Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!
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Sandy, mine went to "Screening" in 2017 apparently. Really strange since it was only 3 years after my Dx. Who knows?
HUGS!
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Sandy & Peggy - that’s interesting. I was diagnosed in late 2020. Had a diagnostic mammo and US in August 2021 which was Birads 2. The surgeon advised that all future imaging will be an annual ‘screening’ mammogram. I wonder if the protocol differs between health systems?
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Harley, I was in Pontiac, Michigan, from Dx June, 2014, thru May, 2016. The 2016 mammogram recommended "screening" for my next mammogram. But I can't tell if it was diagnostic or screening. But 2017 on in Spokane, Washington, are all screening. BTW, my MO in Spokane was so awesome - he put the one in Pontiac to shame.
HUGS!
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My last diagnostic mammo on 1/31/22 was the 5th since surgery. Starting with next year's - will be screening. Interesting to hear how this varies.
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Thanks for the feedback. I guess the important thing is to continue with the mammograms regardless of whether it is defined as diagnostic or screening.
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Harley, where in IL are you?
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I did get the coveted Birads2 (benign) on my mammogram call-back today. For those who ever end up getting a call-back I want to reinforce that bad films are not uncommon. In my case the scar marker obscured tissue they were trying to look at and the scar itself may have folded against itself under compression. They took new films after which they told me it looked normal and them they did an ultrasound for good measure. Moral of the story…don’t book a mammogram on Friday at 4:30 when the radiologist is likely to be on their way out the door. Had it been earlier in the day, they would have just done a few more films while I was still there. As always…thanks for the support
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Sue HOORAY!!!! Fantastic news. I assume you have resumed breathing now. I'm so happy for you. And relieved. Thank heavens. Good advice about scheduling.
HUGS!!!!!
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Sue, WHEW! Congrats!
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Hi all. I had lumpectomy 5 weeks ago,recovery complicated by a hematoma. My concern is I’m still very bruised and my breast is tender. Otherwise I feel good, working a little, no signs of infection. Just though the bruising would be gone by now. Anyone have a similar experience?
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Mlern, my bruising was gone after a few weeks (no hematoma, though). However,I am 4 months out from my lumpectomy and my breast is still very tender. At 3 months I had a check up with my surgeon’s office who essentially shrugged and said to give it another 3 months. I do think it has finally started getting better between the 3 and 4 month mark.
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I haven't been here in for at least 5 yrs.
ilenef, I noticed your post from Nov 2021. I too had bilateral lumpectomies at the same time. Cancer in the right breast was found first by 3D mammography. At the time, 3D was not standard of care and I agreed to it in addition to 2D. Good thing I did - the cancer showed in the 3D scan but not in the 2D. The surgeon ordered a MRI before surgery on the right breast and he left the room. A few minutes later he walked back in and said that he better look at the left breast too now that it is clear I grow tumors. Bless him so that is how they found the cancer in the left breast.Did radiation in both at the same time and am completing my 6th year on letrazole. Both tumors were stage 1A, grade 1. OncotypeDX scores were intermediate for both tumors, 23 on the right and 20 on the left.
Letrazole hasn't been bad for me. Other than a trigger left thumb that eventually resolved and moved to the right thumb which also resolved there hasn't been much else. The biggest issue with the letrazole has been hair thinning and severe vaginal atrophy.
It was an experience I would have preferred not to have but it was/is a survivable one.
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I've noticed since I quit letrozole in April (after 6-1/3 years) that my metabolism hasn't sped up any, but I sweat less and my hair is growing back in like gangbusters--so much so that my stylist says I will eventually need more than just a trim if I don't want to be sporting a retro '70s layered shag.
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Chisandy, that is so nice to hear. It makes it a lot easier to live with my thinning hair if I can hope for an improvement when I go off the AI! Are your eyelashes also getting thicker? Mine have become so sparse since taking the AI that there are hardly any to put mascara on!
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Miy lashes never really thinned, no more occasional loss than before bc. Not even from the plaque brachytherapy (temporarily implanted radiation) I had when diagnosed with ocular melanoma 2 years ago. Sigh--I had an "average, ordinary" breast cancer but then I got a cancer so rare that only 2500 people a year are diagnosed with it worldwide (and its location in my eye is rarest of all). I was always told in childhood by my mom that I was "something special," but that kind of "special" I didn't need. Nobody knows what caused it--even my ocular onc, who is one of the nation's top experts on it, just shrugged and said "**it happens." (Use your imagination as to what two letters the asterisks stand for). He said not my breast cancer, heredity (I tested negative for any mutations that cause melanoma), sunlight, hair treatments, meds, yada yada.
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I agree, Sandy. Nobody needs to be THAT special! You certainly have found the right people to treat your ocular melanoma. Thank you for sharing. You are special!!
HUGS!
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Chisandy, you were fortunate to have access to someone so expert, particularly considering how rare your ocular cancer was. Anything that threatens our vision is certainly scary. I’m glad it was found and successfully treated. And PontiacPeggy is right: nobody needs to be THAT special!
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That is great! I'm looking for some feedback. This is my 10th year MBC and I am ending letrozole. In my 10th year I feel my bone pain and arthritis symptoms have gotten out of control. I am hoping it's the letrozole. Did you have problems as far as this is concerned? But I am so glad to hear about your progress after ending letrozole.
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I didn't feel bone pain, but my arthritis keeps chugging along--can't stop, much less reverse, the march of time. My knees were replaced pre-bc; my spine began "degenerative disc changes" in my 30s; and my R hip is mildly arthritic but not ready for replacement. I don't think it was the AI that accelerated it, and stopping it may only have helped slow it a bit. Of course, at 71 and somewhat sedentary (bunions and other foot issues since my 20s), it's not unexpected, bc notwithstanding.
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Hi everyone. I was diagnosed last month and spent most of that time doing a ton of research and reading through the great resources this site provides. I am IDC, my lumpectomy (left) is scheduled for the 29th of August, a week after my birthday, how fun!
I've spent the last 2 weeks in/out of medical appts, having pre-op appointments, another biopsy (found to be ALH) and other tests - to include genomic testing (I am Luminal A), genetic test (Negative) and MRI. My BC was found through mammogram/ultrasound that was suspicious for a couple of years, only this year the radiologist recommended the biopsy. My course of treatment is the lumpectomy (no drain) with sentinel lobe removal with some kind of blue dye (no reports of Lymph Node invasion), followed by radiation and hormone therapy. I am ER+/PR+, HER-. Surgeon says they'll take out both the tumor and the ALH site since they're in same quadrant (BC 6 o'clock 6.0mm, ALH 4 o'clock, 3.4 mm). Questions are: what should I expect after lumpectomy? Will I be wrapped like a mummy? Radiation, I understand will start after the wound heals and the follow-up a week later to ensure the margins are clear. I read that treatments range from 2 weeks to 7 weeks daily doses. Is there a set calculator to determine this or is it after pathology once the tumor is out? I also have a pre-op PT appt tomorrow so they can measure me for possible lymphedema (if that happens) exercises. I have so many questions and searching through thousands of posts is very difficult. Thanks in advance for the experiences everyone is sharing, it surely does help a great deal! 0 -
Ktsmitty, lumpectomy is much easier to recover from than mastectomy. You will wake up with dressings on the surgical sites (sentinel lymph node biopsy site is often a second incision,) and you will be discharged with instructions on how to care for the wounds, pain management, showering and arm exercises. The blue dye is injected about an hour before the surgery to help find the nearby lymph nodes and makes your breast blue for a while afterward. The color slowly fades over several weeks. Further treatment is determined by the pathology report. The surgeon has a pretty good idea of what to expect based on biopsy and imaging, but the tumor pathology determines exactly what happens next.
Wear a loose button front shirt and have a few of these to wear for the first couple of weeks since pulling something over your head is not fun when you are stiff and sore. Make sure to do the arm exercises as prescribed since it helps with pain, stiffness and lymphedema prevention. You also have to be able to get your arms up over your head for radiation.
Everyone is different, but my recovery was not too bad. I had surgery on Wednesday and was back teaching high school math on Monday. I ended up with intercostal brachial nerve pain from the SLNB (I was warned about the possibility of this.) The burning pain under my arm was not pleasant, but nerve desensitization, acupuncture and time cured it. I hope your surgery goes well.
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Maggie15, thanks so much! This is most helpful!
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Hi, ktsmitty. Sounds like you already have a game plan. If I may ask, how old are you? Reason I ask is that my surgeon (who was the first to do sentinel node biopsy instead of axillary node dissection) was part of a study that suggested postmenopausal DCIS or Stage I IDC patients with Grade 1or 2 lesions can skip sentinel node biopsy (SLNB). Back in 2015, there was also a study finding that for patients >65, a short (16 sessions) of high-dose radiation targeted to just the tumor "bed" (cavity) resulted in both disease-free and overall survival identical to that of the 6-week whole-breast protocol. I imagine that atypical hyperplasia doesn't rise to the level of requiring radiation, so you may be a candidate for that short intense (3D CRT) therapy to just the area from where your IDC tumor was removed. Ask your GYN or bc surgeon (you probably won't have an MO or RO assigned to you till at least your pre-op "planning" appt. where, among other things, you'll be measured for compression sleeve and glove or gauntlet should enough nodes have to be removed during your surgery.
I didn't have the blue dye, AFAIK, since I never did pee blue or green. (The only injections I had before anesthesia were for first implanting the radioactive "seed" at the tumor location--rather than placement of a "wire locator"--and then a radioactive isotope into the areola to "light up" the sentinel nodes for detection during surgery). Because I am rather well-endowed (38I/40HH then, 34J /36I now that I'm >40lbs lighter), my surgeon's NP warned me that there may not have been a post-surgical bra on hand and I shouldn't be surprised to wake up wrapped in a giant ACE bandage. Instead, they managed to stuff me like a sausage into a size XL ugly white Royce high-backed front-velcro-closure surgical bra. (A 2X or even 3X would have been more appropriate). I was allowed to remove that bra after 48 hrs. and switch to a front-hook soft-cup "leisure bra."
I had been warned that I would not be able to lift my arms high enough to pull tops or PJs on & off over my head, so I ran out and bought a bunch of button-up shirts and PJs. They turned out to have been unnecessary. I'd also been told I'd have extreme fatigue for days so I should sleep in my first floor front room--instead, I was easily able to get up & downstairs to & from my 2nd floor bedroom. That fatigue never materialized. What I did have for about 4 days was (starting the evening of the second day) was upper body soreness & stiffness, as if I'd spent hours coughing or starting out at max resistance on the weight machines at the gym. It's called "scoline syndrome," for the shot of succinylcholine they give you once you go under but before the first cut, so you are completely motionless on the table. My lumpectomy with SLNB took about 40 minutes (or so my family & surgeon told me).
If you do have an SLNB, it's not unusual for that site to hurt & swell more than your tumor-site incision.
Lumpectomy almost never requires drains (as opposed to mastectomy); and it is definitely a same-day ambulatory surgery--so much so that they let me walk to my car rather than be wheeled.
Your mileage may vary, as they used to say in car ads.
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ktsmitty
I know I am atypical but I had my lumpectomy on a Monday and went back to work on Wednesday (I was scheduled for a week off). Honestly I probably could have gone back Tuesday for part of the day but my supervisor would have send me home. It helps that I have the ability to sit or stand as I needed to. I had 19 days of radiation (15 whole breast and 4 concentration just to the surgery area). Radiation also has at least one planning scan where they mark you up (some places use tiny pin prick size tattoos others draw all all over you markers seriously I felt like a toddlers art project at times). So radiation length and focus is a personalized thing and if your lymph nodes are involved that changes the targeting some what but you will probably spend more time getting undressed and dressed then you do on the table
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ktsmitty - I’m the opposite of Sandy, super small breasted. My bandage made it look like I was a 36-38 B or C when reality I was a 34-36 A. Giant bandage I was afraid to take off because who knows what’s under there. It was much of nothing 1-1.5” incision at 12 o’clock, covered with suri strips, along with similar size under my armpit. Incision on breast never bothered me, I used small ice packs as directed. The one in my armpit can still be aggravated if clothing hits it just right. I also had a re-excision to get clean margins, it’s not uncommon; the surgeon uses the same spot on your breast, it sounds worse than it was. (It was almost 5 years ago so I’ve mellowed with time, but then it was a BIG deal)
Radiation wasn’t too bad for me, my skin held up well. You get instructions on what cream (Aquafor for me) to slather on the area. You go go to a measuring appointment prior to any rads. I did get tiny pin prick tattoo marks, later on they used a black Sharpie line drawn on me with clear medical tape over it. It’s to help the rad tech line up exactly the same way each time. I did 15 days of hypofractionated rads, increased dose over shorter time frame. I’ve done no research since then so I’m not sure what’s available now.
I was retired when dx happened so I had no worries about returning to work. Like we say here - everybody is different, even same dx of cancer, we’re still different. You’ll get through it, being stronger than you think you are. And another thing said here: we’ll be “in your pocket” when you need us.
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Thank you for the replies, it does help. I’m 55 now, at least for another 6 days. I guess I will know more at my appt again with the surgeon next week prior to my surgery the following Monday. Again, thanks for the replies and advice. Much appreciated!
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"How I spent my summer vacation"
I had two Lumpectomies. One in June and another in August. Was first DX with DCIS Stage 0 but then they found a little 1mm guy who invaded - so second Lumpectomy and now IBC Stage 1. Both Lumpectomies were easy - the 2nd even more than the first. I also could have gone back to work - but I'm retired.
Just met with the Radiologist and told him to start scheduling. End of Sept I'll be 6 weeks out from surgery.
My DILEMA is - I DON't want Hormone Therapy. I'm 72 years old - they gave me so many statitsstics I can't keep them straight. Anyone go with Radiation and no HT? Or vice versa for that matter?
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Trilogy. I'm 77. I was diagnosed at 69. Lumpy. Radiation and 5 years of anastrozole. I had no problems with the AI at all. So I wouldn't rule it out. Think about it. Many of us never have problems with AIs. And, of course, many do. I'd give it a try. If you have problems, quit. Discuss it with your MO. My first MO was not great. My 2nd one (I moved across the country) was excellent. He said 5 years was enough for me. So I was done at 74. I'd have kept on if he had recommended it. But you have to do what is right for you. Good luck!!!
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You said "IBC." Did you mean "IDC" (invasive ductal carcinoma) or "ILC" (invasive lobular carcinoma)? IBC is inflammatory breast cancer, which is highly aggressive and would cause very bothersome symptoms you'd definitely have noticed: redness, swelling, rash, itch, etc. My guess is that if your first lumpectomy was for DCIS (which is ductal), then the little guy (size of a pen point) is IDC.
Did they tell you the grade (1, 2, or 3) and stage? With a tumor that tiny you're almost certainly Stage IA, especially if you had 0-3 positive nodes. Although the current (latest) thinking is that with lumpectomy for DCIS or an IDC tumor of Stage I, for anyone past menopause sentinel node biopsy might be unnecessary. My own breast cancer surgeon & her partner presented the study at the most recent SABCS (San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium) and ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology) conference.
May I assume the tumor(s) were at least ER+ if not also PR+ (i.e., estrogen and progesterone-receptor-positive) and likely HER2-negative (DCIS usually isn't tested for HER2 overexpression but IDC & ILC are)? Have you met with a medical oncologist (MO) yet? They will fill you in on those factors. They always genomically test (OncotypeDX or MammaPrint) anything Grade 2 or higher and larger than 1 cm (what they call a "gray area") to determine if the tumor is aggressive enough (i.e., has rapidly-enough-dividing cells) to even respond to chemo, or if it's so "indolent" (slow-growing) that chemo would do much more harm than good (or any good at all). Mine was that "gray area" (Grade 2, 1.3cm) so the tumor was genomic-tested and my OncotypeDX score came back "low-risk," indicating chemo would not be applicable. 30 years ago even DCIS patients got the trifecta of mastectomy, whole-breast radiation and chemo--plus endocrine therapy if ER+. Things are very, very different today--DCIS never gets chemo and sometimes not even radiation (even with lumpectomy).
I can only tell you my experiences with radiation and aromatase inhibitor (endocrine, aka "hormone") therapy. My radiation was 16 sessions (3 M-F "weeks" plus the following Monday) rather than 6 weeks, with high dose radiation aimed only at the tumor cavity (rather than regular strength whole-breast with or w/o "boosts" at the end). It's called "3 dimensional conformal radiation therapy" (3DCRT), and ever since 2015 it's been shown in women around or over 65 with Stage I tumors to provide the same overall survival and disease-free survival rates as the conventional 6-week whole breast protocol.
I sailed through radiation. I did not get the extreme fatigue I was warned about, never got itchy, burning or broken skin. Toward the end of the sessions I got some redness that was not at all sensitive. They gave me Aquaphor ointment, which I was instructed to apply in the changing room before getting dressed, and again at bedtime; then to shower throroughly before leaving the house for each session. I did get some swelling--which made my operated breast the same size as my "normal" one (it's back to where it was pre-cancer, almost 2 cup sizes smaller). But it was likelier that the swelling was from the seroma (fluid-filled cavity) that formed after the tumor was removed. I was able to wear my regular bras (some with underwires, as I'm fairly busty) right away, though they do suggest you'd be more comfy going braless or putting some clean soft cotton cloth--like T-shirt material--under your breast.
As for aromatase inhibitors, I did get some night sweats the first few months. My metabolism slowed so I gained weight (increased sweet tooth), and for the first year or so my osteoarthritis symptoms worsened so exercise was very tough. I also had some hair thinning but not so as anyone unfamiliar with my pre-cancer hair would notice. A near-keto diet (plus 16 weeks of Invisalign orthodontia, which "trays" have to stay in your mouth 20-22 hrs/day) allowed me to lose all the weight I gained from endocrine therapy & then some (>50 lbs. total, even during spring 2020's "lockdown"). I started plateauing and carb-cheating out of boredom and anxiety over an unrelated cancer diagnosed in July 2020, so I gained back 20 lbs. I stopped the AI's this past late April at age 71, after 6.3 years. I was able to lose a couple of pounds (and am maintaining), and my hair has started to grow in fuller (as my stylist noted).
As they say in the car ads, your mileage may vary. I can only tell you my own experiences. Hope all goes well for you, and welcome to the sorority nobody wants to pledge--but you are free to lean on your new "big sisters."
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Trilogy, I am 70 (diagnosed at 69), had a lumpectomy, did radiation, and have opted out of endocrine therapy. I had the Oncotype DX done to decide whether or not to do chemo (an intermediate score meant I didn't need it at my age,) but the genomic test also gives an estimate of 9 year recurrence. I know that I am taking an extra 7% risk, but arthritis, osteoporosis and siblings who have suffered DVTs were the reasons I decided not take either AIs or tamoxifen. My MO supported this because I made my decision with all of the facts and, in his opinion, my concerns were valid. Many women have few or no side effects on these meds and their value in helping to prevent recurrence is well documented, so I wouldn't dismiss them without having a good reason to.
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