January 2017 Surgery Group
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Wanted to touch base after my surgery this past Monday. In and out of the hospital in less than 6 hours and have had little to no discomfort other than some tenderness. Lumpectomy and SNB completed, my surgeon was optimistic he got clear margins, but he is naturally optimistic - nice to hope that will be the case. Waiting in the pathology report which will come online through my hospital's medical records portal.
I took the week off from work and am glad for the down time but am feeling good and staying active with walks, going out to eat with friends, a few art projects getting completed. Hoping everyone else with surgery this month is doing well and gets the rest they need for the next step in this process.
Anne
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Did-not-see: I know what you mean about the numbness. My right underarm is totally numb (where they took the axillary lymph node) & both foobs are numb too. It feels really bizarre to put deodorant on! My scars are healing up nicely. It's surprising how much they've faded in only two weeks...
Annoyingboob & I both have the same problem with adhesives. If you see one of your BS or PS before the drains are ready to come out, ask them to change it for something less irritating...
Fightingirl: I'm working from home on the computer & I feel like I'm slogging through quicksand! Do you think this inability to concentrate may actually be some form of PTSD? I guess whatever you call it, there's no denying this stress is going to have an impact....unfortunately, it's turning my brain into mush!!!
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I have been following along everyone's posts and wow, what a journey we have all been on!
There are so many unexpected events along the way. Learning to give up some control and rely on others has been so hard for me. I felt so good last weekend after having my drains out, that I really overdid it cooking and trying to clean a little. I developed seromas on both sides. They aren't painful, just annoying. So.... for those with drains still in, don't push too hard to have them removed if your BS is the slightest bit hesitant. And...when you do get them out, take it easy for a few days.
I am returning to surgery tomorrow for pre pectoral implant placement. There is a possibility that I will end up with only TE since I am still very sore and swollen. My skin (even the radiated side ) looks good and nipples are coming along Not a pretty sight but they look viable -kinda pink and purple zebra striped. Since I had skin and nipple sparing, the PS doesn't want to wait longer than 2 weeks to start my recon. I sure don't feel ready for another surgery but am just trying to put my total trust in her recommendations. Good news is that I had pure DCIS so chemo is off the table.
Good luck to all of you healing from surgery or in the pre surgery phase and to those of you in the midst of decision making regarding your treatment plan. The waiting for the plan to be put into place has always been the hardest for me. To those considering brachytherapy radiation-I had a friend that did this 10 yrs ago and she was totally happy with her treatment and remains cancer free. I had traditional radiation and had to drive 1.5 hrs each way for treatment. It was doable but I was exhausted near the end, probably as much from driving as from the rads.
I will be thinking of you all as I'm heading to the cabana tomorrow! Can't wait for that frosty drink (aka Versed)!
Alli
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Hi ladies - this is my very first post on this website (kinda wishing I didn't have to be here, but there you go, such is life!). I'm scheduled for my lumpectomy on Jan 26....also happens to be my 49th birthday! Diagnosed with DCIS after stereotactic biopsy on Dec 28 - no info on grade, or hormone status, or anything else as all of that is sent overseas for evaluation and results not back yet. Was pretty freaked out initially, now I'm in more of a calm state about all of it (denial? self-preservation?)....just want it all done and over with at this point. Have read loads of posts on here and thinking that the support of ladies who are on / have been on a similar journey would be beneficial. :-) And in turn, I hope that I will be able to pass back to you some of the support that you have been offering to others.
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Please add me to the group. My lumpectomy and SNB is scheduled for 1/23. I have already finished chemo which shrank my 4.6cm effected area to two 2 mm dots. I am more worried about radiation than surgery which my surgeon assures me will be a cake walk. Here's hoping he is right.
Btw. I update my profile with surgery info but not showing in my signature. What I am missing here. Never mind figured it out. Set to public instead of private.
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welcome to all the new girls . Although we don't want to be part of a group like this , it has been the best thing to happen to me with breast cancer. These girls are amazing , strong , empathetic and compassionate. Each with the same struggles but willing to share and lift others up to get through this maze . Thinking about all of the women who went in this week for procedures and surgeries. Glad most of you are doing well and without much extra drama . I went to the BS for followup yesterday. He said they had their meeting and all agreed that I need SNB for the 3mm idc as per path report from my lumpectomy for what was DCIS . I am still trying to get over the bronchitis . He said we can reschedule if it is not clear, so I am hoping the coughing spasms are on their way out! Just would like to get on with it all . I will be getting radiation but I have not yet seen an oncologist . After this surgery , I will know the staging and I will heal and then focus on TX . So BeachbabyK, I am scheduled for 1/26 .
Well ladies, enjoy your day and rest up . It keeps us strong .
Love the group and am ok with private FB.
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Bdagal and J&Jmom - thanks for introducing yourselves. Big hugs to you both as you get ready for surgery. I hope that it is in fact a cake walk, as jandjmom's surgeon predicts
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Welcome Bdagal & jandjmom! I have added you to the schedule. I am also a lumpectomy gal and the surgery went well and recovery was pretty easy. My incision is healing nicely and the only issue I have is that I am still pretty swollen. I hope that your surgeries go as well! Many of us were given grade/stages before surgery, but sometimes they are revised after, so don't about that too much...you'll get that determination soon.
Alli - congrats on moving onto the next step! I know having another surgery already many seem daunting, but just keep checking the items that have been completed off and know you are that much closer to being done!
lovesgreenthings- praying for clear margins too. I try to always be optimistic myself!
Did-not-see-this-coming - Don't overdo it!
Annoyingboob- Thanks for the article. I am a "large-chested" gal (although not THAT large) and I was told that they really couldn't "do" nipple-sparing for me (Although that made me question the PS's abilities more than anything else as I know other similarly chested gals that had nipple sparring with immediate reconstruction).
Pyrrh & Fightingirl - Please keep up (or at least me) updated on your brachytherapy! Is it the balloon type? Just 5 days? As I know radiation is part of my plan, I would love to reduce the amount of time devoted to it. I meet my RO on Wednesday.
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I have had a rough...can't do this kind of day. I have one hurdle to cross then this will be easier. I just can't make myself jump it. I can tell my DH is he getting irradiated with me for being to move...
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I have had a rough .can't do this kind of day. I have one hurdle to cross then this will be easier. I just can't make myself jump it. I can tell my DH is he getting irradiated with me for being to move...
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hi girls! and welcome to my new friends!
like fightingirl, my heads a spinnin' after meeting the ro today. he gave me this article which may interest those with early stage disease - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25605582
it describes accelerated partial breast irradiation (abpi) and compares it to whole breast irradiation in early stage disease. its a randomized controlled trial that followed women for 5 years. both groups had a low, 1.5% recurrence rate of same side breast cancer, and survival was high for both groups (99.4%abpi, 96.6%wbi), but the abpi had better outcomes in terms of acute, late and cosmetic parameters.
so, for my small high grade dcis with necrosis, he is proposing 5 total partial breast treatments on alternating days. just as i had convinced myself to do a bmx, now i think im going to do this xrt and then down the line if i need mx, ill do it. i asked about the brachytherapy that my girlfriends here will be doing, and he seemed to think this partial breast radiation was a better option for me. i told him all about my sensitive skin and how i was worried my skin would necrose off just by walking into their department, and he made it sound like the technology these days is better and they can handle adverse reactions, but did not think my skin issues would pose a big problem - wellll, ill just have to keep you posted on that!!!! and since i had a lift reduction, we are not really sure where the dcis cavity ended up, since they origami your tissue. but bs left a clip, which hopefully they can find with the prelim images.
im still doing f/u with ps sat and then meet with mo next week, but im feeling pretty excited about just a quick little xrt and then done. tamoxifen is a whole different can of worms, and im not too interested in that for 5 years, but im keeping an open mind.
someone mentioned bc is like a roller coaster. today i feel more like a buoy bouncing around lightly on the waves near our bungalow. I've learned to just bob up and down and roll with it. today, its xrt. maybe next week ill change my mind again. good luck to all of us gorgeous gals!!
xx
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BeachBabyK - mine will be the SAVI catheter - truthfully, in person it is a lot larger than the descriptions make it sound. But, I guess they'll pick one that is roughly the size of what they took out of me, and there is already a cavity there ... I think the one referred to as "balloon" is a different manufacturer/model. Mammosite maybe?
You are on the young side, very similar to me. They initially suggested standard length, full breast rads due to my age. I asked about brachytherapy specifically to keep the radiation as localized as possible, in the hopes that I can remain active in martial arts and have less potential for affecting my lungs and heart. They didn't bat an eye, got out the examples to show me, and signed me right up. I think their current "age" is either 50 or 45, and the only reasoning behind staying conservative with younger patients is a lack of data about REALLY long term effectiveness. Make sure to ask all of the questions though, I'd be interested in what your RO has to say about it.
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Varga - you can do it. You have a plan, and are fully capable of carrying it out. Follow through with what you need to say and get that stress off of your back. Big hugs to you.
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Hi didnotsee, yup, I am wiped out today too. Just woke up from a two hour nap. Glad your scar is looking good. I'm still avoiding mine. Take care.
Jinmo
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yay, annoyingboob! Hoping you can keep the newly reduced boobs
BeachBabyK: Could you add me to the schedule too? BMX with reconstruction (TE) on Jan 24th...
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Just got a call from my breast surgeon and all good news. Still stage 1, 0/6 nodes positive and clean margins! Starting to feel a little better too.
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Hurray, cowboy-up!!!!
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super news cowboy!! now you can rest easy knowing its all out of your body!! im so pleased with your news!!
vargadoll, hang in there - you have been with us since the beginning of the month, and i can't imagine how agonizing it is to wait wait and wait until your secret surgery, when all of us are in and out constantly. your day will come and we will be right by your side, welcoming you to the bungalows with one of those giant drinks where all the january ladies can have straws and share in your accomplishment!!
dcbc, have a great weekend with college roomie and let us know what you finally decide for your goodbye boobies party!
pyrrh, thanks for the savi pic! makes it all so real. im not really sure the criteria for indwelling brachy vs external partial breast. for me, they said im a good candidate for just the partial external, so thats my plan, but not for another 6 weeks or so.
good luck tomorrow, all!!!! it does seem soon to go back, but the sooner you go back, the sooner you are finished!!! its like you are on the very last bit, steps from the finish line - you can do it!!
jandjmom - crazy great response to the chemo - yipeee!!! i hope they can find those 2 little 2 mm spots and then you are on the home stretch, too!! i love seeing you girls nearing the end of your battles!!
beachbabyk, thanks for keeping us all so organized on this board. good luck with ro appt - don't get the head spins!!
loves green things, really enjoy your week off. its hard to force yourself to rest when you feel so good, but i highly recommend keeping a low profile so you really heal well.
we made it through another week ladies! cheers to us!
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Cowboy-Up - excellent news! Very happy for you
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Hi everyone!! I'm done. Woohoo! Sending this from the comfort of my hospital bed. Took a two hour nap after I got to my room. Pain is manageable; just had a Valium at 4pm my time, so about 1.5 hours ago. Got up, peed (yikes blue pee - I'm an alien!), walked a circle around the floor and am now awaiting some dinner 😊
They said surgery went great; "textbook". BS doesn't take frozen sections in the operating room but they sent out two for path which I will get in 3ish business days. BS said they looked totally normal SO hopefully some good news 😳
So these compression socks they give you to hinder you have a blood clot ROCK! It's like getting a mini massage every 30 seconds.
AND I only needed two drains instead of three. The "good" reconstruction breast to keep the foobs symmetric didn't need a drain after all. YAY!
Gentle hugs to everyone going next week (no one tomorrow, right?
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DCISinAZ: great to see you checking in with positive news! Also, 2drains instead of 3 is going to be a huge quality of life improvement until you get rid of them..
Cowboy-up: yay! Great news!!!
A-Boob: The duration of hormonal therapy concerns me although being post-menopausal with no ovaries makes me wonder what they'd give me..an AI maybe? I haven't done that research yet & probably not starting that discussion with my BS until Wed, when presumably my MammaPrint results will be in. I haven't met with an MO yet. What are you learning about Tamoxifen? The only thing I know about it is you can't take SSRI anti-depressants with it...the thought of taking anything for 5 years bugs me...makes me feel like it will be forever until this is behind me if that makes any sense.
Vargadoll: you sound really stressed out today...remember, we're all with you so bring it here & soak up some support!
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DCISinAZ, so glad you're done! You are amazingly coherent, I was definitely having trouble forming complete sentences/correct words on the evening of my surgery. You rock!
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ahhhhahahah - yay - thanks for the checkin dcisinaz!! it kinda sounds like you have the hard medication still on board, lol, so take it slow girlfriend!! your sweet angel doggie was keeping a close eye on you making sure you were safe.
the compression socks are cool unless you spend the night at the hospital and they are constantly going off, one leg at a time. just when you doze off, the other leg wakes you up, ...
so you have one 'au naturel', but reduced, and one implant? or 2 foobs? regardless, im glad you are feeling well. take it slow and enjoy the cabana!!
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annoying boob - yes. Mastectomy and direct to implant (DOUBLE YAY) in the "bad" boob, then lift and implant on the other one. So I don't have Pam Anderson boob on the one side and Betty White boob on the other!
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DCISinAZ - I'm so glad to hear things went well! We are having the same procedure it appears - BMX - Right is the bad side on me as well. Your positive words give me hope!
Welcome to all the new girls and to those of us (including myself) that are having a tough time of it. I'm on a roller coaster with emotions and finally calling tomorrow for some rx. I'v put it off and regret it.
I finally have my surgery time - it's11:30 Monday 1/30 but I have to be at the hospital at 6:00 for a 6:30 injection - I think that's for the SNB. Can you ladies who have already gone under tell me whether that's a difficult procedure. I need to look it up so I know what to expect. I'm so ready to get this done. I'm really tired all the time and I think it's just the emotional toll that it's taking.
I worked out this morning and that helped for a little while - but by about 2:00 I'm like a zombie.
Hugs to all...
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pugsma - i feel exactly the same as you about tamoxifen. xrt sounds manageable bc its 5 zaps and done in 2 weeks. but a funky hormone pill for 5 years??? no thanks. im not doing any homework yet bc im so resistant to it - in addition to my ssri which i really don't want to change bc im in a really good place with it, i have other issues like fibroids, migraines, a strong fam hx of stroke, and i do long haul flights every 3-6 months. so my mo will have to do a hard sell. my bs wants me to do it bc 50% decrease in recurrence in both breasts. no change in survival. the ro today made it seem like i could get away without it. his numbers were a little different from my msk oncotype, though, so who knows who to believe anymore?
bottom line, ill hear what mo has to say next week. if its compelling enough, ill do research and we can compare notes.the little i know so far makes me think you would take an AI bc post menopausal, and apparently those AIs have less side effects, so thats good news. and maybe you could get away without it since all your ladybits are gone, but your genetics and scary super stealth presentation of your bc may be a good reason to take something. lets not drive ourselves mad guessing. we can talk to our experts and then hit the library.
any ladies out there who have taken/are taking tamoxifen want to chime in with their experience?
shelly shelly shelly - the week before surgery is ROUGH! it has been for all of us. my advice is workout everyday and wear your self out - you won't be able to exercise for awhile postop, and def get a rx for something. we are all strong, but we also all have had sleepless nights with brain spinning all scenarios. take your pills and don't feel guilty about it. you need to be gentle to your self going into this and it will help you recover. i am not a pill taker or drug pusher by any means, but i feel so strongly about taking something preop if you need it. for me it was 0.25-0.5mg of lorazepam, just to take the edge off. and 2.5mg valium the morning of surgery. and workout. i regret not working out everyday the week leading up to surgery. i 'was busy' getting everything organized, but now that im home and can't exercise, i really wish i had taken advantage of it before . hang in there. you have had a particularly traumatic few weeks - we get that and we are here for you. xx
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yes Ma'am Cowboyup. So happy for your goid news❤
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DcisinAz , glad to hear you are done and doing well ❤🌈💗thanks for checking in
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