Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
Comments
-
Welcome Sue. I just finished 4 rounds of chemo and it is definitely doable. Michelle is right, cold caps are available if you wish to try to avoid hair loss. But do some research. I was going to do it, but each time you must wear the caps for about 7-8 hours, there are lots of restrictions on what you can do with your hair re washing, styling, etc. And it fairly costly with no guarantee. I just decided that my hair wouldn't look as I wanted anyway. I lost my hair, and I know it will grow back; it's already starting to grow. I think I'd make the same decision again, but everyone needs to make that choice. Losing it was no where near as traumatic as I thought it would be.
Trish, think of you with your first mammo. I've always stressed a little with them, but know it will be quadrupled in the future.
Jill, what a great vacation plan! I have a friend who just moved with her husband and two kids to Cuba, actually to Guantanamo! The pics of the beaches are incredible. Enjoy!
Judy, I'm making my calendar this weekend. I have my first rad on Tuesday, along with tattoo etc. (he combines it all in one visit.)
To all new lx, I had my surgery in June and still once in a while get a phantom twinge. It will bother me, and sometimes I even wonder if I'm imagining it, but I know the nerves will continue to heal and reconnect for up to a year later. Patience is a virtue, and one I'm not really great at!
0 -
Jill , how fun ! Welcome Sue .
0 -
It's been awhile since my last post, in fact, I don't even remember when it was. I'm finished with radiation, and my skin is pretty well healed up. I got fairly red, especially where my thoracic compression garment rubbed in my armpit. I'm back to work full time and handling any animals I want. I'm also working on getting back into my workout routine. I've been taking self-defense classes, and can't wait until I feel ready to start in with my Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes. I'm aiming for December for that. I started Tamoxifen, and so far, so good.
At the start of rads, I had to replace my car- I went from a 2002 Saturn with no a/c to a 2013 Smart with great a/c! So fortunate, since Houston (along with a lot of the south) still hasn't figured out it's fall, and I think it would have been a lot worse on my skin if I had to drive with the windows down, especially since my left side was getting treatment!
The day after my find rad treatment (which is 4 weeks ago to the day), a client brought in a little kitten that he found outside his girlfriend's house. Poor little guy was malnourished, trying desperately to eat canned food when he should have still been suckling on momma, and absolutely covered in fleas. By the time I was done taking care of him, I wanted to take him home, but my DH is allergic to cats and we made an agreement to limit ourselves to a 1 cat household before we were married and we have an 11 year old cat at home already. I was talking about my day, which was a lot of time with the kitten, and he asked why I didn't bring him home, so that Monday, I called the client and told him I would take the little guy (he was not looking to adopt another cat), so little Ridley C (my other cat is named Turtle- get it- Ridley Sea Turtle), the Ninja Kitty, is my post cancer treatment present to myself.
Next week, my parents set my husband and I up in a condo in Galveston to get away from everything, reconnect and reset after the chaos of the last 16/17 months, the last almost 12 months dealing with BC and the 4 months before that dealing with the fungal sinus infection that was causing vertigo until I was finally able to have surgery to fix it.
It is crazy to look back now and realize how long I have been dealing with one medical issue after another, it sure doesn't feel like it was going on for so long, while at the same time, I can hardly remember what it was like the days/weeks after surgery, or how I felt following chemo. It really does get better with time.
Welcome to all of the new people, this really is a great place for emotional support and questions on treatments and side effects. I'm in the pockets of each of you as you deal with your before, during and afters, in and out of BC! I try to read all of the posts, but do sometimes get behind now that I am trying to keep up with everything else, and I still send out prayers and good vibes when I read of your struggles.
0 -
Dara, I just used the pocket calendar.. it works great and is getting used a lot.. I keep track of dr. visits for my accident and brothers dr. and transfusions.. it's getting a workout.. I had the tattoos at my sim, but they had to re mark and tape because I lost volume... it shrank after the tattoos.. and they said it will shrink more... mutt and jeff is going to look like tweety and sylvester... lol
0 -
Hi ladies! It's been way too long since I last visited and posted. Tomorrow will be 12 months since my last chemo, and I had a lovely lunch with the gals from my Facing Forward After Breast Cancer group today. Of the six of us, I was the only one who hasn't had a mastectomy and reconstruction. Makes me feel somewhat blessed! We agreed that it's good to feel that things are progressing, though it it toward a different version of normal than we knew before in some ways.
Jill, what a fab vacation!
Dara, so glad you can talk about chemo in the past tense now.
Sue, welcome, and hope for a good path report for you!
0 -
Peachy, I was just thinking about you. Glad you are doing FINE!!
HUGS!!
0 -
hello y'all ...I have finished my chemo and will have lumpectomy on this Thursday. I have been miserable with a cold so I am so worried they may cancel. I am anxious about surgery because of the unknown. I am not sure if I will be prepared for after but happy to move on. Anyone with suggestions I will appreciate.
Dara has helped me realize she healed up quick.
I was diagnosed in June and started chemo in August ...this has been such an emotional & painful ride. I so needed the support of my chemo group. Thank you ladies for being here too for my next fearful adventure.
I know better I have faith but darn fear keeps taking over my thoughts.
0 -
Hi Caligirl, glad you have finished the chemo part of your treatment. I didn't have any issues with the lx itself, but BS didn't get clean margins in first lx and had to go back in. I didn't have to take pain meds either time more than day after surgery. Ice was my best friend and did stretching exercises. Went back to work the week after surgery. Went back to exercise class 1-1/2 weeks after (working out lightly until I had my strength back). Hardest part was waiting on pathology. If your anxious before surgery, they will prescribe something for you to help. Sending positive vibes your way
0 -
CaliGirl, Welcome. I think you'll find a very comforting "home" here in the lumpy lounge. Glad you're all through with chemo! I found my Lx was not hard at all. If you have a SLNB done, that will likely be more bothersome. I took a pain pill in recovery and just regular Tylenol to sleep. I did ice my incisions. And that helped. But I felt good even that night and had no nausea. I was given a Valium AND a Dramamine just prior to surgery and very glad I had them. I hope that your cold doesn't delay your surgery. Waiting is awful. And having a delay? Ugh. I'll be in your pocket Thursday!!
HUGS!
0 -
Ice and tylenol the first day was my best friend after the lumpectomy. Then I would just add Ice when I was laying down for a few days after. No bruising, really no pain. Didn't take meds after the first day. Did have to use my heating pad on my back as my period decided it had to start this weekend. Found myself back sleeping on my side. Stole my daughter's heart pillow from Justice. It fits perfectly when resting, right under the arm and keeps it from rubbing up or getting knocked around. I have a tiny straight line. Breast looks like it did before surgery. I asked for no hard core meds, just liquid tylenol, and for them to put the anti nausea in before the sedation and I woke up and was out of the hospital with in an hour.
I had surgery on the 31, the went back in three days later to get a better margin parts. Hasn't really slowed me down. Went to the kids school carnival yesterday, grocery shopping today, and am now watching football. I even went trick or treating the day of my first surgery.
Take care and this part will be over very soon.
0 -
Caligirl, I feared the lumpectomy also. If I knew how simple the procedure was and my recovery, I would not have stressed out over it. You have done the hard part with chemo, and how brave all you girls are that face chemo. Your area must be pretty small for 1B, so hopefully a smaller incision. I did not have any issues with the lumpectomy, and one thing my surgeon did that helped was to bind my breasts. I did not have swelling, or pain that could not be treated with a single 500 Tylenol. I only took Tylenol 3 times the day after.
0 -
I woke up from both surgeries in a sports bra that opened in the front and top. Wore it until i showered the next day and was told then to wear a sports bra for the remainder of the week.
0 -
Cali, so nice to see you here also! I'll definitely be thinking totally good thoughts for you on Thursday. I haven't heard of anyone who had a terrible experience with the lx, just don't push yourself and rest and pamper yourself. Ask your BS about any restrictions with lifting and possible appropriate stretching exercises to keep mobility. I think everything will be much easier than chemo!
0 -
Has anyone heard from Tatatootsie?
0 -
I awoke from surgery and found my I-cup “girls” stuffed into an overflowing XL (!!!) front-Velcro surgical bra. (Gives new meaning to the phrase “my cup runneth over”). I look at it now and marvel at how they managed to get me into it. After my first shower, I switched to front-hook sports (Freya, Goddess) and “leisure/sleep” (Leading Lady) bras. I knew it would be months before I could go back to my favorite European underwires, so I got some cheap soft-cup “sister-sized” bras from Kohl’s. “Sister-sizing” means if you can’t find your exact bra size, you go for the band size that will give you the right sized cup. As the band size increases, so does the cup size designated by a given letter. I am a 38I—therefore, in order to get a big enough cup, I have to go up to a 44DD or 42 DDD. (Both bands are so big that they ride up—a 46D would be useless). I have been so spoiled by online sites like HerRoom and BareNecessities (and boutiques like Intimacy, now called Rigby & Peller) that I forgot how hard it is for very-large-busted women who are not morbidly obese to find anything over a DDD (even DD) in their proper band size. If your bra’s band rides up, it’s too big. And if you have a “balcony” in front instead of the center sitting flat against your chest, or if you are spilling out the sides or over the top, the cups are too small. Most women are wearing both bands too big and cups too small, mainly because most American mfrs. don’t offer anything larger than a DDD, if that big, and most women shop at conventional or discount dept. stores.
0 -
Starting to actually have some fun. During radiation, I put myself on house lockdown. I did not want to catch any colds or flu that is going around, so I went to my appts and came home. My husband took our daughter to Chicago, because our son is away and he does not spend as much time with her during the year. So, I had the house to myself, and went to Old Navy. I found some really nice all cotton t's with a shirt tail hem to cover my backside when wearing leggings. The were $5, originally $15. I bought many of them for myself and daughter. I have some all cotton t's from 2007 that I would like to trash, but am wearing them during radiation recover. My chest is still itchy with small blisters, which is the worst part of this entire recovery. My dog is scratching his ears, with little booties the vet put on him after he had a big toe nail trimming session yesterday. His scratching does not help my itching and he is my constant companion. He is the one that stays up during insomnia, anxiety, etc. and my husband gets to go to bed. Has anyone tried Aveeno anti itch cream?
0 -
I have. It does work. My hubby has psoriasis and daughter has eczema, so we use that stuff a lot when we get itchy. They have a oatmeal bath that is made from Aveeno that works well when she breaks out. I just use when the bugs think I am an all you can eat buffet! LOl.
0 -
I used hydrocortisone cream for the itching during rads.
0 -
KB, you can rock this. You and I have the same diagnosis; my surgery was fine and the first chemo wasn't as bad as my mind made it. I didn't expect chemo until I came back triple positive like you. But you know what? If chemo is what I need to do, it's what I will do. Knowing so many have done it before me empowers me. I can do this, and so can you. For now though, just relax and heal from your surgery. I'm glad tylenol is doing the trick and that you have gotten sleep.
0 -
Hi Gals
I go for pre-op testing this afternoon and surgery is scheduled for the 18th. Your positive posts are really helping me. To the gal who said "I'm so tired of this cancer crap", I'm with you! And technically I'm just two months in with lots more to go.
0 -
can any one advise me please, I had a lumpectomy on the 13th October had nipple removed also dr checked it on the 26th was a hard area and he drained it all fine and I'm going back this Thursday for another operation didn't get clear margins, but today my breast is killing me really painful and rock hard along the scar is this supposed to happen is it healing ,I know I'm going see dr again Thursday and I'll be back to square one ,but do you think this is normal to be hard and painful after a month? I haven't been lifting or doing anything I shouldn't have been doing
0 -
Sounds to me like you need to get this checked out Lorri. I had a concern with my wound that it was slow healing, had it checked to make sure it wasn't an infection. It definitely wasn't painful though, I'm thinking if something is painful now when it wasn't before you need to make sure it's not an infection or haematoma or whatever.
This cancer game is rubbish sometimes, you think things are going along on target and then something comes along to scare you again.
I'm sure this won't be anything major but at least you would stop worrying if you contact your medical team. HUGS!!
0 -
Rita, Welcome! You've come to the right place to have your questions answered. We're warm, comforting and informative. You've certainly had to wait a long time for your surgery. That has to be hard. Where are you located? (Please put that in your profile and make it public). Some advice is predicated on your location since Canada and the US seem to have different approaches to BC treatments. Please ask all your questions and we'll do our best to answer them.
HUGS!
0 -
I've called the breast clinic receptionist is getting the nurse to call me back I'm going in for operation Thursday I hope,but I need to do something in the mean time
0 -
I rang hospital nurse said it's a build up of fluid again from operation I can go get it drained or wait till the operation on Thursday he'll drain it then operate hospital is an hour away so I'll get painkillers and stick it out I'm really fed up of this now
0 -
Lorri, I don't blame you for being fed up. Most of us feel that way. Hope the painkillers help and you can wait until Thursday.
HUGS!
0 -
Thank you all for your comforting advise. I should of joined y'all sooner. Now if I can get over this cold.
Lorri...glad you called it would worry me too.
Michelle....my surgeon & RO gave me Jeans cream to use during radiation. You can order or find somewhere local to buy. They have a www.jeanscream site. Wish I could hand you my sample to try.
I agree ..I'm tired of this cancer crap! This is not what I signed up for! My friend and I were diagnosed at the same time and she txt me that we were going to get new perky boobs. Well she wound up with what appears to be a bitter boob ...like the bitter beer face & I lost my hair and feel lousy ...but it shall pass I pra
0 -
Final Pathology. Only DCiS 24mm. Margins achieved. On to Rads Doc on 22. After Thanksgiving a trip to Disneyland to recharge before radiation.....
Thank you everyone!
0 -
Weneke, Great news! Enjoy Disneyland and the holidays. Very happy for you.
KB, I totally understand what you're feeling. We don't limit discussions to BC only. We try to help with ALL life's issues from extremely personal (e.g. sex), to family issues, and ones such as you are experiencing. We are here to listen and help if we can. Sending prayers for your friend.
HUGS!
0 -
Lorri, you have my sympathy. I had a similar course after my LX. I had the same build up of fluid, which is called a seroma. My doctor withdrew over 500ml of fluid over a 2 week period. Then I developed a huge hematoma, which she drained of about 150ml blood. At re-excision (to get clean margins), she evacuated over 300ml more blood and cauterized the heck out of everything. Got the seroma again and this time it got badly infected. My whole breast was red and hot, and I had a high fever. I was on Cipro for about 3-4 weeks.
That's a long way of saying, keep an eye on things. If your breast gets more swollen, red, or you run a fever, call you BS immediately or go to the ER for treatment. Breasts don't like to be messed with and they WILL bite you in the butt, if they get the chance.
0
