Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
Comments
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Thanks for all the replies ladies! So nice to have someone to talk besides my hubby about this. He is wonderful and very supportive but always good to talk to fellow Pink Ladies.
Went for a walk up the mountain this evening after work. Walking always clears my head and gets me thinking positive thoughts. I usually jog also however that was not happening today. Way too much bounce left to be comfortable after the surgery Tuesday.
My Doctor is saying he wants to do Chemo due to my age. I turned 45 the day I was diagnosed. I get the feeling from him the oncotype won't matter much in his decision. We do trust his judgement, he is our clinics regional director for breast cancer and he came recommend to us by several survivors. My surgeon had thought just radiation when we spoke but feels we should go with the choice our Oncologist makes. Doc also states this is a sneaky type of cancer that likes to hide. MRI showed a lump on the other side however biopsy showed it to be a fiber something or other and not cancer. Yay! I try to look on the good side of everything and have found a few really cute hats I like and now will have a excuse to buy,lol. That and with all the money I will save on haircuts and coloring I should be able to afford that Pandora charm bracelet I have had my eye on for awhile!0 -
tori39 - I would say it all depends on how well you do with anesthesia. For me, the drugs masked any real discomfort in my breasts immediately post-lumpectomy, so it wouldn't have been pain that kept me from doing anything the day after. However, it was the anesthesia that I had a very hard time with. I had a tough time coming out of it and then was very nauseated for the whole next day and day after. I felt very weak because of not being able to eat anything (because of nausea) and sort of "removed." I hope this doesn't happen to you! But I would say listen to your body and take it easy. If you can make it to your son's game for a little bit, I say go for it, but be prepared to advocate for yourself and tell the people who bring you there when it's time for you to leave. In my experience, it's best to really go easy on yourself the first few days to a week after surgery when you might have a lot of people around to help you. Resting early on will also help you recover faster in the long run. And by the way, it's okay to take the medicine the surgeon prescribes (as long as you can tolerate it; some women find some of the meds make them feel sicker). The meds are there to help your body relax around the discomfort so that it can heal. If you're not taking the meds, you're "holding" against the pain and it makes it that much harder to recover. Good luck and GOOOOOOOOO (insert your son's team name here)!!!!!!!!! Hugs.0 -
Thanks rmlulu and summergal! For some reason, your responses made me emotional. Thanks again. Hugs!!!0 -
"For some reason" .........?
Aaah Sweetie - when you feel the love of these ladies it just makes you want to cry.
Its also part of the hightened emotions we all feel. Sometimes little things make us miserable beyong belief.
And kindness and compassion make us bawl too.
I can't watch medical programs on TV anymore - can't stand to see pretend blood or pretend pain when I know what's going on in the real world! - Also I shout at the doctors on the screen and at real doctors I have known in life - even though they aren't actually in the room at the time - and my husband finds it quite irritating.
Best thing with all the new emotions is to let yourself feel them and ask for help when you need it.
Keep us posted on how goes when you can.0 -
tori39 - Like summergal I have had issues with anesthesia and have learned to tell the anesthesiologist up front so they could give me something for the nausea while I was out. No issues last 3 surgeries. summergal has given you good advise.
summergal - you are correct about the outpouring of love from the wonderful ladies on this sight. We are lucky to have a place to share our joy, sorrow and everything in between.0 -
NorthwindsG, I'm happy your MRI was negative. You get that Pandora bracelet, girl. You deserve it!
I got good news today! My right breast MRI bx was benign!! Yay! I will be scheduling a lumpectomy instead of mastectomy. I just have to meet with the cancer genetics people on Monday to be tested for the Brca mutation. Although I think it's unlikely I carry this as I'm the only one in my family to have cancer. Has anyone on here been positive for BRCA but not had any cancer in the family?0 -
lisa...congrats on news. I am home today from the hospital after having my chemo port removed! YEAH! It would have been one year with the port on 11/2/13. So glad that final reminder is gone and moving on...................good thoughts to all.0 -
Lisa - I am BRCA 2 positive and we found out it came from my Dad's side of the family and there is no breast cancer on that side of my family. I do have breast cancer on my Mom's side of the family so we were surprised it was not on my Zmom's side.0 -
School mom,
I'm so happy for you! good riddance chemo port ! Yay!
Momof3greatkids that is interesting. I'm looking forward to seeing if I have the gene. My BS didn't think I needed to be tested but the Heme Onc did. I want to know for my daughter. I think i will be having mastectomy if I am positive. I saw that you had lumpectomy and oophorectomy. I was wondering if your doctor recommended mastectomy since you were BRCA positive? There are just so many medical opinions and routes to go that I have found this journey very overwhelming so far.0 -
I had my lumpectomy 2 weeks after my dx bc I just wanted the tumor out as quickly as possible. I didn't do the genetic testing until after also. Once we found out my BS, MO and Gyn Oncologist ( who did the hysterectomy) all said the statistics for me were the same between lumpectomy, chemo and radiation and a MX so I have not gone back to fat the MX. My BS also took more than she originally thought and I had very large margins so I felt this was the best decision for me. If I ever start having more issues with testing, I go for a mamo every 6 months and in between I go for a MRI so I have a test every 3 months, I may decide to do BMX but I am fine with my decision at this point. Everyone is different so my decision does not mean that someone else's is wrong. It is all what you need to do to feel comfortable. I am still considering about getting my DDs tested, but I was told that they should start getting mammos at age 22, which is 20 years earlier than I was dx. At this point the testing would not be covered for them and I don't have the $6,000 to get them tested. They are only 13 and 11 now so I think we have time.
Let me know if you have any other questions.0 -
hi,
Not all rads are given after chemo... Internal rads have to be given before chemo because it has to be done before the cavity where the cancer was heals. since this is where they insert the balloon. I had mine inserted 3 weeks after surgery and never found out if I needed chemo or not until after I was all done with rads...0 -
I'm waiting for my brca results. In of Ashkenazi jewish descent, breast cancer, and make cousin died of it. Had bmx but if I'm positive I'll take out ovaries at least. Was shocked to find out my heritage makes me 1 in 40 to be paltriness.0 -
lisacm - so happy for you! It's great to have results from the MRi that help you reach a decision you are comfortable with. I also did not have any history of breast cancer in the family and was BRCA negative. I hope the same for you.0 -
found out this morning- brca negative . so - yay!
while of course so happy, another thing I cant figure out why Im not jumping up and down with joy. All news since the original dx seems to resonate in a dull way. I can intellectually process but hard to emotionally.0 -
Aviva - I totally get what you're feeling. I had a very real sense of "is that all there is?" after getting my path report post-surgery. It was great news, but I couldn't celebrate at all. I acted as if I was happy, but I don't know if I really believed it, or I felt, "well, this is a temporary smokescreen to make me unaware of how serious this all is," or what. Somebody said to me over the weekend, "Congratulations on the cancer stuff," and I was like, "Oh, okay, um, thanks." The cancer stuff? I know she was referring to the clear margins/lymph nodes, and that it was her best effort at bringing up the "elephant in the room." Don't expect yourself to feel one way or the other. I think the emotional repercussions of dealing with this diagnosis go far deeper than we may realize. No matter who you are, when you get the dx, an essential part of you goes down that road of looking at your very own personal mortality. And I think that may leave psychic scars that can not be remedied in a short time, if at all. We do what we can. We get up in the morning. We give it our best shot. You're okay exactly where you are emotionally. Honor your present self and this present moment. Hugs0 -
Not the news we had hoped for, was bumped up from Stage 1,grade1 to Stage11a,grade2 after sentinel Node biopsy showed cancer in one node out of two. Port placement tomorrow. Don't know results from the BRCA test yet, was feeling strong but now rather freaked out with all this. Few weeks ago life was good,then Bam, cancer shows itself.......0 -
Oh NorthwindsGS - Sorry to hear about your bad news. You are in good company on this thread and we will do our best to help keep your spirits up. Please let us know what we can do to hold you up.0 -
NorthwindsGS - sorry about your diagnosis. These threads got me through a lot. You can vent, cry, get angry, laugh, scream, freak out here and everyone understands. Keep us posted and you will get lots of support from these ladies.0 -
The doctor told me I would heal better if I could eliminate stress from my life. UMMM OK-- I guess it just doesn't know how to avoid me.
Prayers for another neice( my sister who has breast cancer's daughter) she had discharge from her nipple and now has to have a biopsy tomorrow.. One in this family needs to be lucky and not have a cancer diagnosis.:(
I got released to return to work only to find out that my job was eliminated while i was out on medical leave.. They offered me a "new" job of 3 hours a day... Most of the same duties, plus some extra..
FMLA is trying to see if they can help me, but since we are such a small place its not looking good .. Not sure where else to turn..
Someone once wrote... If life is a bowl of cherries why do I always get the pitts?... I think thats my new motto....0 -
ndgrrl - I can't believe they eliminated your job. Was this the same boss who claimed that you really were well when you weren't and that you were totally healed when you came back after surgery? You were only out a month, right, and on drs' orders? Something doesn't smell right here. I think there are some legalities that your boss has conveniently overlooked. I hope you can get some answers and no more pits!0 -
ndgrrl - I agree with summergal about the legalities. Maybe you could check with an attorney to see if you have some recourse. Something just doesn't smell right. Hmmmmmm.
(((HUGS))))
Cakes0 -
ndgrrl- you could also talk to the unemployment office for advice. If this new job is fewer hours than you worked before, you could take the new job and still file for UNDEREMPLOYMENT against the company for the remaining hours. This usually gets your hours back as the creep would probably prefer to pay you to work than have to pay into the system for you not working.0 -
received results from re-excision yesterday. Path report indicates clear margin with another area of DCIS located 1.5 cm away from clear margin. Surgeon says it is likely that the DCIS is dispersed and scattered throughout my right breast. He said it is similar to one of those dandelion flowers that you make a wish on as a kid, that when you blow on the flower and it scatters everywhere. He said no further surgery is indicated at this time, but I will be monitored with MRI scheduled for February and followup with him in March.
Now on to Radiation trial run next week. Right now, I am feeling overwhelmed because I wanted the report yesterday to say totally clean with no further DCIS. My DCIS has been termed as high grade, so I am hopeful that radiation will take care of it. Also overwhelmed as I met with dietician last week who said that I need to make permanent diet changes (no red meat, increase consumption of fish, fruits and vegetables, reduce salt and sugar intake). Can't seem to wrap my brain around that. Have any of you been told something similar?
Thank you for allowing me to vent. Hope you are having a good week.0 -
I found out yesterday that I will be having a lumpectomy and SNB. I went into my surgical appointment worried about how I would be able to make a treatment decision. My BS explained in detail why she feels a lumpectomy is my best option at this point and patiently answered all my questions. I had read a great deal about DCIS and IDC before my appointment. My nurse navigator and PCP had both explained my biopsy path report to me which helped to guide my reading as I waited for my surgical appointment. Since I am rambling, I know I am still feeling "off balance." Your posts bring me a sense of connection. Thank you.0 -
Hi, SallyS70 - welcome! Sorry you have to be here, but this is a great group of very caring people. It sounds as if you're very comfortable with your decision and that is GREAT! That is truly half (or more) of the battle for many of us. The treatment decisions can be so difficult but having the option of a lumpectomy is a good option. Stay connected with us! Hugs.0 -
Does anyone notice zingers when you're close to getting your period? I've had two periods since my surgery 9/12, and had only one day of zingers post-surgery (that wasn't associated with my cycle, I don't think). All of a sudden today I'm getting those "stop-you-in-your-tracks" shooting pains in both breasts...and I'm expecting my period in 3 days. Also, despite the loss of tissue from the lumpectomies, I'm swollen up just like I used to be when PMSing. I guess some things never change!!0 -
Hi Lumpies
SallyS70 - welcome! But sorry you are joining us...we are just a big warm supportive lump of warriors! Breathe, you will be fine...right now it is overwhelming. Stay here no Mr Goggle. This site has great info and questions to ask your BC team...find an appointment buddy who will go listen and record your appts. We will be in your pocket (((squeeze))) if you have questions ask! Now breathe, go blow some bubbles and do something special for you today. Sending calm confident thoughts and prayers.
(((Hugs)))
Cindy
Zingers come and go...I'm postM...still zingers...0 -
Wanted to post an update in the surgical infection category, which is where I was stuck for far too long. I haven't posted in over a month since I've felt so disheartened by my experience. Healing from the inside out, as they nicely call it, isn't for the faint of heart, but it can be done. After a lot of semi-cures from oral antibiotics, my infectious specialist ordered 14 days of iv antibiotics, which isn't too bad except 1) because of the infection, I couldn't have a port so many many sticks to one arm, 2) I had to go a hospital infusion center every day for hours.
The good news is I'm pronounced infection-free, got a port yesterday and move onto chemo next week. Fellow lumpies, if during your healing you start to feel worse instead of better, listen to your body!0 -
SallyS70- Glad you found the "lumpies". I had DCIS and then IDC because of size of my tumors my BS recommended lumpectomy followed by radiation. My SNB came back clear which made me more comfortable with that decision. Although every one of us is different I put my trust in my BS. She took time to explain in detail and answered all my questions. (and I had pages of them!). You need to be comfortable with your decision and when you are you will know you made the right one for you. We are all here for you.
Hugs, Marilyn
PatAlameda- Happy for you! Know this has been a very hard journey for you but glad the beast is gone!!! (not a misspelling - lol!)
Hugs to you, M0 -
PatAlameda -- welcome back and congrats on getting past the extended healing hurdle! See you on the Oct chemo board.... On to the next challenge! (((Hugs)))0
