Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Poodles, glad you have DH home. That should help his spirits if nothing else. Hope that the caregiving isn't too challenging. Poor guy with all the nausea. Could you give him a Dramamine? That might help and is rather innocuous. Just the right food from home might help settle the tummy. Sadly, only time will help with his discomfort and I trust he has adequate pain control meds. I'm in your pocket!
HUGS!
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Glad to see your DH is home, Poodles. Second Peggy on the Dramamine (alternatively, Bonine)--generic diphenhydramine or meclizine. So you actually went to the wedding with chicken pox? Wow. My mom could tell I was coming down with something before I even felt sick: once, she was about to wash my hair (I couldn’t reach the shower knob) and declared “You’re running a fever--you’re staying home with a sitter tonight instead of going to your cousin’s bar mitzvah.” I was floored--I felt fine. But sure enough....100.6. (And like all old-school moms, she used a mercury thermometer stuck where the sun don’t shine). My sister and I had chicken pox and measles “seriatim” (w/in a day of one getting well, the other got ill); she also had mumps & rubella, but I never caught them and so I got the vax as an adult and promised my primary I wouldn’t get pregnant. When we were kids, parents used to expose their kids to other sick kids in order to get the childhood diseases out of the way (well, except polio & whooping cough,against which we were vaccinated) and supposedly build lifetime immunity. Bob got measles from the kid next door, and lost the hearing in his ear. My cousin was deliberately exposed to rubella and got meningitis (luckily, she survived and is fine). There were no measles, mumps, chickenpox or rubella vaccines back then; and nobody knew that shingles came from the varicella virus dormant in the body years after having chickenpox. People just assumed it came with the territory of aging. When chickenpox began circulating around Gordy’s grade school and he broke out in a rash, we rushed him to the pediatrician who diagnosed pityriasis rosaea (a mild and not-very-communicable virus) instead. As soon as the rash cleared, he got the varicella vax.
In the lumpectomy department, I am rearranging my bra drawer yet again. Before bc, “Thelma” (L breast) was nearly a cup size bigger than Louise” (R) and I sometimes would slip a pad from a Genie bra into the R cup to even things out. The tumor-cavity seroma after the lx made Louise the same size as Thelma; rads made her even bigger--to the point where I had to go from a 38 H or I to a 40 I --my cleavage actually skewed left. Now, my 40 I bras are wrinkling in both cups and the backs ride up even on the tightest hook. And my cleavage skews R again. Except for the scar (and a little tan) everything looks the same as a year ago. So back into the footlocker withe the 40I s, and back into the drawer with the 38s. Also putting the sleep-leisure bras into storage, since I’m fine sleeping braless again. (Keeping one or two for when I’m in hotels so I don’t look like "Horny Granny" from those old Buck Brown Playboy cartoons when I let room service in with my breakfast). We’ll see how things shake out at my Dec. mammo (depends on whether the seroma’s gone by then) before I make any decisions on new bras or a “shell” prosthesis if Louise has deflated.
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Hi ChiSandy,
I was interested to read that your right breast seroma made your previously smaller breast larger, particularly after rads. I would not have expected that, but now that is the case for me. My tumor was in my left breast, which was originally smaller. Then after lumpectomy, the breast swelled to about the same size of the other. During radiation there didn't seem to be any change, but now 3 months post-radiation the left breast has swelled larger. It's only in the past couple of weeks that it does not feel right. It's become uncomfortable to go jogging (even with a sports bra), whereas I could jog more comfortably a month ago. It's not comfortable to lie directly on it on my stomach in bed.Is this normal to have the seroma last many months and even cause greater swelling at 6 months post-surgery than immediately post-surgery?
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Hello all! Thank you all for for all the nice comments, information and hugs! Hugs to you all. This is a bit overwhelming! I don't know how you all keep everyone straight! I'm doing this all on my mobile phone so I have to scroll back and forth and keep losing track of who asked what. I apologize if I don't answer someone - it's not intentional!
My sons are 16 and 21. Both big enough to care for themselves but they aren't vey tidy. Oh well - funny how things are put into perspective quickly when you get health news like this.
I was having cabin fever yesterday so my husband took me for a stroll and to eat fish tacos and drink a cold beer down at Shelter Island. Dropped in on some friends who have recently purchased a 50 foot boat and they took us out for a ride! Weather was beautiful and it really took my mind off things!!!
So my BS called me yesterday morning and said pathology rpt came back and I have good clear margins and no invasion! Sounded positive to me. He said other than it being the C word all the other news was good. Said I need to see MO and RO within the next month. He said it looks like radiation and that may be it. I asked about the Tamoxifen because MO had made it sound like I'd be on Tamoxifen regardless since my DCIS with Comedo is ER+ and PgR+. BS said well we'll see. I have follow up with BS on 7/22. Will see report for myself then I hope. What questions should I ask BS other than anything about surgery healing type questions? What other info will be in the report? I see a lot of Others have listed HER2 is that something that is always tested for? Would it apply to noninvasive bc?
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Poor DH. He got a 3hr nap, then got up and sat in the recliner. He wanted a scrambled egg and some yogurt, so I gave him that. He didn't want to take a narcotic, so I gave him some ibuprofen. Well, he just threw up again. Got him cleaned up, gave him a little water and some Zofran. No more food tonight! He's on clear liquids until morning.
Obviously, I am keeping a sharp eye on him. He is so afraid of getting an bowel blockage that he wanted me to give him some Miralax--I don't think so! Not with the N&V. If he starts throwing up something suspicious, I'll take him to the ER. But the Miralax will have to wait until tomorrow.
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Poor baby! Sounds like you are doing everything right! Hope his tummy calms down.
HUGS!
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Well, I just got back from shopping and car wash and I think I'm a bit more stressed than I thought! The regular car was was going to be 1 1/2 wait so I asked my husband where a local drive thru one was. He told me and I headed there. First time through, I paid the $8 with a $10 bill and got no change. Gave up and figured it was so cheap anyway, wasn't going to hassle it. Pulled in and the wash just stopped after lightly sprinkling the car. I drove around to office and told them so they gave me a slip with code to go through again. Did that, pulled forward again until the green light went off and the red stop sign flashed. It seemed that I was almost out the exit, but figured OK, maybe I"m just imagining it. Wash started up, sudsed my car from the driver door back (nothing on hood) got to the back of my car and froze and an alarm went off. People behind me started flashing their lights at me, and I again drove out, went to the office yet again with my car totally covered in soap, got in and started losing it with the cashier. (The alarm still loudly ringing, and no one could enter the car wash! The cashier said no one else has had any problem today so I just said, give me my money back. I mean come on, I have a masters degree plus administration degree and I can't use a drive thru car wash???? So I had to drive home with suds flying off the car and drizzling down the windshield so I could hose off my car. Looking back, I probably over-reacted just a little, but sure wish I had an ativan! Maybe I'll just resort to a glass of wine.
Poodles, I know this must sound really lame with what you're going through. I really hope you and DH are beginning to do a little better.
Beebazboob, congratulations! That's great news and sounds like you'll soon be able to move to next step. My onco will hopefully be back by the 27th and I can know what's next as well.
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Beebazboob, congratulations on clean margins! What % is your ER+/PR+? I was initially dx DCIS too. Then found small area of invasive when I had the lx. Because my ER+/PR+ was both 100%, BS & MO said I'd need to take tomoxifen too. Started yesterday.
Poodles, glad your are back home. Hope poor DH feels better soon so he can eat.
Dara, how frustrating! With all the stress we're going through, it doesn't take much. I vote for the wine
I was very tired this weekend, so didn't do much. Guess it all caught up with me. Hope I get my energy back soon. My excercise class is starting a healthy weight loss challenge tomorrow. I'm planning to join them in it. So trying to psych myself up.
Have a good week everyone!
Trish
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tbalding: ER + 100 % PR+ 100%. How have you felt so far on the Tamoxifen? I really won't put too much weight on things the surgeon says that are others' specialties. He's a good guy but had a little different slant on things than Ro and MO. Hope you get some rest.
DaraB: That must've been so frustrating at the car wash! Goes to show you how much stress can fog your brain processes. Although it would be a funny sight to see you driving down the road with the suds flying off your car! Hopefully you will be able to laugh at this later! Hang in there. I hope the 27th comes quickly for you.
Poodles: Hope things get easier quickly for your hubby and you! Is he able to keep liquids down?
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Dara, does your car have crash-avoidance technology, and if so, can you turn it off before you enter the car wash? Same thing happened to me last year. Tried to drive up to where the wheel fits in the track that pulls the car along; but the crash-avoidance sensor “detected" the wash mechanism as an “obstacle" that caused the car to stop dead and the car wash alarms to sound. Tried twice more, same result. The owner-operator was having apoplexy, yelling “Stupid woman! Take foot off brake!" I said, “Oh, yeah? YOU try it, pal." He replied “I cannot do this. I am here alone. Someone will rob the gas station." (Said gas station was on a busy arterial, without sidewalks, in an upscale suburb). I demanded he give me a refund, and he threw the five bucks at me, yelling “Get out of my station! Stupid woman!" (At least he didn't charge me the difference between the “with" and “without wash" gas price). I went to a hand car-wash instead. A week later, I went to one of those stand-still washes, where the mechanism passes over the car and then you restart the engine and drive forward through first a curtain of towel strips and then the blow dryer nozzles. All went fine until it was time to drive forward. Mind you, no tracks, and the wash mechanism was behind me. Inched forward, and then the car stopped and my hazard flashers went on. “Obstacle Detected! Collision Avoided!" flashed on my dashboard. I realized that curtain of towel strips was mis-recognized as a dangerous “obstacle" into which I was in danger of “crashing." All I could do was wait for the machine to give up and move the towel-curtain back to behind my car. The blowers had stopped, so I had to drive away wet. Fortunately, it was warm enough out that the speed of my car made the water evaporate.
There is a little switch up on the front ceiling, next to the sunroof-switches, to turn off the collision-avoidance system, but I didn't know I was supposed to hold it for a full three seconds--so Instead, I stabbed it repeatedly, to no avail. From now on, I'll just spring for the hand car wash. It has free coffee and CNN in the waiting room.
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Poodles...in your pocket tomorrow for your DHs surgery.
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Aaaand we are back in the ER. DH looks pretty rough, dizzy and puky.
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Could he be reacting to the pain meds? I'm sorry he's so crappy and miserable. Hope they get him on the right track. You have to be exhausted. Please take care of yourself!!
HUGS!
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Oh no poodles. I'm hoping the ER staff is able to help him feel better quickly.
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Oh no poodles. I'm hoping the ER staff is able to help him feel better quickly.
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(((poodles & DH)))
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He hasn't taken anything for pain other than 2 ibuprofen around 4pm. He says he really isnt having much pain, just this terrible nausea. They've started Oct fluids, given some zofran IV, and they just took him to get CT scans of his chest snd abdomen.
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Poodles I hope everything turns out ok! Thoughts and prayers for you!
Trish hope the Tamo is ok for you. I'll be with you soon!
Thanks LG I hope so too!
Grazy DH and I are going on Tuesday (after MO app) DD and I hope he loves it! Mostly hope he can stand all the way up in the basement! The house was built over existing foundation and my DH is 6'4 I think it will be close! Maybe men shrink a little too? She says with some hope!
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Poodles, I forgot you said he'd had only ibuprofen. Could he still be reacting to the anesthesia? Hope whatever is causing it is easily fixed and nothing major. Fingers and toes crossed. I know how worried you are.
HUGS!!!
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Poodles, I hope your DH feels better soon - my mom felt nauseated for days after her gallbladder surgery; had no appetite and was pretty darn cranky, let me tell ya
PlanB, good luck with the lakehouse visit - let me know how it goes! I'm totally living vicariously through you. I sat outside with my coffee this morning watching my sprinkler system go off in the backyard - that's my water feature at the moment.
Dara, I have to admit that I laughed out loud at your car wash story - just the vision of you driving away, fuming, with your car still covered in suds - I'm sorry - made me laugh.
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Poodles- big hugs! Sorry DH is feeling so badly. Keep us posted.
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Poodles so worried and sorry about your DH. I hope you'll let us all know as soon as they figure things out. Lots and lots of hugs.
Grazy, Glad you laughed, and I did laugh as well (later.) The suds were those thick foam like ones and I could look in the rv mirror and see them flying! I realized I was suppressing stress while waiting for results and they all came to the surface. It's the little things that get to us.
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I get the stress, Dara, and the little outbursts
) When the stupidest thing sent me flying during those "waiting for results" days, my husband would quickly 'urge' the girls to go and clean their rooms. It made us laugh (later) as that was always my husband's way of trying to reduce my stress level -- it was all he could think to do in the moment to calm me (I like everything clean and very orderly when I'm stressed, so I've learned). All I remember hearing is, "Girls!!! Clean your rooms!!!!" and then he'd be pouring me a big glass of wine, after which he'd seem to disappear to his study. He probably had to do tequila shots when I wasn't looking to cope with my nuttiness, poor man. (I'm joking about that last part.... ?? haha). You've had an extraordinarily long wait for Oncotype results, that is for sure. I sure feel for you.0 -
Dara, that's the funniest story I've heard in a long time. Not having a crash avoidance system, I wouldn't have dreamed that a car wash could set it off.
Poodles, hope DH is much better this morning. Poor both of you.
Grazy, it IS the little things that get to us. Big ones are easy. I found that especially true after DH died. Some little thing I came across, heard or just thought of would make me weepy. Strange, isn't it?
Sun's out here in beautiful Spokane and summer heat is on its way. Finally. It was even humid last night which was wonderful. Who'd have thought I'd miss that? My kids think I'm crazy (probably!).
Everyone take care!
HUGS!
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Thanks for making me feel that I'm not totally nuts. I think most people at the car wash thought I was certifiable!
Grazy, I bet the girls' rooms were never so clean! :-)
I see my oncologist for the first time today but am not expecting any earth shattering news. About another 9-10 days to figure out plan. I'll try to hold it together until then... and send my DH to the car wash :-)
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Dara, wise woman to send DH to the car wash! You'll manage just fine. Keeping your sense of humor and a positive outlook help. Of course, nothing is great when you have to wait, is it?
HUGS!
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Great car wash stories, Dara and Sandy! I am waiting for news that my sister is out of surgery. She had a PBMX today.
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Thanks for the encouragement, ladies. The hospital released DH around 4am this morning. They think he was really constipated from the anesthesia and morphine, so they gave him a shot to try to get things going down there. I know a lot of people don't think that constipation is a big deal, but it can be a VERY big deal, especially after surgery (people die from acute constipation.) Thankfully, he (and I~!) were able to get some decent sleep last night. DH has to sleep on a wedge, so that's not too much fun. The one advantage is that they sent him home with a catheter, so he doesn't have to get up and use the bathroom (the purpose of the catheter is to keep the urethra open where the sutured it.) He'll get that out on Friday.
DH is doing much better today. He is still fairly weak, but he was able to walk to the mailbox and bring in the mail. He wanted to do the laundry, but I beat him to it. I'm pretty sure that lifting heavy, wet laundry is on his llist of things NOT to do. He says he has very little nausea or pain today. I'm making some delicious chicken soup now--I tried making some red beans & rice last night, but the smell of the ham boiling made him feel really sick. I ended up having to toss it.
The real estate agent is still on for Thursday. I tried to get DH to cancel, but he insists. My house looks like a haunted cave--all we need is animal carcasses in the corners. I guess the RA has seen worse. Just looking around distresses me--I know that deep cleaning and serious decluttering are in my future. I'm pretty sure it's going to take several months (and we need to get DS out of the house!) I'll need to get one of those big dumpster things to have place to discard all the stuff that isn't good enough for the thrift store. I would rather have my eyes poked with a hot stick than have a yard sale! We may have to consider getting a storage facility for the short run, until we figure out exactly what we're going to do. If we end up moving into our RV, we won't need ANY of it, save for our 4-season clothes.
Speaking RV, DH insists he wants to go up to the RV this Friday. I was against it at first, but honestly, he can recover there as well as at home. Maybe better because he won't be tempted to do as much. So, we'll load up the Prius with his oxygen, our clothes, and our doggy on Friday after DHs doctor appt and head up to the mountains.
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Good wishes for your sister, Molly. I know you must be worried.
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Poodles, going to the RV makes sense--back in the day, people used to go to the mountains to convalesce without stress! As long as you’ve got what DH needs, and can get to an ER if he needs it, it should recharge both of your batteries!
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