Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Robin, It is amazing what the lack of estrogen can do. I find it interesting that one AI can effect memory and another does not. I guess I figure they all do the same thing so they should give the same SEs. Obviously not or there wouldn't be 3 different ones. Each of us has to decide what is best for us. BC is not one size fits all.
HUGS!
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I was sent home with narcotic pain meds. Ha! They make me itch like crazy. So, Tylenol it is. Surgery 2 days ago. Ice packs are my best friends at the moment. The bruising is surprising. I am suddenly a very colorful character!
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1959Chevy, my orthopedic surgeon & periodontist told me (and I confirmed through experience) that the combo of 600mg. ibuprofen + 1000 mg. of Tylenol q.6-8 hrs. is just as powerful as 2 Norco 7.5/325, without the dopey feeling, itchiness or (ugh) constipation. And lately, 25 mg. CBD + 5 mg. melatonin have replaced Benadryl for sleep. (For pain--such as the backache I'm dealing with yet again, which seems nearly every few weeks--taking CBD BID and topically PRN has kept me from reaching for the leftover opioids). And a recent study published in the daily digest of the MPR (Monthly Prescribing Reference) found that 5-10mg. melatonin (cheap and available in the vitamin aisle) is as effective as a standard dose of Ambien for preventing insomnia in hospitalized patients.
Take it easy, take any help that's offered, use plenty of ice packs and don't resume your routine too soon. And here's hoping for great surgical path results!
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Hi everyone! I had a lumpectomy on July 3rd. Things are going pretty well, but I am itching like crazy! Any tips?
The doc said to keep the surgical bra on 24/7 for a week or two, but it doesn’t fit well (too small - I have very large breasts). I have a softer “sleep bra”, but I’m wondering if I need something more restrictive. I’ll see the surgeon on Tuesday for a follow up. Just wondering if anyone has advice or experience. Thank you
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Paloma1211, I used Danskin zip-front sport bras. They have semi-firm removable inserts that I liked as protection against bumps and dog paws and other potential painful things. The slits where the inserts go in also accommodate small disc-type ice packs. I wore those bras 24/7 for about 3 weeks. I also used soft rolled or folded cotton socks for extra pressure on the incision area. When I saw my BS at the follow up appointment, she congratulated me on the minimal swelling and lack of bruising.
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Shoot I'm still wearing a bra 24x7, had the lumpectomy May 6 and finished rads a week ago. You ladies who didn't wear a bra during rads must be made of tougher stuff than me, I couldn't bear the rubbing of even the softest cotton tee shirt on my nipple (incision site plus rads galore).
Paloma1211, I'll echo AliceBastable about the ice. It helps with swelling and I'd imagine itching too.
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Paloma - My BS did not have me wear a restrictive bra after my lumpectomy. The recommendation was to wear a soft bra to protect the incisions. I also used the sock to pad/put pressure on the axillary incision. The other incision was around my nipple. I ended up developing a seroma that is just now down to about a cherry tomato size. Surgery was May 17th. I just this weekend went back to my usual bras with underwire but wear them looser than before. I had some itching around the incisions but no too bad. I put Vitamin E oil on the incisions about 3-4 times a week.
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My BS had me wait about 6 weeks before starting rads after surgery. I did not wear a bra during but I'm an A cup and my incision was at 6 o'clock. I've rarely worn underwire bras so that wasn't an issue. I had very little pain and what I did have was handled by regular Tylenol.
The only itching problem I had was at the underarm incision. Those darned nerves were hyperactive for nearly 13 months and then they either went to sleep or became well-behaved. I suspect the itching was caused by perspiration in the area.
Good luck to you all!
HUGS!
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Well, I had another MRI after 100 days of Anastrozole and it is confirmed that the tumor is slightly larger than at the start.
I am scheduled for a LOCalizer tag placement on the 18th of July , sentinel node dye injection the morning of the 22nd of July and the lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy in the afternoon the same day.
I had a phone chat with the surgeon again yesterday and went through my concerns on outcome, appearance and risk recurrence and she feels whole-heartedly that the lumpectomy is the best route followed by rads.
That being said, if there was one bit of advice you could give someone heading into lumpectomy surgery, what would it be? A necessary item at home? An overlooked chore or task? anything?
Catherine
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Catob - even if you feel absolutely fine and wonderful and full of energy, do not overdo it the next day. I did housework and laundry and then fainted in the bathroom later that afternoon. Chipped a tooth on the way down. Take it easy for a couple of days. Even outpatient surgery is still surgery. Good luck
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Thank you! I am sort of a type A so this is a great piece of advice,
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HI Catob: I am two months out from surgery. Advice get soft ice packs or fill a baggie with marshmallows and freeze them. Not icy enough to hurt but cold enough to work. Get your vacuuming done (thats uncomfortable to do) and put anything you need to get from high shelves down to a lower shelf - avoid over stretching. Also get an extra pillow of some kind to rest your arm on when you are sleeping (on surgery side) cause its uncomfortable if your arm hits your breast. Best of luck - as surgeries go its really not bad.
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Catob, a lumpectomy is major surgery even though it is outpatient surgery. It’s easy to minimize a lumpectomy but don’t. Again, it is major surgery. Lumpectomy is not like having a mole removed. Do everything you are instructed to do. Most of us agree that the sentinel node biopsy is more painful than the lumpectomy itself. Your breast will be bruised and swollen. You will need small pocket sized ice packs. I needed an oversized front opening sports bra. My tumor was very large and so my tumor bed left quite a void that completely filled up with fluid. Gravity was not my friend.
Don’t lift anything heavy for awhile. If you have things in your bathroom or kitchen that are above shoulder level you may want to move them to a lower shelf for a few days.
I know that women who had smaller tumors <1 cm. had an easier recovery from the lumpectomy.
Sending you healing thoughts!
Bella2013
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Catob - I agree with all this advice. Cannot emphasize enough that this is major surgery so you MUST take it easy (thanks to PontiacPeggy and ChiSandy for this advice to me two years ago).
My suggestion: Have a small pillow to keep under your arm. The sentinel node biopsy site was more problematic than the actual breast incision. The pillow helps cushion it and made me feel much better!
I, too, am someone who finds it difficult to just sit still and do little. But do yourself a favor and take this opportunity to do just that. Catch up on some reading or Netflix shows!
Best of luck to you.
MJ
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Pressure and ice are your best friends. I always recommend the Danskin sport bras with the semi-rigid cup inserts, and soft socks folded to fit over the incisions for extra cushioning and pressure. I was given a little freezable disc after the biopsy that I used a lot after surgery.
Some people use stuffed animals for padding. The squishy mid-sized Beanies are particularly comfortable and easy to tuck in between the seat belt and you, or to tuck under your arm while sitting around since that node incision is a real bitch.
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Catob, As others have said, THIS IS MAJOR SURGERY! Outpatient does NOT make it minor. All sorts of things get re-arranged in the breast area. The body is shocked and needs time to recover and heal. The damned lymph node incision is a pain in the butt because of all the nerves that get disrupted (who knew that every nerve in your body seems to reside there?). Take as much time off as possible. A week is smart. Longer if you can manage it. Don't lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk - you won't want to anyway. Do mild stretching exercises recommended by your surgical team. If you need painkillers, TAKE THEM. Don't wait until you are totally miserable, be pro-active. Get that prescription filled. You may not need them. I didn't but I did take regular Tylenol. Let yourself be pampered! Good luck!
HUGS!
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Alice, even though I was told that node incision was crap, I didn't believe it. Until I had it. The breast incision? No problem. It's a shake the head thing.
HUGS!
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I've had 7 major abdominal surgeries. This lumpectomy and sentinel node surgery was right up there with them. And the rest of the women are right, it's that damn sentinel node incision that bothered and continues to bother me the most. As my breast surgeon said, he tunneled up in there pretty vigorously and then of course I got the crap nuked out of my breast.
It takes a hot minute for all of that to calm down.
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Yep, the node incision feels like a sabre-toothed tiger gnawing on your armpit. And if you accidentally get a sleeve wadded up there months later, it will still let you know it's there.
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Catherine, to all the other advice, I’ll add that you should make sure you have enough front-button or zip-up tops and sleepwear, because you might not be able to pull stuff on & off overhead. (I was, but better safe than sorry). Also, if your bedroom is upstairs, set up temporary sleeping quarters on the first floor—some people get profound fatigue and balance issues that make stairs a not-so-hot idea. Call in as many favors as you can, make sure all your prescriptions are filled, and if you don’t have an online grocery delivery account, get one. (GrubHub too). Front-hook (or front-zip if you’re small enough) bras are also a must for awhile
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Give yourself plenty of recovery time. All went quickly and well with mine. And the wounds healed quickly. Only took the ibuprofen for 2 days. What knocked me out for the better part of a week was the aftermath of general anesthesia. I was completely out of it for 2 days and incredibly wobbly for another 4. All the luck.
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I agree w/ ChiSandy on the front closing bra. I got a front zip one from Athleta that also had hooks I could adjust in the back. So when I was most swollen, I made it wider in back and then as the swelling went down I could tighten things up. It was pricey but comfortable as all get out.
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Don’t freak out if you get severe chest muscle soreness a day or two post-op. It’s called “scoline syndrome,” from the drug they give to relax your upper body after they knock you out—the muscles contract extremely hard for a split second before they relax, and for afew days you may feel like you did a brutal weight workout after never exercising. Should abate by day 4 (and if you get propofol instead of gas, you may not get that relaxer).
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You sisters are such a support and give me such piece of mind. thank you all!
Catherine
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I have no affiliations with any of this stuff, just thought others may want to know what worked for a fellow lx/snb sista. BTW, at 18 days out from surgery yesterday, I went for my first run, woot! I rode my mtn bike on days 5-8 (in a REALLY supportive bra & it was weirdly not painful, but walking was - something about the frequency of the bouncing, I think), went to the gym to lift weights on day 9, and that was ok (I modified, of course), then got on the recumbent bike & precor in the days shortly thereafter. An actual run was a definite happy milestone. Plan to play in my soccer game tomorrow.
Anywho, the gel ice discs from Amazon I got for icing after my lumpectomy/snb were saviors! I would tuck 3 in specific areas I wanted to ice (in my case, armpit, lower down below armpit, & front of boob/nipple). I also got the AxillaPilla from mastheadpink.com, which was also a savior to support my arm away from that warzone called my armpit after the snb. I still sleep with it, sit with it on the couch, etc. I had terrible nerve pain after the surgery & subsequent administration of fentanyl in my IV, which made me feel horrendous & did not stop the nerve pain at all - that marked the end of opioids for me. Ibuprofen, on the other hand, was fantastic for me for both nerve & regular pain. My surgical team covered my incisions with steritape (that stayed on forever), then gauze, then Tegaderm. The latter is phenomenal stuff, allows optimal healing, is not uncomfortable, and best of all, it's totally waterproof so my incisions/gauze stayed perfectly dry through showers. It enabled me to take a shower the day after surgery, which was so welcome, to get all the surgery goop off of me (tape residue, iodine, sticky stuff).
My incisions look good - my nipple incision looks amazing, while my armpit incision is a little jagged...which is kinda annoying since a lot more peeps will see that one
Whatever. While I have cording that is very weird and can be painful when stretched, otherwise I'm feeling great. On to rads!Don't let anyone sell you the line that lx/snb is "minor" - you will feel run over. I was very anxious about the surgery itself and that was totally unwarranted. The recovery, on the other hand, is tough and you have to just try to relax and get through it. I would have been happier had they been more honest that recovery could involve a lot of swelling, nerve damage/pain, numbness, bruising, regular pain, and now the cording (no one mentioned a thing to me about that so imagine my surprise). Now that I'm coming out the other side, I know that all of that was normal but I wish they'd given me more of an honest heads up. It is all very doable, don't get me wrong - I'm not saying it's horrifyingly terrible b/c it's not. We're strong ass chicks and can get through anything & in the big picture, lx/snb isn't all that bad.
Power on, my sisters!
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Hi Catherine. I just had a sentinel node injection, lumpectomy, and removal of 3 nodes yesterday. The incisions for the sentinel node are the most sore but I have been taking ibuprofen. My doctor prescribed tramadol but it made me too loopy and didn’t seem to help the pain much. I did a couple of household chores the day before but have been taking it very easy. I think we tend to downplay major surgery when it’s same-day surgery. It’s still major surgery. If I could do one thing different, I would have bought 2 more of the front close cotton bras because of the drainage from the incisions. But, no big deal, they wash easy enough. I wish you the best with your surgery.
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I was killing time on my phone while waiting for dinner when an ASCO paper caught my eye: it found that I.V. Zometa or Reclast, given often enough for bone mets, significantly raised the risk of ONJ (osteonecrosis of the jaw), especially in those with removable dentures & extractions. Oral ibandronate (Boniva) was less risky, but apparently it’s not available in the U.S. RANKL (osteoclast) inhibitors, chemo & steroids when added to Zometa increased the risk of ONJ fivefold. I’m done with Prolia, and I’m glad I’ve opted for orthodontia and a little “evening-out” my tooth length rather than getting implants (especially since my teeth are fully functional and not painful.
The caveats are that they didn’t test bisphosphonates in the prophylactic doses given to combat osteopenia or prevent or slow osteoporosis in early-stage post-menopausal bc patients, nor did they test RANKL inhibitors alone (even the higher more frequent doses of Xgeva for bone mets). And the dental surgery was the trigger
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I had a regular follow-up appointment with my oncologist today, and I realized after checking my calendar that it was exactly a year ago that I had my leftie lumpectomy. It also was the start of more surgeries, with a re-excision in August and a total nephrectomy due to kidney cancer in September. I've had clean scans (well, one questionable blip resulting in a biopsy of the kidney bed), and a good mammogram last month. My blood pressure was the best it's ever been, so the previous high numbers could have been a result of kidney issues. My A1C and occasional blood sugar readings have been consistently good no matter what I eat, so I might not actually be diabetic. I even weighed a few pounds less than expected. I might be down to just Tamoxifen as my sole prescription soon!
Now if some of last year's souvenir scars would finally stop jabbing me, I'd be a completely happy camper.
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