Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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As with all the rest I am so pleased for you and very happy that you have this peace. Time to move onward and upward my Dear. Enjoying and appreciating every minute. We are fortunate to have that special appreciation for the passage and value of time.0
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Hello warriors, I have been reading and getting wonderful information on this site but have not posted anything. Thank you all for your tremendous courage and kindness in sharing information.
I was diagnosed on May 8th with Stage 2 IDC HR positive and HER2 negative (all new to me I hope I said that right)
As you all know life has been full of decisions and emotions.
I am having a lumpectomy tomorrow with intrabeam radiation and lymph node removal/dissection etc.
I fear the unknown and am not sure what to expect. I am scheduled to return to work in 5 days and am wondering if that is too optimistic.
I may be in denial but I am thinking I am going to have a lump cut out and a little radiation and back to business as usual. I know I will have to have hormone blockers or something like that for 5-10 years. Oncotype dx test will determine chemo.
Am I minimizing what is going on?
I haven't found much on intrabeam radiation.
Thank you all for just reading this.
I know I am fortunate to have stage 2 and I know so many women are going through so much worse than I am I don't want to complain. I just would feel better if I knew what to expect.
Thank you for any answers I receive.
Julie
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Julie - My situation was very similar to your's, minus the intrabeam rad. I did the accelerated 16 rads and today will be my last day. I don't think you are being optimistic about going to work in 5 days. Just don't move your arm and let the wounds heal. I did not take any narcotics after the surgery - only Tylenol and I was fine. They removed 3 nodes and my underarm hurt more than my breast. You will feel fine and may want to carry groceries and what not. But remember your skin is very fragile and the only way it will heal is if you don't pull on it. Try to stay in bed for a few days. Good luck on your surgery. I will be thinking of you.
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micahmom,
Use a heating pad, medium setting for 20 minute intervals 4 times a day. The heat will help the body to redistribute/ reabsorb fluid. This could be a seroma.
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Just finished my mammo—“the kids are alright” (for you Who fans). No more till next June. Now, on to my hand surgeon..
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Jewel259- I had to look up the type of radiation your receiving as I know nothing about it. It appears you get the rads directly to the site during the lumpectomy, is that correct?
The actual lumpectomy site caused me minimal pain (even with reexcision); the node removal area was more painful. I'm retired but if I had been working, a desk job, I would have been ok to return. There are restrictions of lifting with the arm where surgery was performed.
I don't think you're minimizing anything. Take it one day at a time and know you will get through this. Best wishes tomorrow!
ChiSandy - Great news!
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ChiSandy - That's great news! Hooray!
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Congrats, ChiSandy! May we all get good news with our upcoming mammos...my first post treatment one is scheduled for mid July, coming up soon. Fortunately the seromas have settled down so I'm less concerned about the pain!
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Spoke too soon. Was in the main hospital killing time before surgeon appt. Walking back to the clinic, my rubber sole stuck to the terrazzo floor and down I went again, this time mostly on my right side (though my glasses went flying and a temple broke off). Just had R arm x-rayed, waiting for my planned cortisone shot in L wrist and advice whether to get wheeled back to the ER for more imaging, just in case. Hope they let me drive home, which is 7 miles away. But at least my mammo was fine.
Irony was this morningI chose rubber soled shoes to avoid skidding!
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Sandy, you can't catch a break! Oh my! I hope you didn't break anything. You wouldn't expect the floors to be sticky. Poor glasses. Very glad your mammo was good. Check.
HUGS!
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Jewel259- I had a lumpectomy with IORT as part of the TARGIT trial in Sept. 2015. I did my research on IORT and decided it was the best option for me. Your actual surgical procedure is the same as someone having other forms of post-operative radiation treatments (whole breast, Savi, etc.) but for the fact the you will be under anesthesia for about an additional 30-45 minutes. After my surgery I was kept in recovery for about 45 minutes, got dressed and went for a great sushi lunch with my son & DIL!
Depending on the type of work you do (I have a desk job) you should listen to your body telling you when you're ready. I could have gone back to work in a few days, but had already scheduled 10 days off, so I took it. As this is a surgery, there will be discomfort- Tylenol did the trick for me. Never needed the pain pills I was given.
I've attached an informative video about IORT which was made by my surgeon, Dr. Sheldon Feldman. It should help you understand the procedure. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Best of luck tomorrow!
(Oops- seems I'm not allowed to post links, but you can go to youtube and type in his name and IORT and you'll get the video)0 -
Emkittie, of course you can post links. You just have to use the LINK icon. It is right above the text box, 4th from the right.
And those of you heading to surgery, please remember that even though a lumpectomy is usually outpatient surgery, it is still MAJOR surgery. Your body needs for you to rest (not stay in bed) so it can heal. When I had my surgery 4 years ago, for most people it seemed to be best to take off 10 days from work unless you really didn't have to do any lifting. You should not be lifting anything heavier than a gallon of milk with your "bad" arm and you likely won't want to either. Take the time your body tells you you need.
HUGS!
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Hahaha
HUGS!
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Well, it's worse than I thought: turns out I fractured the right radial neck (point of elbow) and might also have fractured my left scaphoid (the palm bone beneath the thumb). The elbow crack, while tiny, is apparent; while the scaphoid fracture is extremely faint on X-ray and could be a reflection from a blood vessel. So we postponed the cortisone shot till next week. Surgeon says the cortisone flare should have subsided by next Fri. night (our last June gig, with a decent payday) but that today's injuries will probably make it hurt like hell. (He says the key word is “hurt," not “harm"). But I'd better tell my singing partner so he has a full week to hit the ceiling and make a soft landing. Irony #2 is that had I kept the shot appt. for 6/27 and not moved it up to today (to give the cortisone flare more time to subside), I would have come straight home from my mammo and crawled back to bed for a nap.
The glasses are no big deal: the cheapest frames Zenni makes, and the break occurred when the temple arm sheared away from the hinge. Nothing a little superglue can't fix. Meanwhile, I'm in the left splint for another week and a right sling for a few days before having to start mobilizing the arm.
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Sandy, Oh Yikes! I hurt just thinking about this. I chipped my elbow at 10 years old and I still remember the agony of those nerves shooting off in spasms 63 years later! You poor dear!
HUGS!
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ChiSandy - I don't know what to say, besides OMG. You're usually the voice of reason for me/us to listen to! Wishes for a speedy recovery. ❤
My Irish mom would have said: if it ain't your ass, it's your elbow!
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chiSandy. I am so sorry for everything you had to go thru. Wishing you a speedy recovery.
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ChiSandy yay for the mammo but oh my on the fall and breaks! You poor thing !!!! So sorry that happened and wish you a speedy recovery
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ChiSandy,
I join your many friends here in gladness for your mammogram results but also in sadness for this new injury. Wishing you a speedy recovery
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ChiSandy: I hope your arm feels better soon! It looks like we are on the same cycle for our mammograms. Great news on that front!
Jewel259: I took off work 3 weeks and that felt about right. I could have returned sooner but for me it was more mental downtime to absorb everything that a cancer diagnosis brings.
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Been away for a bit. Shocked, heaving a sigh of relief for you. ChiSandy, you need to write a play called 'When Good Shoes Go Bad. ' I hope you feel better very soon!
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oh runor! That made me laugh out loud and ChiSandy is just the one who could do it
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Oooooh, noooo. Can't believe this happened to you! Glad it won't affect your guitar-ing. Not happy that it will hurt. Ugh!
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It will affect my playing, as I have very llittle ROM in my R arm (limited flexion & extension). So no more gigs till autumn. Surgeon says that osteopenia might have contributed to the fractures--with normal bone density there'd only have been bruising.
Funny thing, Peggy, is that the elbow itself isn't painful, just a little tender to the touch. (Just a hairline crack, no fragments). But the edema in the forearm and crook of the elbow is a bear--and I can't straighten the arm all the way either. Suddenly have to do everything but type, write, slice stuff (slowly) to cook, and toilet (TMI) with my L hand--which is not only injured itself but also not my dominant hand. And I have a wedding in Lake Geneva tom'w through Sun. a.m. Hoping they let me out of the sling again to drive (they did yesterday), because Bob refuses to drive my Outback because "it's unfamiliar," and his little Fusion has almost no room for the three of us and our luggage. (He will be smoking, so his clothes would stink up mine; Gordy is taking the rolling garment bag for his suit & shoes--he's best man--but will be going back with his girlfriend Sunday so I can't share his bag--besides, they'll be in a different room from us. So I'm taking the smallest rollaboard I have, and packing only rollable knits (and using a tote for my shoes, iPad, chargers, instant ice packs, etc., etc.).
Oh, and putting on a bra is reaaally challenging--been watching YouTube videos by one-armed women...Can't fasten in front & turn it around--both my boobs & belly are too big. Ditto stepping into it and pulling it up. Gonna ask Bob, or my BFF the mother of the groom (we're sharing a suite with her & her husband) to fasten it the old-fashioned way. And I refuse to wear a muumuu house dress--the only thing I have that doesn't reveal I'm not wearing a bra. Once my appendages heal (assuming I won't need wrist arthroscopy) I will definitely get a breast reduction.
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Oh Sandy. That's awful. I can't imagine how difficult it is for you. Not being able to put on your bra - OMG! Toileting with the non-dominant hand definitely beyond challenging. I had to laugh at Bob not wanting to drive your Outback. Are you taking the Fusion?Good grief! I hope it is an automatic
I am very glad that your elbow isn't too bothersome. The edema sounds not good. I know you've vacillated about getting a breast reduction. Sounds like this episode has made up your mind. I've heard and I wouldn't know) that women who have had them done find their shoulders don't hurt anymore (or at least less) without the weight removed. That sounds like a plus. Have a good time at the wedding!
HUGS!!!
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Well, if Bob cleans all the junk out of his car, and helps me with the seatbelt & door (can't do that myself on the passenger side) we might get by. He is notorious for keeping boxes of medical journals, dirty consult coats, various tchotchkes from patients, etc. in the (very small) trunk and strewn on the seats. I will wear the same outfit tomorrow & Sun. (looks like brunch will be a no-go, because too many guests are scattered among different towns). As I said, he has the 26" suitcase and I the 21" rollaboard plus a tote. Gordy has a rolling suiter. Neither of us has ever attempted a stick shift. He also drives very slowly because he is obsessed with fuel economy, and his sciatica acts up. Weather is awful--flooding all over today and probably tomorrow too. So there will doubtless be detours, which will likely freak him out. And I am starting to get a headache. He was going to bring home dinner...he called from a chop house in Oak Lawn 2 hrs. ago. So he's probably being detoured and re-routed as we speak (part of Lake Shore Drive was flooded out this morning). Oy.
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ChiSandy - your life is never boring. Take it easy getting to the wedding, and enjoy yourself.
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Sandy - good thing we love our men! I didn't realize that you were having flooding too. Good luck and a safe drive tomorrow
HUGS
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Bob apologized--before he could get dinner he had to sit through a medical equip. mfr. presentation. Said traffic wasn't bad. I'm noticing that I'm feeling more soreness now on the elbow itself, not just the crook of it. Only hope this is plain injury-edema, not lymphedema.
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