Stage 2 Sisters Club
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Thanks everyone ,I will double check with my oncologist this week.I will have my after chemo CT. tomorrow to see if every thing is fine or not.Wish me luck! Love you all my strong sisters.
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Good Morning.
Thanks Claire. I appreciate the info and kind words. Hi Nisa! I dont feel like its going to happen to me but it just brought back all the anxiety I had with my wife it her early stages of diagnosis and treatment. I'm very close to my cousin. He was one of the people who supported us early and and was there for us. I am going to treatment with him next Tuesday. Girlstrong, wow imagine that, it is a small world! Ask him if he knows Kathleen O'Hare. She has worked there for almost 30 years! Warrior70, make sure they dont overfill the TE as sometimes its better to leave room so the skin wont get damaged. Talk to the RO about that. Same with Alice, no boost. Keep me posted! Welcome newbies. This is a wonderful thread with amazing women here. Chock full of info and support!
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warrior - you can get a complimentary bra fitting at Nordstrom - they are great and have been trained to fit post-mastectomy patients. For those who have opted for no recon they will also sew a prosthetic pocket into any of their bras or bathing suits free of charge.
setizand - I had a skin and nipple sparing double mastectomy. I was originally a lumpectomy candidate, so my nipple would have been spared anyway - that is something you can use for criteria. Your nipple is cored out from underneath and separate pathology is done on that tissue. The nipple does tend to flatten because it has no structure underneath it anymore and it does not function at all. It becomes somewhat of a decoration on the skin, much as a reconstructed or tattooed nipple would be. Many surgeons don't do nipple sparing - not because they don't think it is a good idea - but because they have not been trained in the procedure. You will find the same is true of incision placement, some do purse string, some do IMF, some do from the nipple to the underarm, some go straight across. Plastic surgeons will also offer the recon technique they specialize in - those who do expander to implant often do not offer one-step or autologous (flap) types of recon. It is important to research this before surgery so you can see what is available, but as always, rely on your physicians for their advice about what is best for you as an individual.
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That's interesting, SpecialK. I didn't think a reason why my plastic surgeon wouldn't do the nipple sparing is because he wasn't trained.
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Global- if it gets me a trip to the Bay area and escape this week in Chicago- Ill come do you- Im not trained either!
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SpecialK
Thank you so much for answering my question.I became a bit paranoid. I was confident about sparing my nipples,but my friend who was stage II b had her cancer back after a year and a half in nipple.it scared me to death and made me to think about it again.How ever her tumor was 7 cm and you should be 4 or less to be a candidate.I will discuss it with my MO. this Friday and let you know.
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Hahaha aviva5675 Hey, maybe there is a "Nipple Sparing Surgery by Numbers" you can use. ;-P
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Hi Jujubee83 and welcome! You will find that this is a friendly place; you came to a great place to vent, laugh, cry if you need to, celebrate the good news, etc. We're glad to have you.
Happy today because it looks like I won a round with California State Disability; I will be getting past due payments in the next couple of days. Yay! Now I have to contact my PS about fills, and in 3 days I will have my last chemo! Kicking back today a little; planning on making a nice dinner for the family...sauteed chicken with garlic and kale with truffle oil. Yum.
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hi ladies....hard day for me today. I have my BMX on Wednesday and so feeling sad:(. To top it off, I am now being told by my PS that he is not a provider with my insurance??????? News to him and defiantly news to me. Needless to say I have been on the phone with insurance and docs all afternoon trying o get things figured out. Plus tomorrow is my last day of work before I take time off for surgery so I had to send our the mass emails that I will be on leave
and the I had to turn in all my "leave" paperwork. It has been a day!! My emotions are all over the place. 0 -
Oh Girlstrong, what a day for you! Too many losses at once. I am sending you a BIG hug.
I'm sorry to hear about the insurance problem. Bad timing for this to come up right before the surgery. I too worked until the day before my BMX. It is a big surgery but we are all here to tell you that is doable. Be sure to recruit family and friends because you will need help with driving and all the around-the-house stuff.
Will be thinking of you on Wedneday. Please post how it went. Love, Nisa
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Thank you Nisa for your kind words. I know I can do this.........
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Girlstrong! Getting a BMX or an MX or just having cancer sucks ! And so does dealing with insurance when you have so much else to deal with! Its okay to feel sad and afraid, but you will be okay. Before my mx, my pastor came to the hospital and sat with me. She said a prayer that thanked God for my breast and for the nourishment it had given my children and the pleasure it had given me. I cried so hard but was so thankful to have those losses acknowledged.
Thanks for sharing with us ! I wish you peace as you get ready in all sorts of ways for your surgery.
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Girlstrong, will be thinking about you Wed. May you have a smooth recovery.
Running, what a wonderful prayer...just thinking about it made me get a little teary. There are so many losses involved in this process.
Love to everyone!
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Girlstrong, the best for you. You are in my prayers. Remember not to lift a thing after the surgery, even if it doesn't hurt.
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girlstrong - all the best and hope u have a speedy recovery!Countdown to full hysto fri. Is it strange to be more aprehensive about this surgery as compared to everything i've gone thru? Crazy!!!
4 weeks til my cruise - rest & relaxation at last!
Think of u all often & love having all of u to turn to!!! xoxo
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Thank you so much for all of your suppoprt...your all awesome. I will let you know how it goes, new boobies here I come.....mjsgumbas: good luck on Friday. Set your sights on that Cruise!!! You definately deservie it.
Love to all as we get through this episode of our lives. Hugs!!
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Big hugs to you Girlstrong. Sorry you're having a crap ass day. Prayers for you for Wednesday.
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Girlstrong, just wanted to add my best wishes for your surgery, and as a friend said to me many years ago - don't lift anything heavier than a diamond ring lol
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Girlstrong, good luck on your surgery. I will be thinking of you.
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i have a question for the girls who are past all the treatment - and it's a silly one..... How long before you can be a kid again and enjoy roller coasters?
Have a follow up with my PS today and it feels like a silly question to ask
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Well seems to my wife and I that we have been on one for the past year, but now its starting to be fun again! She met with RO yesterday and he said skin looked great. Next step reconstruction. Then 3 month checkup on Feb 20th.
Prayers going out for Girlstrong today!
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Girlstrong - it's 8am in CA and my prayer is going your way. Hope you can feel everyone's love and support as you go into the OR!
Mjsgumbas - I haven't being on a roller coaster lately but it seems like a safe thing to do as soon as you feel strong from surgery. Do ask your doc because I have no idea about possible contraindications. I will be thinking about you Friday. Were you told to stop the Tam for the surgery?
Joe - great news from RO. Keep it up Alice!
Trisha - Hello and nice to meet you.
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Nisa - I was not told to stop the tamoxifen for this surgery or my last corrective surgery. I see the MO on the 10th, so I guess we'll decide from there if I'm going to switch being offically post menopausal. Thanks for your thoughts - this should be a piece of cake compared to the last 9 months. Just hoping it gets done laproscopically!! But won't know until I wake up!
Girlstrong - hope all went well today!
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mjsgumbas, how did your doctors determine ovary removal,would be beneficial for you? My BRCA test was negative so mine are discouraging me from having them removed, saying that chemo will out me into menopause anyway since I am 50. But I am not so sure about that, and I am an ILC gal; I don't want it creeping into my ovaries, menopause or not. So my insurance won't cover the removal unless medically necessary. Just wondering what argument can be made......
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My advice is; if you want to go on a rollercoaster, go on a rollercoaster....but go ahead and ask & report back. There are no silly questions, if they are important to you, they are important!
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smrlvr - I have an ovarian cyst that was diagnosed justed days before my BC. I actually had surgery scheduled and then the BC diagnosis took presedent. This is not my 1st sizable, operated on cyst. My grandmother passed in the 70's due to "some type" of female cancer - by the time it was found it was very progressed. I had cervical pre-cancer cells 5 years ago and had a leep procedure.... so basically I put my foot down and said I'm done. I want it all out - 41 or not! I'd been asking for several years, but couldn't get the insurance or Dr ok - until BC. Looking forward to it all being gone - for peace of mind, even though I also tested negative for BRCA I & II.
Thanks ruthbru! I'll ask the PS today... he usually gets a kick out of my silly questions. I missed Great America this summer and don't want to miss out this year!
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hi ladies, just stopping in to thank you for all of your support and prayers. My mastectomies are done and tissue expanders in place, and now I am home very uncomfortable. I also now have so e numbness in my fingers and the surgeon said that is from the swelling compressing on a nerve. She said it should go away soon. In the meantime. I'm annoyed.
Well chemo is done, surgery is done and I feel accomplished that I'm getting through this mess. Next for me is reconstruction, rads, continue with Herceptin, and grow hair.
Right before my surgery my aunt had me listen to this song. Wow, I was really moved and inspired. I've attached the link if anyone is interested, it kind of sums up what we have all been going through.
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girlstrong - glad to see you are on the road to recovery! Hope it isn't bumpy too long!!! Great song too!
My preop "cleanse" stinks!! I don't know how people voluntarily cleanse!!! Im more miserable today than after my bmx!!
Have u ever noticed how many commercials have food -ugh!!!!
Can't wait for bedtime so i can wake up & finally be done with surgeries!!!!0 -
very nervous now waiting for tomorrow's surgery!
I sometimes think I am a pain in expecting things flowing the way they should be, but I don't think it is normal:
-To have to call my PS office and find out the time the nurse from the Operating Room told me to be there was the time of the surgery and now two hours early
- That nobody called me to let me know they change the time and building in where my surgery would be held
- To receive a call the afternoon before the surgery from my PS office asking for my PCP phone number because they never got the clearing to proceed
- To have to change my ride to the hospital last minute because my DH got a last minute meeting and he can take me but not pick me up until later
UGH!
Ohmmmmm... Please whoever knows how many days I have to rest after the surgery please let me know. PS told me by Monday I could drive and work..??? Is that true?
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Girlstrong! Thanks for updating us on your surgery. Another part of this "adventure" done! Hope your pain subsides and your recovery goes well.
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