June 2017 Surgery Group
Comments
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ourray: not sure about radiation and the implants. My PS wants me implant in before I do any radiation if needed, but I've also already went through chemo and radiation is most likely not neede
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Rlsteadman I'm so happy about your lymph nodes. That is such good news.
Rest and recover illimae.
SBKH trust me you got this. We have the same hospital and surgical group. NOthing they did hurt. They go out of their way to make sure. You will be amazed. Really you are in the worst part now which is the waiting.
Daphne, prayers for a good path report.
I'm still looking for some support that is NOT. Cut high into the armpit. So far I am wearing nothing under an oversized button down. I like the ace bandage idea. Maybe I willl try it
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Ouray17, from what I've seen so far, chemo comes before radiation and of course in my case, it came before surgery as well. Also, I don't know about the implants but I've read that radiation shrinks the boob a little, so I assume it could cause some implant damage, maybe others have more info on this.
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ouray17, for me, chemo is coming first. 20 weeks of that, a month off, then radiation. I also have expanders, and my plastics guy said no biggie (though he's pretty laid back). He said he may have to reduce one of the fills to accommodate radiation, but that's easy. I'm guessing he'll overfill a little, in case he needs more to work with after radiation decimates the skin
(in all fairness, I'm not sure that the radiation will be on my actual breast or more the armpit... I had clear margins and nothing on the skin or chest wall, but did have lymphnodes affected, therefore I need radiation.)For the drains, I had mine two weeks. They wanted me less than 30 when they took them out.
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I did chemo first, 2 weeks off, surgery then radiation starts at the end of July. My reconstruction was direct to implant above the muscle. PS, RO and BS all said I would be ok with radiation after the implant. Not sure if that is because it is above the muscle though.
You doing ok Illimae? Glad to see you posting.
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I'm doing ok Lego, a little sore of course but not bad. I never sleep on my back but these darn drains, ugh and I'm a tiny bit sad that the reduction took more than I expected but I want clean margins and the lift is nice, I think I'll get used to it.
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Hello,
I had an excisional biopsy on 6/23/2017. I was diagnosed with DCIS stage zero in the right breast. I received a call on 6/27/17 that the margins are not clear and that I need to go back in for surgery to remove more? Does this happen often? I am now second guessing my surgeon? Just upset that I have to go through the surgery again ugh! Thanks0 -
ooray, I had reconstruction with a lat flap and prophylactic mastectomy done June 9th. I had 5drains. 3 of the 5 were taken out on day 7. The 4th on day 10 and the 5th on day 13. My last drain was draining about 25 cc my Dr said since it's under 30 cc she felt comfortable taking it out. But she did say lots of ppl have them for 3weeks. As far as chemo and radiation I think chemo come and first then radiation. If you have expanders I thinking your fills might b on hold but not sure. Good Luck with treatment
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JenRuns, yes the wait is the worst! As for the vacation to relax at a beach (even if we can't get into the water or have a sunbath), that's always a good idea :-)
Leatherette… thanks for the info! I went back to my previous message to edit and correct it so nobody gets confused :-)
SusanGA, thank you!!! All the best to you, too!!
jeannemg, it does happen. The margins can only be determined with the biopsy as far as I know... but other ladies might be of more help here! Wish you all the best!
Keep being strong everyone!
Hugs to all,
Daphne
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Jeannemg....I had a lumpectomy to remove the cancer on 6/14 and also did not have clear margins after first surgery. I had my re-excision last Friday. I was upset at first and anxiously awaited results from 2nd surgery, which I got last night...CLEAN! My hubby reminded me many times that this is part of process, it can happen ( and does happen) and the most important thing is to make sure you get all the cancer out. I will tell you with the 2nd surgery there has been more pain and soreness. Stay on top of pain with pain reliever. That has been my biggest issue this time. And good luck...wishing you good results this 2nd time.
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I'm so glad you're margins are clear Runnermum. Sorry it is more painful and that they had to go back for more though. We have to keep reminding ourselves that the goal has not changed, just our path to get to it. This cancer roller coaster is difficult. Prayers for a quick recovery
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Illimae - Glad to you see you are recovering! I'm sorry about the size not being what you were expecting, though. That will take some getting used to. As a small breasted woman - I can tell you there are advantages - like boob sweat has fewer places to collect. I hope you grow to like your new shape.
Susan - So the withdrawing is more like social withdrawing. I'm getting this boob off! It's just hard to be around people when I'm nervous or upset. It's hard to make myself vulnerable by admitting I'm upset and be met with less support than I need. My hubs is generally not a very emotive person - and it's been tough to not have his shoulder to lean on. My girlfriends and extended family have been amazing. But sometimes you want your guy, you know?
RunnerMum - Whoo hoo on the clean margins! What a relief that is!
I have a pain control question - I itch and vomit with opiates and the vomiting is so not comfortable. My surgeon has decided to have an epidural like port pre-surgery put in the boob. She warned me so I wouldn't be surprised because I'll be awake when it's put in. Anyone had this?
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SBKH, I had a peripheral nerve block that was actually injected into the nerve space on my sides that numbed my entire chest. It worked great and wore off about 24 hours afterwards. I think that might be different than what you are describing though.
I am a lightweight and vomited previously with different meds. I was able to tolerate norco with no issues for a few days afterwards though.
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Thank you ladies...there was a sense of great relief today..clean margins and clean pet scan. I was diagnosed on April 25th....there have been many ups and downs these past weeks but I finally feel as if we have all the pieces of the puzzle. I am ready to begin the treatment.
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runnermom happy for your relief and good news. Kick cancer's butt.
SBKH I get what you mean. I think this whole thing is so overwhelming and many men retreat when they are scared. Thank God for girlfriends and especially for those with the guts to be where you are. I found I couldn't abide people who wanted to wrap it all up in a pretty package like " oh your stage one ....you'll be fine. They meant well but it was very dismissive. I hope this weekend will pass quickly for you and it will be July 6th before you know it. We are all here for you.
I was so happy to have my drain out but as the days go on it is clear that I now have significant fluid in my breast and under my arm. I'm not sure if it is a seroma but my husband asked me if my boob was growing back. My next appointment is in 10 days so perhaps she will drain it. The beat goes on.
Prayers and good wishes for all of you.
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SusanGA, do you have expanders? I was surprised at how much "side boob"' I had and worried that it was fluid. PS said it's the expander, and the muscle, not fluid. It'll stay until the real implants go in (darn)
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Susan I have an expander and naturally small breasted and I look almost close to even. Looking at me from the front you can barely tell injad a mastectomy, so it could very well just be that.
I'm still afraid to do any of the exercises or drive my car. I know my range of motion isn't going to get better unless I do them though.. anyone else lacking motivation
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Susan, Being told you have cancer feels like a death sentence, no matter the stage. I agree some are dismissive, I've even been told I'm lucky because breast cancer is so treatable. I don't feel very lucky with stage IV from the get go, then again, things could always be worse for anyof us. I hope you feel relief soon
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Susan - I wondered about seromas. Sounds like your husband had a sense of humor about it. Too bad boobs aren't like hair - cut them off and they grow back. Are seromas uncomfortable or dangerous? Were you producing less than 30ccs per day when the drains came out? I'd thought of trying to keep the drains as long as possible to avoid a seroma.
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sbkh, in regards to the pain I had a pain pump out in. I had to carry around this ball of pain meds that let out the meds every hour. About 7days later the ball deflated. Maybe that's what u will be getting.
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RRusso- I'm right there with you on the exercises. I'm one week out today and still have my drains and wounc vac attached. Appt tomorrow so I hope they come out. I do a little stretching but not much. I think I'm getting a little cording on the right side. I'm very thin and small busted. Dr said it was more common in thin women???
Got my final pathology report back today. You know it's going to be interesting when the nurse (dr reviewed but is on vacation) calls and says "there are some surprises". Good news is that all 4 nodes were cancer free - including the node that was positive with Dec-16 prechemocore biopsy! Margins were clear and the tumor bed that was 3.5 cm had only 5% of cells that were cancer. Neoadjuvent chemo was very effective.
Surprise was that there was cancer in my "clean" left breast. DCIS 9mm grade 1. Thank God I made the right decision and did the BMX. Mammogram showed nothing in Dec. January MRI showed suspicious areas, follow up with ultrasound could not find anything, post chemo MRI had no suspicious areas on left and it was compared to first MRI. Anyway clean margins and the breast is gone. Awaiting HR status and will make a plan after that.
So overall very good news but again the roller coaster continues.
One last thing... does it hurt when the drains come out? I'm still sore and not looking forward to people tugging on me to remove drains, wound vacs and the Saran Wrap that's binding it all together.
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Thank you all for the words of encouragement! I am glad I found this group:)
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Legomaster, congrats on the path report and making the "right" call on the bmx!
When my drains came out, I didn't feel a thing. They had me take a deep breath in and as I exhaled hard, she pulled it out. Nada. A friend of mine said hers just felt "odd" but not "painful.
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it just felt weird to me when the drain came out. Not at the site but in where the breast tissue was and only for a second
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Hi there everyone!
I just wanted to update you. My path report came back and behold! There was a small IDC in the breast that was removed! Only 0.7cm big, but there it was.... missed by mammogramms, ultrasounds and biopsies, even lumpectomy! I really am somewhat shocked! I thought it would all be over now, but instead I made an appointment with an oncologist now... most probably he will suggest only tamoxifen, according to my BS (ER+/PR+, HER- if I get the lingo right) and not chemo, but we will see... Well the good news is that I had clean margins so it's all gone... and of course that I did opt for mastectomy!!!
Hugs to everyone!
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Daphne77 glad you made the right call too!! So this new tumor was in a different area than your lumpectomy I assume. Weird how we can have so many tests and it still gets missed. It's out now - that's the main thing to remember so it is good news
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so good for legomaster and Daphne for making the right call. The negative node info is great.
I actually don't have extenders since I am not having reconstruction. I was at 25cc on the day before she removed the drain which did not hurt at all. This swelling is weird. My boob shakes. I am certain it will just be reabsorbed in time. Perhaps, I am exercising too much.
Listening to your stories I am wondering why our screening techniques miss things. Is it the density issue all over again? I'm going to seriously think about prophylactic of the other breast down the road. I chickened out this time around. Hats off to you brave ladies.
Hope you all find away to enjoy the holiday weekend. Love to all of you
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Susan - I'm having the same thoughts! Surgery is scheduled for left next Thursday-- I'm the very last! But now I'm concerned about my dense lumpy right boob that has already had 5+ biopsies
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I am going back to talk with my surgeon on 7/7. 1st surgery on 6/23 for an extensional biopsy, they need to remove more, I did not have clear margins. They also scheduled a Breast MRI on 7/3 to get a closer look. I am looking for advice on some important questions I should be asking of my surgeon? I have not yet met with an oncologist.
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SBKH, my breasts were also lumpy, bumpy and had multiple cysts. BS said if it wasn't for the cysts I wouldn't have had any breasts. Multiple cysts were always noted on my reports. Maybe that helped the cancer hide but you would think imaging would be more precise. You have already had 5 biopsies on the breast you are not removing? Your poor boobs. Sorry, trying to catch up without reading all the pages
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