January 2017 Surgery Group
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well, look what ive found - its not French Polynesia but it would be easier for us to fly to mexico no matter what coast you are coming from!! something to look forward to?? I wish I could leave tomorrow...
http://www.maxim.com/maxim-man/mexico-over-water-bungalow-2016-3#!
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No matter how small the area of concern in the breast, non-invasive vs. invasive, many of us have the same surgeries. That being said many recoveries are similar whether you are a stage 0 or a stage II. The reason for the tight wrapping is twofold: first, to prevent movement and swelling, second, to prevent seromas which could lead to infection. My doctor, a fellow from USC, oncoplastic surgeon, wrapped me so tight I could barely breathe. I had minimal swelling, took only a couple of tylenol, no seroma or hematoma, no infection. My BS did the wrap herself and she is very petite. I wore it for 3 days and then switched to wearing 2 sports bras for compression. My breasts are nearly identical after the lumpectomy on my right side. My surgery was August 2016.
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helpmybreast, you shouldn't be in that much pain. My surgeon doesn't use these tight garments or bras at all. If it was me, for the pain, I would take it off now temporarily. If that relieves the problem, good. Either way, call your surgeons office first thing and explain the problem. There are other potential sources of pain such as nerve pain (from nerves being cut, it feels like burning), seroma or hematoma, infection, etc. And you should have them find the source of the problem.
Annoyingboob, funny you should mention the bungalows. Last night I stayed up until 4am on Google looking for where these dream bungalows actually are (because yes, I fully intend to treat myself to something special). And then thinking hmmm...where is French Polynesia? Could I really handle such a long trip after 7 surgeries and 15 months of chemo? Probably not... But I'm still looking. I found some in Jamaica too: https://www.overwaterbungalows.net/win-3-nights-in....
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Good morning ladies. I slept ok but my back was sore so I got up. My friend who lives near Pittsburgh said she had a visiting nurse come to her house everyday after her mastectomy. I said nope, I'm on my own here. I wonder why the difference? Anyone else have a visiting nurse? I'm thinking I'm going to need my husband to wash my hair today. It's such a terrible mess!
PugsMama- thank you for sharing the story about the BRACA testing. My testing came back negative also and I'm SURE this is hereditary. I was dx at the very same age my mom was, 47. Her 2 sisters had it and so did my cousin. I think it's a gene they haven't discovered yet. Crazy they wouldn't listen to you before you actually got cancer.
Good luck to all the 12s going today. You will be relieved it's over.
Annoyingboob-- I would love if we all could meet one day. Hopefully we'll all be healed and beautiful by then.
Shellybeans-- I'm sorry this is happeneing so fast for you. I had 2 months from dx to surgery and that was fast for me. At least they want to get it out quick, that's good for you. It s an awful lot to let sink in so fast though. We are here for you.
I'm wearing a not tight not completely loose cami. I miss showers
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Elem I took your advise and iced up and I also just gave my breast a break and let them breathe. Annoyingboob you kept me sain last night. This group of ladies can really help someone in a life and death situation. Annoyingboob although your name has annoying in it I will always be grateful to you. I needed a response and just broke down when you responded. DCISinAZ, I thank you also. This group is so needed. They actually kept my loose fitting one and gave me this tighter fitting tube top that I will not put on again. I think it did cut off my circulation and caused extremely bad pain in both breast. I will be calling dr office this morning. I love you all and thanks for helping me through. God bless you all
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helpmybreast.. good morning . I hope you found somevrelief last night. It is so scary and horrible to be in such pain .your pain did not sound vood and it seems should not have been so intense.
Hopefully, you got a nights sleep and this morning you can call your Dr. and find out what is causing the problem . In the meantime, maybe icing will help .
Keep us posted
💪🏻
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Good morning ladies,
I was MIA yesterday just jumped on this morning to say sending vides of peace to the ladies going in today. DSm and Pyrrh the bungalow is ready and waiting!
I haven't had a chance to read the 2 pages of posts and plan to catch up the afternoon. Hope all are doing well. I felt so anxious last night and today and I think it's because I didn't have a spare minute yesterday to catch up after my morning check in.
Hugs to all! Be back after I deliver meals on wheels and take my require yearly state test. I know...why now!
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welcome Shellybeans...as Elam said, welcome to the club none of us wanted to be in!! You are not alone. I hope as you continue to come back here and share with us you will never have that feeling again. I agree that you're pretty lucky this is all happening very fast but I do hope that you are able to really process through your feelings in all the madness. I've had 2 months to go through many stages of emotion so I would hate for all this to smack ya hard due to lacking of processing time. Certainly don't mean to be negative and again it's great to be moving along and getting that cancer out but please use us or any close friends to vent/scream/laugh or cry with! You mentioned you had other stuff going on in I've right now as we'll and I am so sorry. Be good to yourself.
All, I am down for meeting up in a year! That would be amazing!
Helpmybreast, I had a lumpectomy the day after you and I'm not in any of the pain you seem to be having. I hope you will find some relief...be the squeaky wheel with whoever you have to to figure out and fix that! Hang in there and welcome to our group..
DsMom, holy shit! That is just crazy but I hope it doesn't bother you too much until you can get it looked at. Have fun at the bungalow and check in when you can. You'll do great
Good luck today 12's! Will have you in my thoughts all day!
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Hello, Ladies! First and foremost- lots of love, support, prayers, and positive mojo to all of my fellow sisters walking this path and whom have had or will be having procedures this month. I was just officially diagnosed on 01/06/2017 with both IDC and DCIS (ER+/PR+, HER2-), and will be having a bilateral mastectomy/SLB without reconstruction on 01/24/2017.
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Good morning my dear friends!
Loving the idea of a vacation together!
Big day today! Going to wash my surgical bra....it is sooooo disgusting by now!..BS told me at my appt I could just wear a sports bra instead. May really go all out & wash my hair too!! Not sure if I can handle all that excitement LOL!
3bears: they asked me at the hospital before I was discharged whether I wanted a visiting nurse. I couldn't think of a reason why I would need one since the only "mastectomy maintenance" I have is emptying the drains which amazingly enough, I have no problem doing...if I had to do some kind of wound care or change dressings, I would've said yes.
BugChaser: as others here have said, welcome to the club none of us wanted to belong to! But now that you're here, you won't find a better group of women to take this journey with!
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Thank you all for your welcome - I cannot tell you how comforting it was this morning when I opened this page and found all of your stories and word of encouragement and support. I have to admit, after I got the call about the positive cancer last Wednesday, I immediately called my therapist and she saw me the very next morning. What a gift that was. I am in the midst of a divorce (it's actually not contested or antagonistic, but it is the reality of what I'm dealing with right now.) My final hearing is next week. Then, on Wednesday I close on my new house that I've bought. I also have two kids - one went back to college on Sunday and all I could think is what will I look like the next time I see him. My daughter is 12 and I worry about passing on my bad genes to her. So yes, my cup is quite full and this cancer BS was the last thing I needed. But it's the hand I've been dealt so I've gotta move forward.
I have a pretty demanding job - but my team has been incredibly supportive. It's amazing and a bit overwhelming at times. Everyone wants to help - I just keep telling everyone the way to help me is go get a mammo. My "lump" feels nothing like a lump. I've asked all my girlfriends to feel it - I want everyone to feel it!! LOL I want them to know what it feels like so they don't dismiss anything. I figure they are about to be removed, might as well get felt up while I still have them!
I'm running a 5K this weekend as a little tribute to myself and the fact that I am still alive and I'm going to run it again next year and beat my time for this year (which won't be hard as I haven't been running much lately). While I'm new to this I want to thank every single woman on this site. Sharing the good, the bad, and the silly is a gift you are putting out there without realizing it. You are all incredible, strong women and you cannot know how much you have helped me in this journey. And thanks to the Mods for keeping this site going.
Love and health to all
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Hello beautiful ladies. I was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC in November and will be having lumpectomy left with sentinel lymph node for tomorrow! Reading everyone's comments has helped my prepare for my surgery but I hate the unknown factor in all of this and find myself freaking out on a regular basis! I have a wonderful husband, and lots of family and friends to "help" me get through this, but they are not fighting cancer. Thanks for all the encouraging information!
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fightinggma: so glad you checked in today so we can all offer prayers & support for your surgery tomorrow (& a lounge chair in the bungalow when you're done). Join this amazing group of women as we laugh, cry, vent, freak out & celebrate knowing we all understand each other bc of our shared experiences through this unknown & often scary journey...
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Shellybeans, you have a great attitude & spirit & a great sense of humor which will help get you through everything you're going through! Now I wish I got felt up more before I lost the boobs! Lol
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Ok I am so confused. Since I had my double mastectomy with port insert. My BS said my patholgy report was really good. So why does my Oncologist want me to do some aggressive chemo? I feel that if 16 nodes were pulled and only 1 was cancerous(the lump I found), margin was good too, why is she wanting to give me heavy chemo as if the lump is still present? Is there alternative chemos that are not so heavy as AC->taxotere? I am really leaning towards a third opinion for an oncologist. Im confused.
~giving shuga~
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Hi Win-chimed. Chemo is given for a lot of reasons & often it's to kill any cancer cells which may have been left behind after surgery even if you have received a good pathology report. Chemo after surgery is all about improving your chances that the cancer won't come back.This site has some good educational articles which explains this much better than I can!
http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/chemotherapy
Your oncologist should be willing to answer all your questions. Most of us don't think of the questions we wish we asked until we get home. Feel free to call the office & ask to speak with your doctor because you have concerns...
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1 week post op for me today, and I'm treating myself to getting my hair straightened at the salon. Ahhh, the real world, how I've missed you! Sitting in the salon chair reading my book and this quotation from Mandela applies to all of you, my sisters: "I learned that courage was not the absence of fear, but the triumph over it. The brave man is not he who does not feel afraid, but he who conquers that fear ."
You are all conquerors! I am celebrating your courage today.
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Win-chimed: I agree with annoyingboob. Ask, ask, ask. If you are unsure make sure you ask every and any question you need to in order to feel completely comfortable with your decision.
Annoyingboob: good for you for getting out and pampering yourself! Enjoy!
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I've spent the morning on the phone with my nurse navigator. She explained my results to me a little more clearly. My left breast had multifocal invasive lobular cancer. Three different locations, 2 little and one almost 4 cm! My nodes and margins were all clean. I have scheduled an appointment with an oncologist on 1/25. My breast surgeon is going to order the OncoDx score of the tumor. Not sure if it was the same tumor that was biopsied when diagnosed. That biopsy showed a score of 15. That's good I know. I was really praying hard, and still will be that I do not have to have chemo. Thank you PugsMama for just posting that link. Everthing that I read at this point all lead to chemo. Why does this make me so sad? I know this is just another step in my road to being cancer free! I know many of you are so brave and strong and have powered through chemo! Thank you for sharing your stories. It will help ease my fears I'm sure. I really was hopeful that having a double mastectomy would be the cure. Now I'm in waiting for results mode again 😕
On a positive note, the poop prayers have worked 💩 Thank you!!
I'm going to try and focus on something positive like vacation in a year! I was up for hours last night researching over water bungalows! I better play the lottery and hope I am lucky enough to win if I ever want to stay in one 😊🏖🌈. For now I am there in my mind with all of your wonderful ladies telling stories and sipping on something yummy. 🍹
Xoxoxo
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Alone at home for the first time in forever. I was able to read all the post I had missed. Lost of stuff happening here! Yay for good news! What a relief to have the reports! Welcome to all the new girls. I to was a blog stalker. I have not told my family that I have breast cancer and I'm so afraid that someone will figure out who I am, especially since the blog is easily accessed through Face Book. It was a big step for me to create an account and post. I'm so glad I did! I need the support that I receive here. My husband is amazing but no one understands my emotions, fears and anxiety like the ladies in this group!
Now for a few questions...I finally got my pathology report and have spent the afternoon trying to figure it all out.
My report is Right breast core needle biopsy: Invasive ductal carcinoma, grade 1 vs grade 2. Intermediate ductal carcinoma in situ with focal comedo necrosis and dystrophic calcifications.
I am ER+ (>99%) PR+(>99%) HERR-
I am scheduled for a lumpectomy in February. A mastectomy was not suggested at all and I see diagnosis close to mine and mastectomy was the surgery. I'm so confused! Also the genetic testing??? it was not suggested but I am pretty sure I am the first person in my family with breast cancer. Should I tell my nieces about the cancer? I will tell my daughter soon. She is very pregnant and I do not want to stress her out.
Any input is welcome!! I just want to make sure I look at this with my eyes wide open. I wish I had found this blog before I went to my appointment at the cancer center. I would have been better prepared. You ladies are my life line right now!
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Leftcoastie: we're in the same boat as usual my friend. Both of us were led to believe that out tumors were small, stage 1a & who thinks about chemo for such small early stage disease, especially HER-? No radiation, the boobs are gone, great! Sure, hormonal treatment of some sort but chemo? Now we get our path reports, tumors way bigger than expected and all of a sudden chemo is part of the conversation...it's a shock
It's great your doctor, like mine, is ordering a genetic test of the tumor. Let's not give up hope that we won't need chemo, but if we do, at least we'll know we're having it to reduce our risk of recurrence based on the genetic make-up of our cancer.
To say I know how you feel is an understatement. When I got my report I broke down bc it really hit me that I have cancer & the whole treatment thing is ahead of me & it's not just about my recon. Whatever it turns out to be, we'll get through it together!
Xoxo Liz.
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Hello all! I'm home and resting comfortable....watching "This is Us" - what an amazing show if you're not already watching! Today was gratefully uneventful. The anesthesiologist offered me a "block" which I had never heard of...basically freezing put in my back in 5 different locations to help with pain for the next 24hrs - I definitely took it! As of right now I'm not in any pain and all is well.
Vargadoll - what I found was my surgeon assumed I would prefer to keep my breast if at all possible, but based on the research I did and my age etc I opted for mastectomy. He was a bit surprised but pleased with my decision. If they haven't brought it up they too may be ,aking assumptions...ask and see what they say.
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Thanks DsMom! Glad you are home and comfortable. I went in the cancer center assuming I would be having a mastectomy and was "blown out of the water" when the surgeon said lumpectomy. I am trying to read all I can before my surgery date. I will never feel prepared for all this! I just want to think I did the right thing.
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Win-chimed, sorry about the chemo. It depends on your pathology, but if you have a large tumor, or if you are triple negative or HER2+, I think they always recommend chemo. It's not for the lump itself, but because chemo is a systemic treatment and kills cancer cells that may have already escaped from your breast or lymph nodes and stops them setting up shop somewhere else.
Leftcoastie, totally understand why you feel sad about the chemo.
Vargadoll, if you see other women with a similar diagnosis as yours having a mastectomy, it may be because that's their preference, for whatever reason (family history, don't want to deal with this again, etc). Surgeons like to recommend saving the breast if they can, but at the end of the day it's your decision. If you are in the US, I don't think the insurance companies will pay for genetic testing unless you are under 40 or there is a strong family history of BC. I would tell your nieces in due course, when the time is right for you, so that they are aware they have some family history of BC and get regular screening.
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Good news for me this morning - PET scan shows no other cancer than breast! I Really felt like it had spread and gone to my bones 😬. Next step will be to have PS and oncology surgeon coordinate schedules and give me a date and I can then use all the post op advice you have shared! Feels crazy to celebrate " just" having to have a BMX but I am. Keeping in mind as you have experienced, that path report is the 🎯
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Thank you Maya15. I am in the US and 51. One day at a time right! I will tell everyone about the cancer when I have made it to the bungalow and have my drink in my hand! The only thing about getting a mastectomy is the downtime for reconstructive surgery. I would have to make some life altering changes to have that much down time. With a lumpectomy I can "squeak" by for a few week (with some help from close friends) and not turn my world upside down anymore than it has been.
Hugs to all you ladies who support all us newbies!
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Hi warriors! Lots to report but first...
Win-chimed, I'm sorry you are dealing with this and though I haven't read the article pugsmama posted link to, I hope you find it helpful. The way I understand it is cancer though most often will head through the lymph system first, can also find its way into the blood stream and set up camp somewhere else. Good Lord, I'm afraid of chemo myself but I met a lovely stage 3 warrior at my surgeons office today who has been doing chemo since AUgust!! Mind you, she had an allergic reaction and so delayed treatment but she told me that it was rough but she knew it was working and she'd do it again to know it was killing that cancer. She really helped ease my fears a little.
Annoyingboob, love, love, love the quote. Thank you for sharing. ❤️️ I also went out and about for first time today and may have slightly over done it! Ohhh my aching body. 😩
LeftCoastie, yay for 💩!! I would not be surprised if there aren't too many of us who've looked into how to get to those bungalows for real. Holy expensive! Let's all make a pact right now that if someone wins real big in a lotto this next year we take anyone who wants to come!!
Vargadoll, you can choose whichever surgery makes you most comfortable. A lumpectomy was probably suggested because it is much less invasive and easier on your body. You don't have your details listed under your post so not sure of your tumor size bit similar to me. I have IDC 2cm both my ER/PR in the 90's as well and HER-. My tumor was grade 2. Because I have none of the known genes and other factors, I chose the lumpectomy. Unfortunately, it's one of those things that's a personal decision and not everyone is fortunate to have the choice so though it's a tough decision to make, you are lucky to have the choice.
For myself today...met with surgeon. Incisions look good. Found that not only IDC but DCIS as well. She wasn't crazy that the margin was smaller than they like to see on the DCIS but feels that additional treatments should be fine and not necessary for additional surgery. I will be seeing radiologist tomorrow about possible brachytherapy and scheduled to see oncologist next Wed to see if I will also be needing chemo. Like all, I am hoping that's a NO but will do what I need to so hopefully never have to do this again!!
I felt great this morning finally getting out of my yoga pants and putting real clothes and makeup on. Decided to make a special dinner fir the hubby for taking care of me so good these last couple months. Well with all my other errands and of course my gas tank was nearly empty, I flat wore myself out today. Now I don't even want to cook the dinner that took me to 2 different stores for the ingredients!! I'm gonna rest here for a bit and hope for a second wind.
Speaking of wind...ya'll probably stopped reading this book by now so ending for now. Much love sisters!
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Vargadoll, some questions to ponder:
can they do an Oncotype test of the tumor to see how likely the cancer is to recur? That might be helpful in making your decision. Are you going to have an MRI before surgery so you know how large it is? If you have a lumpectomy, will you have to have radiation? If you have radiation & later have to have a mastectomy, will that limit your reconstruction options bc of skin damage etc.? How comfortable are you with having to continue aggressive screening? If they get in there and find lymph node involvement, will they do a mastectomy instead? Is recovery time an issue right now? Why did you want a mastectomy to begin with?
Hope this helps clarify your thoughts...wishing you peace with whatever you decide...xoxo
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Bevmomduck, congrats! That wait for the PET scan results is terrifying. When I got my results my husband and I had a champagne dinner to celebrate "only" being stage 3!
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Bevmomduck! Doing a happy dance for you!!!
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