Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Ndgrll
External. Whole breast for six weeks and three boosts to the area of tumor. Daily is such a pain! I already have sleep issues. Fatigue from rads is not a welcomed edition to my complicated world!0 -
Hi I'm hope someone can give me advice..I had a lumpectomy on Aug 26th....I have no bad pain and the incision is healing very well what I am wondering is if a big lump and I'm talking the size of a tennis ball in my breast is normal and it is very hard like a stone....please tell me this is normal thanks for any replies...
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Teacher... Overall it is not bad. I taught yoga through my rads. You just need to work and rest. Don't do extra.
Hugs Kosh0 -
Justhavingfun: I would definitely call my doctors to ask for advice in your situation. It would be concerning to me.
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Teacher,
I have insomnia problems most nights. During rads, I took a nap for an hour each evening, then promptly fell asleep again an hour later for the best sleep I'd had in years. Maybe that will happen for you. I was still recovering from chemo also.
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Teacher and ndgrrl
You both will do well, I am sure. This is another mile post in your recovery!!! yipee
Together we will all beat the beast (BC)
Vickie
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Teacherabc123, Earlier you had been concerned about radiation and taking time off from your new teaching job. Last March I began 33 radiation treatment 100 miles from my home. I had a great boss (teach middle school) and I was able to get the last appointment of the day. Left at 2:15, missing my last hour class which they covered for me, and made the daily 200 mile trek. I was concerned that fatigue or other side effects would make it difficult, but I had drivers lined up just in case and was fortunately able to work and do radiation. Lost 7 days total at an hour a day from my sick days for radiation. had three surgeries and numerous tests (you all know the drill) but only lost 23 sick days total from this experience. Everyone at work was great, including my students. So if you live closer to your radiation facility (and who wouldn't) you will likely be able to do this with minimal issues. I know everyone is different, but truly the waiting is far worse than what you finally have to do.
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Teacher, I went back to work at a preschool 2 days after my last chemo and was working all through my 6 weeks of rads. It is definitely doable but be prepared to be tired and you definitely need to go home and nap every day after work. I also had walking pneumonia throughout rads that was diagnosed as I was finishing the 6 weeks. I just thought I had a cold and cough and was tired from the rads....go figure.
The external rads were a breeze after chemo. I used Aloe force lotion throughout even though the techs said I did not need anything unless I had a problem. I wanted to be proactive and had read on some of the boards about greasy lotions etc. I purchased it for around $32 on amazon. Actually I bought 2 and still have about a full bottle left. Non greasy. I would rub it in after the treatment when I was getting dressed, again at night before bed. For a week or so towards the end I even used it at lunch when I got a little pink. I had some slight pinking and minimal peeling around the n ipple which was no big deal.
Everyones skin is different and you need to ask your rad onc what she approves. Good luck and know that you can do it and work.
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Just.....I too had a golf ball size lump under my arm where the lymph nodes were removed. I had it drained twice but the surgeon discouraged this as the nodes will absorb the fluid naturally over time and sure enough within about 4-6 weeks it was still numb but the size was back to normal.
If the growth you have is close to your under arm/node area this may be the cause but you should consult the surgeon. If it is in the breast area I have no clue and you should consult the surgeon.
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As a result of so much fluid pushing up through my incision, there are now two little balls (smaller than a pencil erasor) of wet red tissue and sutures sticking out of my incision. I look at it and get light headed. Have any of you had this? How will it heal? Can they fix it later? I know it is vain, but the thought of my insides pushing up to the surface makes me ill. Does insurance usual cover a plastic surgeon or do they consider it cosmetic?
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Hi,
I wanted to ask how soon after your surgery you felt like exercising? My surgery was almost six days ago. I feel very sore at times, usually at night. Also, my arm feels kind of frozen at times. I did not have SNB.
How long until you felt like doing normal things without becoming tired?
Thanks!0 -
I went on walks in a couple of days, then climbed stairs. Slowly built up to jogging and lifting weights weeks later.
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I too went on walks in a couple of days and gradually built up to more strenous exercise. It was several weeks before I rode my exercise bike as it is one that uses the arms as well as legs.
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I'm just over 2 weeks out from surgery now. I was out for short walks on the day after surgery and then on the treadmill the next day for an hour. I'm a big walker, so built up to a 10km walk about a week later. I asked my surgeon when I saw her last week if there were any restrictions re: physical activity and she said none. I don't have regular strength training routine, so I haven't been doing much with my arms except stretching.
Best wishes for a speed recovery.
Ridley
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how's everyone in lumpyland? I see most of you are doing well. I am 4 weeks out & go for my pre-chemo tomorrow. !st Chemo on Wed. I am wearing BIG pockets!
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Welcome 70Charger,
Good thing you are wearing your big pockets so we can all jump in and be with you as you go for your 1st chemo. We will be here for you. You will not have to feel alone. Good luck on Wednesday!0 -
Thanks. I have visions of not being able to walk because my pockets are full & dragging on the floor.
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Serenamuse -- so much of what you describe seems really not right at all (even going back to the horrific experiences you had with biopsy). A second opinion from a surgeon in a different surgical group altogether would be in order, I would say. Be assertive -- this is YOUR body! Any surgeon who is worth a darn will not object to another opinion. You have been messing around with this infection for way too long. And yes, plastic surgery is usually covered by insurance -- after breast surgery, any repairs are no longer considered "cosmetic," they are "reconstruction."
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Hey Hobble. I started walking on my fourth day after surgery. Short walks but it felt so good! I was told by my surgeon as well that there were few restrictions initially outside of no swimming until my staples were out.
I'm at 6 weeks out and just waiting for my chemo oncologlist appointment on Friday to find out if I'm going that as well as radiation or just radiation. Feeling pretty much back to normal before treatment makes me happy so I can start it at full power.....YARRR (why I made a pirate sound for full power is beyond me..lol)
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70charger- Good luck on Wed. We are definitely in your pocket and we won't drag you down!!(we know how to bounce back up)
DivaGG Good luck on Friday - you are poweful - and we are in your pocket!
Just had the best visit with BS. She said she felt we got it all - tiny area of CA early stage 1a no lymph node involvement and clear margins!! Now on to radiation then AI. She was so upbeat about prognosis that I was dancing all the way home!!!! RADS here I come!!!
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Canuck what great news- I am hoping to hear the same on Friday about my re-excission. I do not want to have to go through this again. I am mentally ready to move on to the next steps of chemo/RAD. The delays are so frustrating.
Good luck to everyone this week.
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trvlmom - I am in your pocket on Friday - praying for great news!!! Isn't it amazing how anxious we become to really start the fight to get rid of those nasty cells. Who ever thought we would be saying lets get on with chemo and RADs!! Good luck to all.
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Whoooohooo, Canuck! Happy dancin for you, warrior sister!
I was so glad to tune in here and get some good news, because my day has been not so positive. I called my BS office today cuz it is 6 weeks since surgery and was still waiting for the Mammaprint results (test ordered 5 weeks ago). Test was in, so I convinced the assistant to give it to me straight since BS was in surgery today.... High risk..... Crap.0 -
TeamKim - sorry to hear you got that high risk news today. It sucks not knowing, but then it sucks knowing as well when the news is not what we want it to be.
Canuck - congrats on your news - very happy for you to have the surgery stage over and to be moving on to the next stage.
To the others waiting for results or starting treatment this week, my fingers are crossed for you.
I'm still in the middle of figuring out next steps. My pathology came back with 10 areas of invasive cancer + dcis + lcis. Rad onc says the recurrence stats are not necessarily applicable to me, so it might be a crap shoot to do rads instead of a mastectomy. She wants a second opinion on the pathology as well, so is arranging that. I get the feeling that she thinks I should do a mast, but won't come out and say that, I meet with my medical oncologist next week as well as a plastic surgeon to have a discussion on reconstruction options if I do go the mast route, then back to the rad onc the next week. I figure it will be another month before I get the next steps sorted. Still trying to understand what lesson the universe is trying to teach me with this experience and all of the waiting and testing:)
Take care all,
Ridley0 -
Hi y'all
Teacher and ndgrrl - we are in your pockets...laser tag warriors and the force will be with you...r2d2 is your friend...zip zap! Gonna watch a Star Wars in your honor:)
Hydrate and be good to yourselves! You got this Lumpies:)
(((Hugs)))
Cindy0 -
Hi everyone! I'm 10 days out from surgery, and back in the hospital. All because Sunday afternoon I started noticing some shortness of breath. No pain, cough, or anything else, just the feeling like I had when I went skiing at 10,000 feet this past winter, like the air was thin.
After calling the surgeon's office on the advice of someone over on another thread, they insisted I go to the ER right away. Doc had me slap-dab into a CT scan, and the results came back that I had a blood clot on my right lung. So here I am, getting shots twice a day and pills 4x a day until this thing goes away. Could be in here at least 2, maybe 3 days. So thankful for insurance!
So - if you have recent surgery and get ANY symptoms of a pulmonary embolism, call your doc! It could be serious! I almost brushed this off as being a little out of shape, and if I didn't get treated, it could have been deadly. So... just a word of caution to all y'all!
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OH NO! You take care of that nasty. Hopefully it will ride off yonder & you can get on with your next step on your journey. Take care, big hugs.
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Hi Everybody, SerenaMuse and travelmom- yup delays and lack of clarity are so frustrating! Cynthiaintx, so sorry a complication got you.
Teamkim,so sorry the mammaprint info sucked. For me I liked the clear direction the mammaprint gave. When I saw the MO and she gave me the test results, I just said, "ok, chemo it is." I would have hated the uncertainty of going through it wondering if it was necessary,or skipping chemo and getting a recurrence. 70charger, you me and teamkim are all grade 3, not sure what life lessons are in store for us, but they sure ARE in store! Meet you guys over in the September chemo group...
My infection is finally responding to antibiotics. I literally see my BS every other day. I'm so fatigued by this stupid infection. I just want to move on to the next step. I figure its just like my heart problems initially made them cancel surgery: when I finally got to have it I wasn't nervous at all. Now the infection is delaying chemo, so I'm actually eager fr it to begin! Twisted huh?0 -
Just got the call I have been waiting for from my BS - Clear margins no more cancer! I saved that message. I follow up with her on Friday and then schedule appointments with Oncology. Crossing over the 2nd hurdle and playing Mandisa's "Overcomer" loud.
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I also had blood clots,one in my arm,and one in my neck..was so weak,and also shortness of breath.Took 2 shots a day,one in morn,and one in evening,in my stomach ,and still on coumadin,no more shots..tg...They dont know how i got them,but i got a port,and as soon as i finish taxol,im having it out..i have to go tomorow to get my finger pricked ,to make sure my numbers dont go up too high..had to have ct scan,and ultra sound,and this was all last week,and test all done in same day,i have amazing reasearch nurses,and im in the breast cancer study for 10 years.If i have any issues or just anything ,they are there...so if you can get in on the study,go for it,in chemo..mine are amazing.
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