May 2018 Surgery Support Group
Comments
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Faithsmama,
I'm scheduled for surgery this week, the 31st. After surgery and pathology are completed, I'll know more about the treatment plan. As of right now, it is stage 0, but I'm sure this could change depending on the path results. One of the areas is a grade 3 and hormone receptors positive, while the other a grade 1 and hormone receptors negative. The 2 areas are approx 5 inches apart from each other. MX is the surgery required to safely remove all of the BC. I'm anxious to get pathology back and know exactly what my options are for treatment. I told my BS, wow I must have one hormonally confused breast 😒... You'd think that the hormones would be the same, but that is not the case!
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FaithsMama - Good luck with your appointment tomorrow. Hoping for good pathology results
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For those of us with tissue expanders....when I first woke up from surgery the onky thing that bothered me or hurt was the very center of my chest, the bone. It went away but yesterday it came back. I did flinch and more my arms quickly yesterday when my daughter tried to throw a toy at me so I think that quick movement aggravated it (they may be attached on the inside too not sure. Anyone else have uncomfortable soreness with their expanders still? I know it’s probably not going away anytime soon, we’ll as long as they’re in there probably!
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absolutely, my ribs and chest are very sore.. soreness started on the right, has moved to the left. I can’t tell if it’s pain radiating from TEs or if my incisions are bothering me. Post op appointment today at 11, where I plan to beg for removal of two of the drains, I’m thinking this definitely adds to the discomfort lecel
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Spirometer - Point of Reference: I broke my ribs a couple of years back. I returned to the emergency room 4 days later and that doctor heard me cough weakly. Nothing I would ever pay attention to. Anyway, they gave me the spirometer and said it prevents pneumonia... Two totally different scenario (broken ribs vs. breast surgery) and not to be an alarmist here, but I'm thinking its important.
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Ladies, the spirometer is important. After being under anesthesia it’s really important to do deep breathing to force that stuff out of your lungs. It’s a pain (literally) to do but it’s worth it to not get pneumonia on top of recooperating from the surgery. When your chest is bound up with bandages and feeling tight and painful the last thing you think about is breathing deeply. My O2 alarms kept going off while I was in the hospital. When I went home my DH and DS were deligent about making use the spirometer
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My left lung spontaneously collapsed 18 years ago and I had to use the spirometer during my entire recovery. I never mastered the goals they set for me even in good health and it was determined I had unexplained low lung function. I don't notice an issue in my everyday life (Besides not being able to blow up balloons), but I am again not hitting the recommended levels. My husband, however, has no trouble with it whatsoever and he makes it look effortless.
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am I The only one not given one of these to take home for breathing exercises?I did it in the hospital every hour but they never told me to take it home and make it part of my follow up care
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I’ve never touched one of these devises you guys are talking about!
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Usually Respritory Therapy comes in for a visit after surgery. They usually bring it with them. I was given one for my outpatient lumpectomy, but again I had low oxygen levels coming out of the anesthesia
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Two weeks post bmx and I got the DRAINS out today! {{aggressively pumps fist in air}} The sides of my chest feel like a giant sunburn but it is SO NICE to not have the drains hanging out! I have significant axillary webbing on the SNB arm so I will start PT for that because my range of motion is severely limited. The PS also wrote a prescription for steroids to subdue the swelling and tame Limey, my pet hematoma. Finally, the tissue on my left breast/nipple was not healing very well and there was a chance that if enough tissue became necrotic, I would need surgery to clean it out. Someone on the reconstruction forum told me about hyperbaric oxygen therapy. My PS had never had a patient do it, but he wrote a prescription and my insurance approved it (<----biggest surprise since being diagnosed) and I started two days ago. I can already see a difference and even my PS was impressed when he saw me today. I go for two hours every day, first thing in the morning. It will help the tissue heal faster and better and prepare me for future surgeries. (TE exchange, fat grafting, etc.)
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Good news, ReadyAbout
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oh great news! I got two of mine out today and I still have two to go, which are supposed to come out Monday. I’m also having my first fill Monday so I’m nervous about that. I already feel better getting two of the drains out, and I swear my ribs hurt less. Thinking a drain was positioned on top of my left rib. Ready about, I’m having some swelling under my armpit on the SNB side as well, looks and feels a bit funny and swollen. Not like a hematoma but like my armpit fat ishanging over and swollen. If that makes sense? Anyone else having this? Wondering if it’s normal swelling or if PT will help.
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Congratulations to those who had drain removal this week! Hoping it's around the corner for me, as well as the side sleeping I desperately crave right now. I'm only 5 days out from surgery & it feels that way....I appreciate the advice on hydration & walking (and using that breathing apparatus that I just took from my hospital room (they had me work on it there). Have spontaneous boughts of fatigue & pain keeping my movement to a minimum currently...
BUT - hot off the press for me:
Although still feeling a bit strung out from the surgery & anesthesia, while I was in the backyard pacing today, trying to enjoy nature & get rid of the 10 lbs of fluid blowing up my body, waring my own personal labyrinth into our little patch of grass back there, my surgeon left me a voicemail - Pathology All Clear! Lymph Nodes Clean, left breast clean, DCIS (grade 3 in 2 places) ONLY in right breast! Cancer all gone! No more breasts, but no more treatment needed! Got the result I hoped for when making the decision I did. Time to put all my focus on recovery from here!
This forum has truthfully helped me through the most terrifying time in my life -it's been a nightmare; however different our diagnoses, choices, & tx plans may be, the collective experience shared here has been invaluable! I will be following your upcoming surgeries & recoveries & chime in with my experiences as well -paying it forward. Thank you all ❤️
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Congrats, Michi and Marena!
Michi, fill is not bad, just a little creepy. They find a port by running a thingy that looks like a beam finder over your breasts, mark it with a marker and stick a needle into it. Then they pump in some saline. You can watch your boob grow. Literally. It’s not painful until a few hours later and during the next day. Use the spirometer and take the pain meds when needed.
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ReadyAbout: That's great! I'm going to ask about the hyperbaric therapy too!
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Hello All,
Finally on my way to the hospital for surgery! Looking forward to joining all of you on the other side!
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sending positive energy your way
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Good luck, eo2378
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good luck, eo2378! I’ll be praying for a smooth surgery and positive results
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ReadyAbout : congrats on the drain removal!!!!!!!! How do they determine if you have webbing? The oxygen therapy sounds very interesting!!!!
Michi : congrats on drain removals as well!
Marena: that is all such wonderful news!!!!!!!!!!
EO2378 : praying for you and the team caring for you!
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Finally had follow up appt with surgeon yesterday. She is very patient and understanding. Healing progress looks great. I may do light stretching exercises to try and help with chest tightness, but she didn't give a specific regime. What exercises are helping you all best? She thinks my discomfort is more pronounced because of the tactile sensory issues that I have and because I automatically tense the muscles which are causing sensory distress which impedes the healing. Am not sure how to get that to stop
Pathology report showed all clear margins and lymph nodes with a Stage 1 grade 2 diagnosis. The surprises were a 3rd invasive cancerous spot in the right breast (only 2 had been discovered prior to surgery) and an area of DCIS in my left breast which was considered clear prior to surgery. Also found out 5 nodes were taken instead of the 3 we expected. We are all glad that we chose BMX.
Due to ER/PR +, she is referring me to Oncologist for probable Tamoxifen, but I am not on board with that yet....
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I asked in the April group because they are a little further along than we are but I want to ask here too! Anyone in the mastectomy and tissue expanders group have any bra recommendations?? I know I’m not going to really need it for support reasons, especially since I plan on staying small like I was, but I just can’t see myself going back to work without that extra layer of coverage!! I’m fine walking around braless now but once she starts expanding me I know I’ll be much more self conscious and going to work knowing I have nothing on....can’t do it!!! Thanks ladies!
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Yeah for now drains!! and for clean nodes and no more treatments!
I'm moving right on into radiation territory already! I had my first appt with the MO this morning. He has nothing to offer me, no hormones, no chemo etc. Just close monitoring for the next few years as far as he is concerned. He did make me stop by the surgeons office for the hematoma/seroma as he thought they might want to drain it. My sweet surgeon ran across the hospital to meet me between surgeries to take a look. She decided less is more in my case. She didn't want to introduce anything new and potentially risk an infection on that side again. So we are watching closely and it gets any bigger I'm to call her through the weekend. She's on call so she'll meet me and drain at that point. Fingers crossed that's not happening!
From there I walked down to the Radiation department. I really like the RO, he's got a great personality, great manner etc. Made me feel very comfortable as did his entire staff. We talked, I explained a couple of dates for trips we had coming up and he assured me I'd be finished in plenty of time! He even decided to go ahead and do my first scan and setup right then and there instead of making me wait another week. So I'm all marked up now. I'll go back on Wednesday for another simulation and then off we go. I'm going to do the condensed version and see how it goes. He doesn't think I'll have any issues at all. Said my biggest complaint will probably exhaustion the week after I'm all finished. His end goal though is to make sure we make it to our big summer family vacation to celebrate being done!
The constant fear and waiting on what's coming has been worse than any of the actual procedures or appointments! I can't believe I can see an end date in my future KWIM??!?!
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SLL101984, I don’t have TE’s but I do have breast from my DIEP Flap reconstruction. I use form fitting tank tops. It hides any imperfections of my breast and makes my clothes look good. I won’t get fitted for new bras until after stage 2 of my reconstruction. Hope this helps
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- Michi: you may have a seroma, which is a pocket of fluid buildup. There should be info on this website that explains what it is. It will go away on its own, but if it gets big and becomes a nuisance, the dr may want to aspirate (drain) it.
- SLL: there's an entire forum dedicated to the Great Bra Debate! I have bought a few Coobies, which everyone swears by. Another friend recommended the Naked Bralette. Here is the link for forum. https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics...
- SPD: I am with you on the Tamoxifen. I was originally diagnosed with DCIS and didn't have to take it, then got rediagnosed with invasive, so I have to go back to MO. I was supposed to go yesterday but really needed to see the PS, so I postponed til 6/29 bc deep down, I don't want the Tamo! Also, here is a website that offers videos for arm exercises based on your procedure (reconstruction vs. no reconstruction) https://www.mskcc.org/cancer-care/patient-educatio...
- Kelligirl: your RO sounds fantastic and I'm so happy you've got a finish line in sight - I bet you sail through the radiation like a champ!
Finally, and sorry to be a Debbie Downer... anyone else having neuropathy pain? My chest feels like a massive sunburn - it hurts for anything to touch it and I keep thinking I need to apply aloe, then I remember I haven't been in the sun! A friend who has gone through bmx said that it's neuropathy. I thought it was just part of the healing process but I am two weeks out and still need a Percocet first thing in the morning and again in the evening and I'm supplementing with Advil. I anticipated a tough recovery, but between the webbing and this neuropathy pain, I've got my hands full. Amazon thinks a 91 year old woman just moved in with us, based on my recent orders.0 -
I had a double MX with expanders last Friday. So almost one week out. Today was hard. I had my follow up yesterday and it went well, but just riding in the car, going to the doc, and coming home wore me out. My intestines also let loose last night! Two hours of running to the bathroom. I suggest a mild stool softener or prune juice. It really was not fun and I am pretty sore so prepare yourself for it. I think now my system is back on track. I also got a bit emotional today out of nowhere. All in all, I think I am doing ok! It's definitely day by day..
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ReadyAbout, I think you might want to call your surgeon. I had some residual pain at that stage, but definitely not Percocet grade pain. They cut the nerves during the surgery, so for a few weeks they keep firing at random looking for synapses. In my case, the sensation I had reminded me of milk arriving into the ducts when I was breastfeeding. Not a pleasant feeling under the circumstances, considering that there are no more breasts and no more milk ducts.0
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Quick update! Surgery went well, took about 6 or so hours. As you are all very aware of, I'm pretty darn sore. Nodes were all clear!! Pathology should be in by Tuesday and hopefully confirm the margins are all good. The reduction on the left side looks great, so much so it's not giving me much time to think or be too upset about the MX on the right side. I've been up and walking around today, very slowly, but trying to keep my body moving when I can. Thank you for all of your prayers and support!
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sn75- Hang in there. Surgery was performed a week ago so it's ok to need rest & feel emotional.
Eo2378 - Glad your surgery went well and wishing you a smooth recovery.
Marena- congrats on the good pathology news.
Congrats to all those who got drains removed. I was hoping one would be removed yesterday but still had a bit more fluid than the doctor wanted. Will try again on Monday.
Take care
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