Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Natty,While you're in the planning for lumpectomy, it might help to ask a few questions at the surgeon's office. The practice might have a "nurse navigator" who helps patients with questions. Some folks are sent home with an ace bandage wrapped around their chest and that remains on for the first 24 or 48 hours. Some hospitals have donated pillows that are helpful for sentinel node biopsy. I ordered a special seatbelt cover via Etsy that I am finding helpful now and it will help during radiation (and when I have my reduction surgery). The packing and preparation list at breastcancer.org was very helpful, and I discovered that it also helped to ask about the post-op procedures at the specific hospital.
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Nattydreadful:
My tumor is in almost the same place as yours (maybe a little closer to 12 o'clock). I really liked the gel ice packs that you can wrap around so that it covers the lumpectomy and SNB. The first few days I iced throughout the day and then the next couple of weeks I iced whenever it felt sore which was often towards the end of the day. I had a mammogram 2 weeks after surgery and I think that set me back pain-wise so you may not need it for as long as I did
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I slept 10 hours last night! Still adjusting to double jet lag, plus getting lost in interesting dreams (and not wanting to disturb cats blissfully sleeping on me).
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Hi everyone... my brother John passed away this morning.. just want to say Thanks for all the care and prayers you've given me
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So sorry for the loss of your brother, Judy. May his memory be for a blessing.
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Thanks Sandy, it's been three months since my oldest brother died and although expected... it's the finality that's hard... but there are good memories and have to keep those up front...
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So sorry about the loss of your brother.
MJ
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Oh, Judy, I'm so sorry. This has been an awful year for you. Treasure the happy memories you have of both your brothers. May the rest of the year be wonderful.
HUGS!
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Judy, I'm sorry for the loss of your brother. Hugs!
Blooming, no one realizes how long this journey is until you go through it. That's why having this group is so great. Don't stress out too bad about the hormone therapy. Not everyone has side effects. Just like every other thing we've gone through, you'll figure it out & there's plenty of us here to help.
Natty, I used the Ace cold compress I got at Walmart. It's flexible. I had 2 and that I alternated. Attaching a pic.
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Tbalding - that's why I've stopped reading the hormone therapy threads. I was getting myself all in a tizzy before I even know what I'll be taking and how it will affect me. Just made an appointment with my MO. Still waiting for the RO referral.
MJ
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Judy, there are no words to tell you how sorry I am. Please know that you and your brothers family are in our thoughts and prayers.
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Judy, I'm sorry your brother has passed. There is never a good day to lose a brother. God be with you.
Natty, if you don't have ice packs you can use a bag of frozen peas or corn. Something loose but dense. I keep two bags of frozen peas in the freezer--I would not put a frozen pea in my mouth if you put a gun to my head, so no chance of running out of ice packs. Plus, I don't run the risk of food poisoning because I repeatedly let the bag thaw and refreeze. Anyway, you can mold these bags to your body and use them just like a store bought ice pack.
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I keep a bag of peas in the freezer labeled in black Sharpie “DO NOT EAT." It gets thawed & frozen over & over again. When I had my knee replacement surgeries, the Bonesmart.org forum had instructions for a DIY slushy ice pack, involving isopropyl alcohol, water, and several layers of Ziploc bags. So messy that it was easier to just use the peas. I have lots of gel packs (some that came packaged with perishable food gifts, some for first aid; some even with little gel beads that mimic peas), but they don't conform to body contours quite as well as frozen peas or Niblets.
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Thank you, balding, mustlovepoodles and chiSandy! This has eased my worries knowing two or three ice packs or even frozen peas will do the job, and that I don't have spend time researching this or preparing a freezer full of packs! The picture was helpful!
I really appreciate you all taking the time to post a reply--
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Thanks for your prayers everyone... They're appreciated..
Poodles, you are going through so much yourself, one thing that helps is having sibling helping too, and I have one brother and two sisters that are there...
For the icepack?... When I had my knee replacement, my pt gave me one made of Corn Syrup in a double Ziploc... never gets solid, conforms to anything... I've had it for quite a while now, and it's so simple to make...
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B"H
IHGJAnn49 - I have been pretty silent for quite a while now, but I had to speak up today and tell you I am praying for your health and wellbeing... at any age it is so hard to lose a sibling, at any age it is certainly very much like losing a part of one's own self... may G-d Bless you and give you strength and health and joy ...all the very best... i hope you feel how much you are not alone...
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I don't remember if I updated on my mom, so I'll do it now. Mother moved into assisted living last Friday. It's a nice place and we girls are very happy with it. Unfortunately, she's very depressed, she doesn't want to be there, she wants to go home, and she says all the food tastes bad. She has a raging case of thrush, so nothing tastes right ( the food is actually very good.) She keeps asking to go home, as though she doesn't remember that she can't take care of herself. It really is heartbreaking. She doesn't seem to remember that she has stage 4 liver cancer or Stage 5 in stage kidney failure.
There are bright spots to this story. She was allowed to bring a lot of her furniture and the place even gives her a $500 a month discount for bringing her furniture. She can keep her Kitty. Thank God she has long-term care insurance, which is picking up everything! This place is also about a mile from my sister.
We girls are scaling back our attention. At the moment someone is staying in town to be nearby 100% of the time, but that will end May 17th when my other sister goes back to Seattle. The sisters that are there are not going to the facility as much as they did when she was in rehab. Which is a good thing. We're hoping it'll force her to get involved with activities and such. The facility has a policy that everyone has to go to the cafeteria for meals unless they are sick. So she is getting up and walking herself with her walker down the cafeteria even though she swears the food is terrible.
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Poodles, you have to be relieved to have your mom someplace where she is safe and being looked after. I'm glad she gets to keep Kitty. Your mom must have gotten long term care insurance when it came out. When we were in our 50s we checked into it and couldn't afford it. I know it is a blessing. Do you feel that your burden has lifted somewhat? Hope mom's thrush clears up quickly and she can enjoy food again.
HUGS!
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Peggy, all 5 of us are relieved. It has taken such a burden off of us. One or two of us girls have stayed with Mother 100% of the time since January 1st and we are just worn out.
My mother's husband is the one who got her on LTC back in her fifties. I praise His name every time I think about it. There is no way we kids could afford to pay for assisted living and she couldn't afford it either. I got LTC Insurance when I was about 50 and I'm so glad I did. I would never be able to get it now.
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Natty.... I found a great method to ice your boob and the sentinel node incision.
I wear two bras. A regular one underneath with the straps short to lift the girls up, then a tight sports type bra over that to hold 'em in place. That leads to the perfect way to mold your icing.
I use small bags of frozen corn and slide them between my two bras. They are held in place, fit my curves, and don't slide off. Heaven.
PS.... I wear two bras all the time anyway right now.
Robin
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Poodles, it has been a rotten 5 months for all of you. LTC is great. I wish our timing had been better and we could have afforded to purchase it. As it was, we had to get DH on Medicaid and that saved us.
HUGS!
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QUESTION: It's been almost a month since my lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy. Steady progress. But the last few days my right leg (same side as surgery) has been crampy, and feels a combination of numbness and achey. I especially notice it at work.... when I am on my feet all day.
I googled "Can lymph nodes have sympathy pain" and was amazed at all the articles about this. But lots of possible reasons. I see my surgeon tomorrow for a check up and will ask about it...but am curious if any of you have had this issue!
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Robin, has anyone told you (at least from your avatar) that you are a dead ringer for Mandy Moore’s character on “This is Us?”
Anyway, I don’t think it’s the lymph system that’s causing your leg ache & numbness, but probably a neuropathy. You may be subconsciously favoring that side so as not to irritate your SNB incision, and the nerve bundles on that side of your spine might be compressed. Also, as we age that can be the first sign of hip osteoarthritis. If you feel the ache seems to originate near your groin, it could also be a strain of the iliopsoas muscle—which can mimic the symptoms of a groin pull or even a hernia. You might want to see a podiatrist (orthotics could help restore balance), chiropractor/naprapath, or both.
My pet peeve with big boobs and narrow shoulders is that no matter how well my bras fit, the straps slip. I can’t reach behind my back to work those little round plastic clip thingies they advertise; those little elastic straps that hook the bra straps together often come undone suddenly and violently (BOINGG!!!); Rigby & Peller sold me some gel pads through which the straps fit, but invariably they migrate down my sleeve or even my back; the only thing that seems to work is a string, ribbon or shoelace, which inevitably creeps up above my shoulders to my neck.
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Sandy, I love your descriptions, and they are so true... I don't think my bras ever fit... and tried those things too, they did the same...
Poodles, I'm glad you're getting some relief from taking care of your mom... I know how hard it is, even with your sisters helping... it wears you out..
Theirisnodespair, On here, We are Never Alone... and I Love it!
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Judy, I am so very sorry for your loss of your precious brother. Losing a sibling is so hard but two seems absolutely unbearable.
Poodles, I am so glad your mom is settled into a good place. I wish we had the foresight to purchase some LTC but with cancer... Oh well.
Hello everyone, sorry I haven't been around. I am trying to limit my time thinking about cancer and I am anxious to be released by my PS to fully exercise. I am gaining fat around my mid section and it's making me depressed about my body. I look in the mirror and I have weird shaped breast on the left and frankenboob on the right and fat around the middle. Ugh. I know it seems small compared to everything else but I feel like I lost so much. I guess it is a delayed emotional response to losing my breasts.
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Molly, too bad we can’t post pics, not even “headless” ones. If you were to look at me, you wouldn’t believe both boobs belong to the same person (much the same as my two very different feet, but that’s another story for another time). One operated one that while still too big is round and perky, one “natural” one that is two cup sizes bigger and looks like the droopy breasts on the “Horny Granny” in those old Buck Brown Playboy cartoons. (I am definitely showing my age here).
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Sandy, don't they make racerback bras that you could wear? That would solve your problem. I've also tried those clippy things and have difficulty using them. Way back in the late 50's I was on a summer country club swim team. I had (and still have) not much in the boob department and the straps of my tank suit would fall off my shoulders. I used a shoestring in back to tie them close together. That took care of that problem. I never had them migrate up to my neck like you have.
HUGS!
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I don't like the profile that racerback bras give me, nor that they are likelier to show through my clothing or peek out my neckline (I like low scoop and V-neck tops). I've tried some, and they feel like iron lungs, especially in very large cup sizes. I already have tons of money invested in pretty, sexy and colorful underwire bras (and a couple of sports bras for the gym and sleep bras) that fit me well other than straps slipping. (I even once tried fashion tape, but the friction gave me blisters on my shoulders).
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Sandy, Okay. True about racerbacks showing in some necklines. I know you have researched bras more than anyone I've ever met. You would know! Blisters on your shoulders from fashion tape - that sounds miserable.
HUGS!
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Sandy, I appreciate the encouragement. I will eventually snap out of it. It has been a challenging couple years as you all know.
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