Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Take the 2 weeks. At the very least, do not make any commitments for that time period. Yes, I did drive 90 miles 2 weeks later to do a concert in Rockford--but I let other people carry my instruments. Otherwise, I pretty much did nothing in the interim except light shopping & going out to eat. Now is the time to call in as many favors as you can from friends & neighbors who've offered.
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Hi Chi Sandy, do you still have the scar tissue around your cavity? Is it tender?
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Has anyone had Sentinel Node Biopsy Surgery and they were not able to get any lymph nodes?
Thank You!
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I still have scar tissue around the now-collapsed cavity, but it's not tender. I do sometimes wake up with axillary soreness on that side when I raise my arms, but my MO explained that's referred pain radiating from the arm muscles. It recedes w/in a few minutes of awakening. I had SNB during my lumpectomy, but they had to take 4 lymph nodes: only 2 were "sentinels," but the other 2 were attached, "along for the ride." All were negative.
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I had surgery last April - lumpectomy (double) plus bilateral reduction/lift - followed by radiation and tamoxifen. All is fine and I physically feel reasonably well. I have my one year followup with my plastic surgeon this week and I am not happy with the way my breasts look. Due to the pandemic, I only saw the plastic surgeon once after surgery and then had one telemed with him. My issue is that I have "side boobs" -- heavy to the outer side and breast tissue bulge under my arms. My breast surgeon, radiation oncologist, medical oncologist and the breast nurse/practitioner (all women) say that my breasts look great.
I feel like he gave me old lady breasts! My plastic surgeon is 64 and said that all women our age have these. I may be 66 chronologically but I'm 45 in my head! I had ridiculously large, floppy breasts before the surgery but at least they weren't on my sides!
I'm not sure that I want to endure more surgery to correct them but not sure that I want to just accept them and move on. I hope this makes sense. Anyone else experience this or have thoughts?
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callmetenacious: I am sorry you did not get good outcomes from your lift. I also had surgery last April. A lumpectomy followed by breast lift and I am very happy with the result. Not perfect but look great with just a stretchy bra. Prior I had to wear underwire bras to lift up the girls and now I can wear regular bathing suits and bras. I found the surgery easy to recover from so if you feel you need revision, find another plastic surgeon,. I'm fortunate that my son is a PA at our hospital and he is able to refer me to best doctors. Good luck with your decision.
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callmetenaceous, I'm 70 and had a R lumpectomy at 64. Didn't have oncoplasty, but my surgeon did a great job--my cancer breast, albeit smaller (as it was even pre-op), looks round & perky, with my "normal" breast resembling a basset hound's ear and hanging nearly to my waist. I do have upper-arm "bat wings" (souvenir of a large & very intentional weight loss) but not the side-boob/axillary "dog-ears" you describe--something a lot of women who've had bilateral mastectomy w/o reconstruction report having encountered. Having gone through a couple of surgical eye procedures last summer to irradiate an ocular tumor, I've decided not to go through any elective surgeries not necessary to save/prolong my life, relieve pain or improve mobility. So I've scrapped plans for a reduction & lift on the left breast--just wear bras with cups big enough to accommodate the 2-cups-bigger "lefty" (Thelma) and pad "righty" (Louise) if need be. And as for skin-removal surgery? 3/4 sleeves, Bermudas or bike shorts, and Spanx will have to do.
"Full-coverage" (higher-sided) bras--wired or not--may be the way for you to go in the meantime, unless you want to & until you can get "the girls" trimmed on the side. HerRoom.com has a front-close bra called the Robin (by its house brand Ploomage) that didn't work for me because the sides came up high and I could fit a hand into the sides of each cup under my armpits. (And I am a 36I--even its G cups were too big on the sides). For the reason it didn't work for me, it might be great for you. Yes, it's underwire, but I've been wearing underwires since my mid-teens.
But are you sure the sides aren't swollen seromas after radiation? My R breast had a considerable side bulge for a couple of years after my rads, till my body resorbed the fluid and the seroma shrank to just a knot of scar tissue.
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ChiSandy and quinnie, thanks for your comments.
I don't have residual swelling - it's just where the tissue was positioned. I did go to Nordstrom last week and the mastectomy fitter found some normal bras that hold the sides in. That actually makes me wonder if I'd be happier if I let the surgeon fix it. The side bulge is annoying during activity. The fitter was not able to find a sports bra that held it.
The PS is the one that everyone raves about doing the best work. My surgery was a bizarre, surreal experience due to Covid. I had less than 24 hours notice for the surgery and there was apparently a time limit on the surgery time. To further complicate it, my abdomen was still swollen from two robotic surgeries a few months earlier for ovarian cancer (all good now).
My appointment is on Thursday afternoon so I'll just be honest with him and see what he offers. Truthfully, I don't want to do anything that is going to require a lot of "down" time now that life is returning to normal. It's a dilemma!
ChiSandy, I am a former Chicagoan! Moved away 10 years ago. Miss so many things about Chicago!
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CallMeTenacious, I hear your concerns! After seeking a second opinion from another PS who recommended revision to remove the dog ears (skin cones) and reduce the side bulge, as it caused my breasts to look like a long roll of fat! The roll went from my arm pit to the breast bone on each side as I had reconstruction for my non cancer breast for symmetry. The recovery from the surgery was similar to my lumpectomy. Now my breasts have definition and has helped to improve my self image! I encourage you to get a second opinion. Thoughts are with you as you make your decision that’s right for you!
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Update from my PS visit last week. I shared my unhappiness with my results and he was great about talking me through what's going on starting with an acknowledgement that due to my initial consult and surgery were at the the outset of the pandemic that her didn't set my expectations correctly. He said he could do a revision and lipo the excess tissue which would virtually eliminate the "side boob". His suggestion was that I think about it for another few months. We agreed that now that I have bras that smooth the sides and fit properly that I may decide to live with what I have rather than put myself through another surgery.
It was very helpful to look at the before surgery photos compared with the photos from my appointment (and a little weird). He pointed out that I had a bit of the side roll pre-surgery but it was barely noticeable because of the massive size of my breasts (massive is my word, not his). This is apparently consistent with my age - there is some logic about not doing lipo at the time of the initial surgery. On Also on the bright side, I'm fairly symmetrical and had almost no damage from the radiation. So I'm going to try to get back to full normal activity and strength. My weight has stayed in my normal range (amazing!) during all of this and I am going to try to reduce my normal range by 10 pounds to see if that helps (couldn't hurt).
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Did anyone have the experience of having a lumpectomy on a large tumor? Mine is somewhere between 3 and 5 cm. That seems very large compared to what others seem to have. I will have a lumpectomy on June 10. Anything I need to know? Will my breasts be a completely different size from each other afterward? Does healing take longer? Does larger mean more radiation?
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Moonbeams: That is about the size my surgeon took out during my most recent (and 3rd) lumpectomy on the right side. The incision is about 2.5 inches longs, while it’s very hard to see where my first two were done. (This was the first time my surgeon, same one, has recommended a scar reducing cream. I almost laughed out loud; at the age of 63 and after almost 42 years of marriage, I don’t care about scars on my breast!)
My husband jokes that my right breast was always a little larger than my left. My surgeon has been helping me even them up for 13+ years now. But seriously, about 6 weeks post op the residual fluid that the surgeon said was still “in the pocket” where he had removed the chunk is now gone. And my breast seems to have adjusted itself nicely.
What the cells show will determine if you need radiation or not. Post op, one of the best things I can recommend is a snug and secure front zip bra (Shefit is a great option) with pockets for pads. Even if you don’t normally need pads for fullness, I found that keeping the pad in the affected side helped keep the breast more secure. The less it moves post-op, the better you will fell. As a bonus, you can slip in 4” round diameter reusable ice pack - so it’s almost right next to your skin but because it’s inside the pocket it isn’t directly on the skin. You can slip out and exchange the little ice packs as soon as they stop cooling. I think they came 6 to a package on Amazon.
Besides the ice pads, the other thing I would recommend is a small pillow. You might want it in the car on the way home (depending on where the seat belt hits in relation to your incision). The little pillow is also great for sleeping the first couple of weeks, especially is you are a side sleeper.
Sending positive and healing thoughts your way!!
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Dukemom2: I AM a side sleeper - and I sleep on the side where my tumor is. How big of a "small pillow" do I need, and how will I use it while sleeping?
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Hi Moonbeans,
The pillow I have is about 7” X 11”, and it’s still my best friend. I flip back and forth from side to side: when I am sleeping on the surgery side I slide it under my breast - since the pillow is softer and more adaptable than the mattress. When I am sleeping on my other side, I movethe pillow to rest my arm on the pillow while I slept - so my arm didn’t brush or bump the sore breast. (I got the pillow on Amazon and the brand is ‘pipsqueak’).
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moonbeams - my tumor started out 3 cm but after surgery it was about 4.8 cm. I had the lumpectomy in Oct. As my lump was closer to areaola, the incision was made along the areola. They sort of adjusted the tissue and so there wasn't a difference. I guess it depends on the size of the breasts. They have you wear that tight bra for a few days. Ice packs for a few days. Radiation is longer if spread to nodes I think.
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Hi Moonbeams,
All of my initial scans etc showed my tumor to be about 3cm. Lumpectomy showed it to be almost twice that size. I wish I had had a plan B. I wish my first surgeon would have stopped surgery and talked with my husband about mastectomy. With my consultation with her, she had told me anything over 4cm, they would recommend a mastectomy. My second surgeon did my right side mastectomy 6 weeks ago.
As for size difference, I am a strong C cup and after lumpectomy, that side was more like a B. I stuffed that side of my bra and no one could tell. Good luck to you!
Julie
Jujuscancerjourney.Wordpress.com
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I have a ridge of scar tissue that has never gone away. The first ridge was removed when I had a revision surgery for better margins. This second one looks to be here to stay - I've gotten used to it, seeing as it's in my arm pit I keep close attention to it for changes - but so far 8 years out it's just a vague reminder od cancer surgery done there.
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Just curious, kkuziel--if your IDC was Grade 2, less than a centimeter, and node-negative, how come it was Stage IB? Mine was 1.3 cm with the same characteristics, but staged at IA.
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Since my right breast now seems permanently pointed after healing from the lumpectomy and re-incision, I had no options so ordered sport bra pads to put in my bra cup - my nipple would even point though a bandaid over it. Makes my breast almost even now too
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MRI bx of cancerous breast. I've already had chemo, surgery, and radiation. This show up during MRI. Now the waiting game of 4-5 days for results. You could of peeled me off ceiling yesterday. Breast a little sore today. I will try to keep busy to keep my mind off things.
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Hi Moonbeams. I see that - if you're still on track with the plan you initially shared - you'll have a lumpectomy tomorrow. I am a small person but I had DD cups. I had a lumpectomy on my left breast on April 20th - 7 weeks ago now. My tumor was almost 5cm (bigger than they originally thought).
I also had nodes removed during surgery and they found cancer there - even though the biopsies didn't find any cancer. Anyway, I told my surgeon to take what she needed and not to worry about reconstruction issues - I was just really scared and wanted it out. She did so. But then a week later, the pathologies came back and margins weren't clear so I had to have a second surgery. That was 5 weeks ago. They took more. The surgical tape (or whatever you call it) finally peeled off last week. I've been wearing the surgical bra because - as much as I hate how it looks - it hurt less while I was wearing it. Anyway, I only started wearing a "normal" bra (carefully) just a few days ago. By choice. I'd say the breast they did surgery on is probably a C cup now. So I have one smaller and one larger boob. I'm in chemo and then doing radiation - and because of that, I'm waiting on reconstruction decisions til after treatment. Anyway, I don't know if this is helpful. My surgeon showed me research that said the outcomes were pretty much the same regardless of whether I did a lumpectomy (they did take quite a bit) or a mastectomy. So I opted to keep at least some of the breast. I think it's a personal decision. If you are offered the choice, then your team must think it's safe to do. Anyway, maybe it depends on the size of your cup to start with, but from the outside looking in - with clothing on - people cannot tell. Of course, without clothes on, I have a massive scar across the top of my breast and one under my arm. And a much smaller boob on one side. don't know if this is useful or not. I wish you the best tomorrow. Use pain meds if you need to. Go easy on yourself. This is a rough experience. Holding you in my heart. 0 -
I got great news yesterday. MRI guided bx was negative!!!!! relief!!!!
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Congratulations, Martaj, that’s wonderful news!
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Yay!
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Thank goodness! YAY! RELIEF!
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Yayy!!
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Whew, Martaj! Mazel tov!
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MaineJen,
This was so sweet and helpful. You have been through a lot and have such a positive attitude. I had the same surgery yesterday as Moonbeam and feel really uplifted. Thanks for sharing what you've been through.
Blessings,
Esther
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I had my lumpectomy 2 days ago. Unfortunately, things didn't go as planned. The doc thinks there is more cancer in my breast that didn't show up on the initial pictures. And it is in my lymph nodes. I think I am facing mastectomy and chemo, both that I was not expecting. Next step is to get the pathology reports and do the tests needed to determine if it has spread anywhere else. Sigh. I was hoping that I only needed to get through radiation and then I would be done. At any rate, I am not in any pain; but my muscles are sore. I don't know what happened on the operating table, but I must have done about a thousand sit-ups! My abdomen and stomach muscles are sore, as well as the muscles around my underarm. But I'll take sore muscles over pain any day.
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