned out to be infection. Glad you got the shot of antibiotics yesterday.
But don't despair yet about more possible surgery until you meet with your BS tomorrow and see what he has to say. Maybe he'll be able to clear it up without surgery. Or maybe somehow it will work out with your work schedule. And even if it doesn't, remember, this is your health your dealing with. YOU are more important!
Good luck tomorrow.0 -
So, yes, the acupuncture doc is still convinced that she could have fixed it with her medicine, and maybe so, but it was looking bad and I just had to follow my instinct, which was to have it checked. It is so hard to know what is the right choice sometimes. Maybe with more nasty tea she could solve it, but what if not? The thing is I just don't do well with oral medication and the acupuncture has given me pain relief. They have me on a tetracycline drug and I remember getting really sick when they gave it to me for acne. I'll have to address that with the surgeon as well. I have been given a TA so that will be helpful, but not sure I want to go into this with a twenty something year old male MFA student! Tomorrow should be interesting. Thank you for your support!
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Oh SerenaMuse, so sorry you've joined me in the infection zone. It truly sucks, that just as you're feeling better, you get this yucky set-back. My culture showed just normal staph, I hope yours does too. Mine hasn't cleared up after a week+ of Keflex, it just keeps lingering. I hope you get in to see your surgeon today. Mine didn't have to be opened up (yet) since it opened on its own, and keeps draining. So difficult about the work, since at least for me, I've been exhausted from the infection. It doesn't help that I've had radiation there already, but still, I was told this was an "off work" level complication. Please don't beat yourself up over what you did to cause the infection. Mine developed about 4 weeks post-surgery, so don't let them make you feel like you're strange or responsible!
Saw the medical oncologist today. Mammaprint said chemo. I'll be having 4 treatments, 3 weeks apart. I have to get the infection cleared up first, then get a port, then it's full poison ahead! I go to see the surgeon tomorrow and we will hopefully get the stupid infection under control.0 -
Pat, Im curious if you dont mind- why your MO recommended chemo... did you have an oncotype with a high recurrence score?
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My oncotype was 28 (high indeterminate), mammaprint said high risk, and my tumor grade is a 3. That pushed me into slam dunk chemo territory. It's ok, I was pretty much resigned given my tumor grade.
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Hi everyone, I also had a lumpectomy. I had it on August 19th so am about 15 days out. I also had lymph nodes removed. 9 total as he had a hard time finding they sentinal node, even with the blue dye. I peed like a Smurf for a week!!
I am finding my arm pitt to be hurting far worse than my breast at this point. Today I attempted to stretch to get some q tips off the top shelf- Since I am height challenged- that was a bad thing!! OUCH
I am having surgery to insert an internal balloon (contura ) for radiation on Friday Sept 6. Then if it all goes well- treatments will be twice a day for 5 days. Has anyone had that? I am not finding anyone who has and it rather concerning. I hope i chose the right treatment. There are SOOO many options!!
My surgeon did not give me any instructions- a gal called me the day after I got out of the hosp and asked me what I thought of the education the hosp gave me? I had no idea what she meant. So she gave me restrictions- but no one told me not to go swimming either or that my pee would look like a smurf. Sheesh!
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ndgrrl.
Glad your first step to recovery has been accomplished.
I found the incision for the lymph nodes a bit more uncomfortable than the breast incision. I found that when I was lying down if I would extend the arm above my head, it gradually got easier to move it.
I did have the Contura Balloon Radiation done, in November 2011. It went well. I am glad I did it that way. My RO was part of the team that developed the procedure when he was at the MD Anderson Cancer Center.
After they injected the dye, I was told it would turn the urine blue. I told my great granddaughter (who was 4 at the time) that "grandma Macs urine was blue". The next time my husband stopped by their house she ran and got one of her dollies and told him that her dolly was peeing blue pee. That has given us a few chuckles.Good luck in the rest of your treatments... Keep up posted as to your progress, please. We are here to support you, feel free to ask anything, someone here MIGHT be able to give you an answer...
{{{{HUGS}}}} Vickie
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Ndgrrl -- Can't believe you didn't get any instructions....sheesh! I was told no swimming and no tub baths until both surgeons cleared me (which they did 4 weeks out). For showers I was told not to have the water stream directly on my incisions, but to have it run down from my shoulder. After showers I was told to blow dry the incisions with blowdryer set on cool setting. My incisions were glued, and the glue took nearly 4 weeks to come off -- until it did, I felt like I just needed to leave everything alone. I was also instructed (contrary to many on this board) NOT to ice the bad girl after surgery (not sure why). Also, no Motrin or aspirin, only prescribed pain meds or Tylenol. I took Keflex for a week as well. They sent me home in a bra that I was to wear night and day for 7 days, then switched to a sports bra -- still 24/7, and I have not yet been released to take it off to sleep (maybe this week).
My SNB incision hurt the most and I also developed a little seranoma there, about the size of a marble. It got a lot better after about 20 days, and the seranoma is finally just about gone after 5 weeks. I only had 2 nodes removed, so you probably have a larger incision under your arm than I did -- it was hard to find a sports bra that didn't rub on that incision.
Vickie is right -- ask us any question -- we are here to be your sounding board and to help if we can, but always to support you. ((((Hugs))))
--Kim0 -
Hi Pat,
I see the surgeon first thing tomorrow. They have me on Keflex as well. It is draining, a lot, so I am hoping that is a good thing? A friend who recently went through this said her doc told her to shower with a disinfectant wash and use a cool hair drier to dry off after. My hair drying does not do cool, just warm...so just air drying. Dry and clean seems to be important. Hard to stay dry in this heat ,which just makes bacteria all that more happy. I managed to teach this morning and it went well, but by the time I got home the world was spinning on a tilted axis. I don't know if that is the antibiotics talking or the infection. So, just waiting to see what they tell me tomorrow....this probably exaplains why I've been so tired!
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SerenaMuse,
Isn't it nice when you find out you're not mental? I'd been kicking myself for being such a slug before I actually asked the doctor about fatigue. That's when I was told NOT to caffeinate and try to "push through..." And there I'd been worrying that my lack of energy was emergent depression; despite my wanting to do many things, but unable get myself off the couch. I was so busy second-guessing myself that I neglected the simple answer: I was physically out-of-gas. I asked if my dizziness was the infection or the antibiotics...answer:both. I'm probably too busy being on the alert for depression, however; it wouldn't be the most inappropriate reaction!
Draining=good thing. If it wasn't draining they'd open it up for you. We are supposed to get as much gunk out as possible. Gross=my husband seeing me "express" my infection. Disgusting!0 -
Hello everyone! I'm 5 days out from surgery, feeling well, except for a little pain at the incision site, and Aleve is helping quite a bit. Still getting tired easily, ugh. Doc said he got everything, didn't even have to biopsy sentinel node, everything is clear. Follow-up is in 2 days. I'm ok with having to do radiation, but not so thrilled on the idea of taking tamoxifen for 5 years. I've read of horrible side effects!
Anyone have experience with this? I'd appreciate your story.
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Hi everyone, I just typed out a long post, but hit something and lost it - probably a message that it was too long, so I will try to keep this short.
Good luck to those still waiting for surgery.
I'm 12 days post op. Saw my surgeon yesterday, but unfortunately the pathologist was still working on my case, so I don't have the report. Verbally, she told me that the nodes and margins were clear, so all of that is great news. Seeing the med onc and rad onc later this month.
A couple of questions for you vets:
- my surgeon removed about 1/4 of my breast - it is still quite swollen and I can feel lots of scar tissue underneath. How long did it take the swelling to go down, and did you do anything to help with the external scar or internal scar tissue?
- underneath my snb incision, there's now a hard lump about the length of the incision - I didn't notice it yesterday. Is that a seroma and will it reabsorb?
- last and probably least, my snb underarm has a strong odour - I finally shaved yesterday (couldn't stand it), but that didn't seem to help? Anyone else have this?
Sorry to hear about a couple of you developing infections. I hope those are on the mend.
Thanks for all of the valuable advice!0 -
serenamuse - sorry to hear of your infection. Hopefully your BS (and antibiotics) are able to clear it up. I thought I had done some terrible damage one day as I started to bleed from my incision. When I called BS she said it was probably a seroma and that since I was scheduled for re-excission the next day she would take care of it- which she did!
PatAlmeda - sorry you are having difficulty as well. I hope the antibiotics are working and you get some good news from BS.
ndgrrl - my lumpectomy was Aug 20th and 7 nodes. They gave me a booklet with info on what to expect. I peed blue for 3 days but I also drank sooo much water that I was going every half hour! My underarm incision is fairly low so it hasn't been too bothersome. They did say no lifting over 5 lbs for 2 wks no overhead arm extension for 2 wks as well. Hope you are healing
Cynthiaintx - Glad you are doing well. I'm hoping to also go on to radiation then HRT. I'm already having night sweats!! lol!
Hugs to all, M
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You know... My BS told me I would pee blue for a couple days and I never did. Makes me nervous that something went wrong. I did read my surgical report and saw her mention 1 blue node that she removed and one other one besides that. Weird.
Tomorrow is my reduction/lift on non BS side and fat filler on BS side. Will let you all know how it goes. I'm looking forward to droopy becoming perky lol0 -
Hi, I am just out from 5 years of lumpectomy and rads and just finished tamoxifen.
MRI dont stress about the MRI's. Just think,,,,you can crawl out of this darn thing if you really need too!
I alternated mammogram and mri every 6 months for the last 5 years. I am here in Canada so I had to pay for the MRI myself. Go figure, because it is not standard protocol and there were no mammogram issues until just now. The MRI gives you more peace of mind and after cancer you need peace of mind. 5 years out and I am still a stress case....lol.
If you can get mammo and breast mri each year I would go for it for extra piece of mind.
Years out of Lumpectomy and Rads what I have experienced, boob shrinks, scar gets harder like an eraser in my breast, sometimes still get shooting pains, and sometimes the boob still hurts. Yearly mammos hurt like hell. This is all normal.
Where am I now...Well just had mammo (had breast MRI in February all clear) and spot compression for an area they said they could just not squish out like last year. They did an US and all was clear. Now sending me for another breast MRI because there is this tiny area of "nodular density" that is brighter on the mammo than it was last year. Apparently 6mm. So lo and behold kinda stressed...but at the same time think geez, the MRI should have seen this area 6 months ago...however it is only 6mm. The one thing I can say after lumpectomy is that I HATE ALL THE CALL BACKS,...you get called back alot to relook at scars. Drives me nuts.
Anyway,,, I am staying strong.
Hope you are all well.
Kosh
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PaEagles - interesting re the blue dye. I definitely peed blue for a couple of days. My Mom actually looked blue all over for a day or so when she had the procedure done 9 years ago (but she seems to have very translucent skin and was 71 at the time.)
Good luck with your procedure tomorrow. I may pursue that option to even things out once I'm through this stage.
Ridley0 -
Hi, the one blue node and the one beside it means that the dye went into the blue node which would have been the first node in your chain of lymph nodes in the breast. This means, if a cancer were to spread into the nodes it would travel the same direction. They always try to get the first few nodes in the chain to sample and if those are clear it is deemed that your nodes are clear.
The blue node is normal to see with this type of biopsy. Dont stress over that.
Yes, you do pee blue.
LOL
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Had lumpectomy in May and internal rads in June. Got infection at savi site that was finally picked up by 3rd doc that I had seen and was treated with antibiotics. First two agreed hot and red but probably from rads. I didn't think so but then I'm not an expert. Was glad to finally have a doc agree with me that it was infected. Boob still very tender and under arm down to elbow still numb and hurts like the dickens. I am glad to read on this disc board that that is not terribly unusual. Didn't start letrozole in a timely manner and hope I don't pay the price for that decision. Have 6 month checkup next month so hope all goes well. My thoughts are with all of you for good outcomes.
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Hi, a couple of weeks after my radiation I broke out into an itchy rash on my breast. Looked like goosebumps and itched like crazy. They prescribed me a cream. Said it was normal. Cream took care of it.
Geez.
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Well, today I finally had the long-awaited appointment with my Medical Oncologist. (It had been pushed back 3 times.) Anyway, the good news is, he says I do not need chemo!! My oncotype dx scores for both tumors were considered "Low Risk". And he did not seem too concerned about the micro-metastasis in the left lymph node.
I cannot begin to express how happy and relieved I am! Happy Dance, Happt Dance!! I had already convinced myself I was going to need chemo (I guess partly because the surgeon said I probably would) and also due to the lymph node.
He also said that just because I have synchronous bilateral breast cancer, that does not mean that my prognosis is bad. He said they just go by the worse of the two sides, and that is my prognosis. So I am stage 1B on left and 1A on right. Moderate grade on both tumors. And both tumors are ER and PR receptor positive and HER2 negative, so all of those are good things!
So, my next step is Radiation (12 weeks, since my RO recommends not doing both sides at once). Then, in a few months I will meet with the oncologist to talk about Tamoxifen, etc.
Aside from that, I am feeling good. I went back to work last week. Still a bit sore in all incisions, especially the armpits, but I am doing my stretches every day to help.0 -
L2girl, congratulations on not needing the chemo! You get a big exhale.
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L2girl -- YIPPEE!!!!! congrats and happy dancin!!!!
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L2girl - what awesome news - so happy for you!
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I had surgery on Tuesday and am taking it easy at home. Not much pain, but I have found that I am having problems with the seatbelt when I ride in the car. Also having difficulty in wearing a bra because my incisions are at the 6 o'clock area (under my nipple near the underside of the breast.)
Wondering if anyone can recommend a really comfortable bra. All of the bras I own are underwires. I do have one that is not underwire that I purchased for sleeping, but I would need to get another one to wear during the day. Makes me sad to think that I would not be able to continue any of my current bras, because I like underwire bras.
Thank you.0 -
hobbesia4,
You may be able to continue wearing underwires after you've fully healed, as long as you don't develop chest or truncal LE. Maybe in 6 mo - a year. My RO gave me an hour lecture on why women shouldn't wear underwires. I like them too and disregarded his message because I'm small so my breasts weigh hardly anything. Now though with a little truncal LE, I may have to give them up.
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