Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Sandy, you and the Midwest are late to the winter game. We started at the end of September ( a record snow fall) and continued through October for the coldest October ever. All this is extremely unusual for Spokane. I gather that normal is winter begins in December and ends in January, snow, even heavy snows, melt soon after falling. Loads of sunshine even with cold temperatures. I think that I brought Michigan weather here - no one is disabusing me of that notion BTW.
That's got to be awful waiting for trains and freezing to death. Definitely move the orthotics to the UGGS. And stay warm.
HUGS!
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Hey Pontiac Peg! Silly question but do you set your 5 year mark from AFTER treatment is finished or day of diagnosis? I was diagnosed Dec. 17, 2013...finished treatment August 2014...hmmm???
Also, I am experiencing the discomfort you mentioned under arm, side chest, around back upper shoulder...seeing doc today. But you said support helps? I hate any bra!! I do wear my sports bra but maybe I need more support? I learn so much from your posts! Thanks! Rosie ps...I rarely think of my cancer...until there is a nagging pain!! Like now🤷🏻♀️
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RosiesRide, I chose the date of my Lx. For one thing it was the date of my parents anniversary so easy to remember. But I think many choose their Dx date. I don't know of anyone who chooses the end of treatment date. That's a different milestone. I finished my 5 years of Arimidex on October 16th and stopped it then on advice of my MO. I'm waiting until I've been off it a month to make an assessment of any changes.
Like you I absolutely hate bras. Next time you have back/side pain. Hold that bad girl up and see if the pain eases. Does it? Then maybe on that day you need more support. I rarely wear REAL bras. Mostly these from Walmart (which seem to be discontinued
)https://www.walmart.com/ip/No-Boundaries-Juniors-Shelf-Bra-Cami-with-Adjustable-Straps/311083133. I also found these at Walmart.com that I really like: https://www.walmart.com/ip/Women-s-Alexa-2-Pack-Seamless-Ribbed-Bra-Style-13835Z/986873720 and these give more support (I like the racer back style too). I found it comforting to know that all these muscle type pains are common. I'd be interested in hearing what your doctor says.
Now I also don't think of BC that much. It's quite nice to have it not dominate my life. But it is always in the background, isn't it?
HUGS!
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I had breast cancer in 2012 and the did a lumpectomy and because I had a skin condition they inserted a balloon not sure that is what it was called and then 2 times a day I had radioactive beads put in for 5 days. After that the removed the balloon. It caused a cavity and they no longer due this procedure because it causes it to fill with fluid. I have had it drained once. I have had a knot at the incision line and it is really bothering me and I am going to see my doctor Monday. Has anyone else had this issue?
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Ah--you had "brachytherapy" radiation. It's notorious for causing larger, longer-lasting seromas.
I indeed had a knot at the incision line last month: as I mentioned earlier, it turned out to be condensed scar tissue that had surrounded my mammary seroma. Originally 9cm, radiation swelled it to 20cm; followup mammos measured it at 14, then 10 and finally now 2.5cm. The fluid resorbed so much that the scar tissue reached the point of no return and can't get any smaller.
I measure my cancerversary from the date of official dx--lumpectomy was only 2 wks later anyway.
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Thanks, did they ever drain fluid
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Claudia I actually had IORT with my lumpectomy last December and have developed a fat necrosis which is quite tender and it feels like a small rock in my breast. My PS is going to remove it and even things out in January. I could leave it but it is uncomfortable at times so I'm just having it taken care of.
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I haven't posted anything for sometime, but would like to tell Pontiac Peg- Congrats on your 5 yr. trek with your treatments and best wishes for your future being cancer free.
I had my one year cancervserary on Oct. 3rd as it was the day of my Lx, IOeRT, and oncoplasty. All of my medical procedures were on one day 6 weeks after my dx. My one year appointment with my BS went well she also finalized my radiation outcome as my RO left the center in April, I really miss her! Then I saw my new PS as he completed my corrective surgery in July, due to dog ears/skin cones, and miss shaped breasts. That appointment went well also and I'm glad I got a second opinion from him, now I can look at myself in the mirror without creating a river of tears everyday. I haven't had a mammogram since my dx so I'm a little anxious, but needed to take care of my emotional well-being before I could move on. My BS supported this at my 6 month appointment as she saw and understood where I was coming from.
Thank you to all of you for the advice, support, and love that you provide daily.
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Mymomsgirl- I have the same issue with necrosis after IORT and lumpectomry with Oncoplastic reduction and being so uncomfortable. I had surgery in July and my PS said I have to wait until February to see if it resolves any more but it hasn't changed since my surgery. I have two spots with one on each side - one is large, about the size of a banana. The smaller one is 6 cm and more uncomfortable but my PS said they won't touch that one because it was where I the cancer was and where he said he put me back together after the cancer was removed.
Did they tell you how the surgery would go? He told me it is like liposuction - they will break up the hard stuff and basically suck it out.
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Smackan my PS is going to open up the incision around my nipple and scrape out the lump. She is then going to use some fat from my abdomen to fill out the breast a little more.i had whole breast radiation as well and caused by breast to firm up and shrink a little bit more than she anticipated. At the same time she is going to make some adjustments to the opposite breast to get the size a little closer and align the nipples better.
A side note on waiting, radiation can keep working for a year that is why they like to wait. Also I was shown a couple massage techniques to try and help the lump resolve itself.
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Most of my weight loss (44 lbs thus far) is coming off my face (espec. chin), butt (my twerk don't work), hips, thighs, upper abdomen & calves. "Thelma & Louise" are resolutely hanging in there, however--still wearing, dep. on mfr., anywhere from a 36H to 40F. (Retired the I and J cups I needed back when I had the mega-seroma). If I begin to get a semblance of a waistline I might be able to dress up as Dolly Parton next Halloween. (This year I wanted to go as Stevie Nicks, whom I somewhat resemble, but I had no party to attend). I considered going for a SonoBello consult to suck some fat out of my lower ab. "panniculus" (the overhang at the C-section incision line), but my breast surgeon said that most of it is excess skin, which does compress in shapewear (which I detest. They call it "Spanx" because it is a form of corporal punishment). Besides, Murphy's Law dicates that if I do get an actual tummy tuck, I'd probably then get a recurrence--since I can't get implants after radiation, reconstruction would probably have to be a DIEP flap...but with a flat lower ab, that wouldn't be possible.
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Hey everyone, I am one week out from LX today. Surgery itself was NBD; I spoke with the anesthesiologist bc I've had long-term problems with anesthesia before. She left off the Scopolamine patch, and this time has been so much better. No nausea either, thank God! Pain has been minimal--until today. I'm having pain under my arm where she removed 2 lymph nodes. I'm wearing a diff. sports bra today, so maybe that's it but I'm worrying about lymphodema...my post-op instructions didn't even mention it so I don't really know what to look for. And speaking of sports bras, I've ordered and returned 3 so far; none of them comes up high enough to cover the underarm incision--is that important? Before surgery, I wore size 36DDD so sports bras are very hard to find with big enough cups. Appreciate any wisdom/thoughts.
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Milolucymom, I found that a soft baby sock tucked partly into the edge of the bra really relieved that underarm pain. I also used one rolled up against the main incision to keep pressure on it and prevent swelling. It also helped even things out!
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Milolucymom, welcome aboard.
I too am, uh, well-endowed; and had a painful underarm seroma. I found that until I could get back into my underwires again (the wires didn't hit either incision and they were outside the radiated area), front-closing "leisure" aka "sleep" bras were my go-to. Unlike plain wire-free or "bralettes" (e.g., Coobie, Genie and now ThirdLove "lounging" bras), they came up quite high on the sides and gave me just enough support. The downside was that they have 7 or 8 hooks, which can be a bit of a PITA. But they were cheap (under $25), comfy, big enough (all the way up to "F/G/H" cup size) and came in a variety of colors (even leopard-print). They're made by Leading Lady, and available online at BareNecessities, HerRoom, and all the major plus size sites (Roaman's, FullBeauty). And when my breast seroma enlarged due to radiation, they easily stretched enough to accomodate a Sweet Spot compression pad.
I couldn't find a non-wired sports bra to fit me for less than $80. Now, I spend that much for bras I wear all the time, but it didn't make sense for a bra that I'd need only temporarily. I am so asymmetric (always was, but even more since my LX), with pendulous boobs, that I wear a leisure bra or ThirdLove lounge bra under my PJs or nightshirts so that if I have to answer the door before getting dressed (especially for hotel room service breakfast, or in my t-shirt shift dress at a motel's breakfast buffet room) I don't look ridiculous (like "Horny Granny" in those old Buck Brown Playboy cartoons back in the day).
As to lymphedema (no "o," and abbreviated "LE" for convenience), the fewer nodes removed the lower the risk, but it's never zero (and is lifelong). Whenever the lymphatic chain is interrrupted, it's a possibility. The lymphatic system gets 15-60 minutes of an entire med school curriculum, so it's no surprise that most doctors are clueless about LE--it's the nurses and PT/OTs who have the expertise. (Some surgeons don't even know--when my BFF was about to go under for her BMX and dual SNLBs, I asked her surgeon what she should do about needles and blood pressures since both sides were at risk. She scoffed, "Needles are no big deal. And they treat LE with compression wear, so what's wrong with blood pressure cuffs?" Oy. (My BFF just has them use her thighs or feet instead).
But no need to obsess. If you fly a lot (especially flights >4 hrs) or work out, it makes sense to get measured for a compression sleeve and glove or gauntlet (I got the latter, as my fingers are too short for comfy compression gloves). There's a company called LympheDivas that makes compression wear in over 100 colors & patterns and three classes of compression (for LE prevention, Class I is fine). Its site has instructions on how & where to measure and what sizes to get.
It also makes sense to wear some sort of medical alert ID jewelry, at least something that alerts emergency & medical personnel not to use that arm for tourniquets (unless in danger of bleeding out), blood pressure cuffs, needles, I.V.s or even finger-sticks. You can wear one of those "Livestrong"-style rubber bracelets (as long as it's loose) in pink that say exactly that. My surgeon's NP gave me an ugly pink disposable hospital ID bracelet with the LE warnings, but ugh.
I have other medical conditions (antibiotic allergies, asthma, on BP medication) for which I should have been wearing medical ID anyway, so I had a bright red MedicAlert plaque and bracelet engraved. But my LE doc said the plaque should be pink, because emergency personnel won't think "lymphedema" unless they see pink. I also received a few Pandora charms as gifts, and decided to kill two birds with one stone: a Pandora-style medical alert ID bracelet. (Pandora itself doesn't offer any medical alert charms). I got a plaque with a big pink MedicAlert symbol on one side and on the other engraved with my name, all my conditions, warnings and emergency contact phone #. I got the plaque from Lauren'sHope.com (they have all kinds of nice bracelets too--except Pandora-style) and the bracelet from NStyleID. I have collected so many charms that I also bought a regular Pandora bracelet, so I had pink medical alert charms engraved--they clip via claw clasps onto the Pandora bracelet and dangle from it.
Of course, carry a medical ID card in your wallet, and if you have a smartphone, enter that info into its Health app.
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milolucymom- I am less endowed but found some bra options at Walmart (they have higher but soft sides and molded cups). I got a Road ID band that has a Velcro fastening. I made up my own warning plaque and added an medical alert "badge". Not in pink but the medical alert badge is in red
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Sandy, boy are you doing great with your weight loss. Congratulations!!!
I found that nearly all of my bras irritated the SLNB site. I wear mostly shelf bra camis and other soft bras. I am not well-endowed, hardly endowed
Even 5-1/2 years later some bras and tops cause discomfort there. Another BC gift that keeps on giving.HUGS!
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Hi everyone. I found my way back
Claudia, I also had Brachytherapy 9/2013 and got a seroma which I had drained three times. It has not came back again since 2015.
I saw someone ask about the Breast Cancer Index Test. I just had that ran a few months ago. My results said Tamoxifen was basically no Benefit to me and I have a 2.5% chance of late reoccurrence. My Oncologist told me not many are using the BCI Test yet so he was unsure of trusting it. He told me to remain on Tamoxifen for at least another year which would be Year 7. He said studies are saying 7 years are as much a benefit as 10 years. I am not real certain why he had me do the BCI test..
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One C and now, one B cup here. To make them look even, I wear the slightly padded underwires when I need them and just live with the discomfort. But, day to day I love the True brand of stretchy bras. Great support and look/feel great.
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Can't fit into True & Co., because I have one DD/E and one F/G cup now. I bought a gel pad to slip into the right side of my ThirdLove padded underwires. Not gonna buy any new bras till my weight settles out to where I want it to be.
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Anyone have pain/discomfort on your lumpectomy side? Like in and around the breast, extending to the ribs? Sort of feels like a bruise. I'm thinking(hoping) it's from the radiation?
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Yes. My pec hurts all the time. According to my RO and BS, it's from scarring from radiation and may or may not go away. Very frustrating.
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My muscles - pec, side, back hurt off and on. My MO says that it is because of my Lx and how I was "put back together." Have not had anyone attribute it to rads - not saying it isn't just that in my case no one has said that.
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And to offer a different experience (which I sort of mentioned above), mine is almost certainly from radiation. Both my RO and BS think mine *is* from rads. When I try to stretch and regain full range of motion, it feels like things are slightly tearing in there. Very uncomfortable. Or when I roll over in the night, and my breast moves it hurts enough to wake me up. As I told my BS today in my 6 month follow up visit, it's very discouraging and not at all something I expected.
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I also am experiencing pain very similar to what edj3 described, and I often use both "tearing" and "bruising" to describe the different types of pain. And yes, I definitely feel it in the rib bones in my breast area. It's not unbearable by any means, but it is enough to make sleeping uncomfortable sometimes and enough that when someone hugs me, it hurts if they come in too hard. I find myself turning that side of my body away when someone tries to hug me. I do think it is more from radiation than from surgery. I have an appointment with MO in a few weeks, so I'm interested to hear her take on what it stems from. I didn't expect to still feel pain by this point either.
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I'm pretty discouraged to be honest. In that follow up appointment this afternoon, my BS said the discomfort may never go away, that the swelling from radiation can take a year to stop and another year to maybe shrink up.
This isn't the worst side effect from cancer, I know that. But it's the one I've got and it's very uncomfortable and interferes with a lot of normal daily activity. I know too well the painful hug and I've perfected the slight turn to the left to offer a bro-hug of sorts. And one of my cats regularly wants to head butt my left breast--he's just showing affection but it freaking HURTS.
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I'm 6 weeks out from lumpectomy today and for the past 2-3 days have been experiencing the kinds of "inside" pain many of you have described here. Two weeks ago my BS said I was "healing well outside but ... the inside [healing] could take months if not a year or more." I'm curious about the rads comments here -- I had IORT (intraoperative radiation during lumpectomy) but no rads after that. For those of you who mention pain possibly coming from radiation, was your radiation intraoperative or post-op? Thanks.
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Post-op, 20 sessions. The last five were boosts. Don't get me wrong, I still think radiation was the right call esp since tamoxifen isn't looking so good for me. But this was an unexpected side effect.
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Edj3, ha! Had to laugh about the cat head-butting your breast. The other day, my 15-pound cat Moe walked across my chest and I screamed like I'd been shot. And boy, did he look startled. Btw I've also got pains under the arm, across my clavicle, under the breast in the rib region after 33 rads that finished in March. My onc also says it's the side-effect of radiation. But other than that and the paper-thin nails, I'm not doing too badly. I had fifteen months of treatment, including chemo, lumpectomy, radiation, targeted drugs, and I finished it all about two months ago. Hooray for finishing all thus shit!
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So I had tightness, soreness and still have some. In May my PS sent me to see a physical therapist who specializes in working with BC patients. She was great, she mentioned that most women have these issues and a lot of times it shows up 4-6 months after treatment. She gave me stretches to do twice a day, strength exercises to do 3 days a week and core exercises to do 3 days a week. She said I really need to do the stretching for at least a year because the radiation keeps working. My PT thinks every BC patient should have PT as part of their treatment plan.
Cherokeelady I had IORT and whole breast radiation. My PT thought that the IORT contributed to my tightness kicking earlier than the 4 month mark. You may also want think about massaging the area, I actually ended up a fat necrosis where my tumor was. Not sure if that was because of the IORT or not, but I'm get it removed early next year because it hasn't shrunk in 9 months.
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Oh yes, my cat has a tendency to head butt and walk across my chest too lol! I love her to pieces, but immediately following my surgery, I had to shut her out of the bedroom for a few days because I was just way too tender and I couldn't keep her from climbing up on me, kneading my chest, and then settling in on it while I was sleeping. When I had knee surgery a month prior to my diagnosis, my other cat had a tendency to want to walk across and sleep right across my knees. Ouch!
Edj3, I'm with you; I still think radiation was the right call and don't regret having done it, but I wasn't prepared for these long-term side effects. I had twenty sessions also, with the last 5 as a boost. My younger sister, who also had a lumpectomy performed by the same surgeon (with TWO re-excisions nonetheless for clean margins as opposed to my one re-excision) and radiation, under the same RO (and who also needed chemo and herceptin which I thankfully did not), did not have these complications, so I expected that my recovery would be similar. Not so. I do know that given the many alternatives that everything could be much worse, but I am still discouraged too.
Artsy, congrats for "finishing all that shit!" which is exactly what all of this is!
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