February 2019 Surgery Discussion, Support Posts
Comments
-
hello. I had a bilateral masectomy on Friday with no reconstruction. They gave me norco but I have only had to use it once and so far tylenol has helped and bas been my main choice. I have four drains which are a pain. Cant wait to get them out!
0 -
Congratulations on your results Dawmar
0 -
Sunocean, wishing you a speedy recovery and getting the drains taken out quickly. Glad to hear Tylenol is working well for you.
0 -
KKayet, I met with the radiation oncologist today and it looks like my radiation is on hold until after the next surgery in march. He said he wants to wait to see if I will need chemotherapy. He did say that depending on whether they have to do full breast radiation or partial as to whether I may have to have the implants removed. I guess I'll have to wait for more information. Good luck to you!
0 -
I don't know if this is the right forum to raise this topic, I'm very new to this, but I cancelled my mastectomy surgery scheduled for Monday 18/02/2019 because I felt I was rushed into it. I was given the full diagnosis after mammogram, biopsy, SNA, CT scan and bone scan result on Friday 08/02/2019 (confirmed cancer but no spread to anywhere in the body) and booked for surgery for the Monday week - one week to get over the shock and understand the diagnosis, all while my husband was away. When he got back he came to the preop discussion which was just the anesthetist and the breast care nurse, and on Thursday he said what I had been thinking, I'm not going, I want to explore other options. I have a 4cm tumour right breast, with cancer in the node. So I was in for auxillary node operation too.
I guess I want to know if anyone who is now going into surgery pulled the plug first and has sought second opinion before agreeing? I'm going for a second opinion at a larger treating and research hospital in Brisbane Australia, and want to insist on either hormone and/or chemo treatment first before they start cutting off my breast. I feel like women are not given any choice in treatment except start with the surgery and then the chemo and drugs. I will accept if I have to have surgery, but I will insist on other non invasive treatment first
0 -
I am new to this too. Hope this is a good place to get started. First I must say you are all so brave! Just had my lumpectomy 2/15/19 Invasive Lobular Carcinoma They took lymph nodes but I don't know how many. BS will call with results. I am concerned b/c I have had zero appetite since Friday. Has anyone else had ZERO appetite?
I have't told my age college children yet, I don't want to interrupt their lives and I don't want to tell them this over the phone. I have told only one of my nine siblings and I am glad! I don't want the drama. The waiting for biopsy results is the worst!
@mauza28 I am in a big city at a terrific cancer center. I trust they know what they are doing. I wanted to wait until summer for surgery but they said no. I think I am glad I listened to them. Also, my hospital encourages you to get a second opinion. Yeah, I'd get one if I were you. Big hug to you!
0 -
Carpediem56, I don't have surgery for another week, but lost my appetite due to the stress of the tests and diagnosis. If you're unable to eat, you could try smoothies. That usually works for me. Good luck!
mauza28, everyone has different reactions. Not a medical opinion, but I believe it's best to do what right is for you. I have friend who did chemo first so definitely get a second opinion.
For me, my surgery can't come soon enough. I'm annoyed (and a bit angry) that it will have taken three weeks since biopsy and MRI results to get it done. I'm scared but looking forward to putting surgery behind me.
0 -
It has been awhile since I have been on here. Just read over all the posts. I have been so tired post surgery and busy. We have five children so I am always busy.
My surgery was 2/5/19
Lumpectomy with oncoplastic reconstruction on left. Oncoplastic reduction on right. Surgery was five hours. Went home that evening. And no drains. 😀
BS called the Monday following with great news. Clear margins and no invasive found. 4.5 cm dcis removed.
I cried the first time I saw them. When I was under they xrayed the removed tissue which was large as my dcis was measured at 6.9 x 6.1x 4.4 cm from mammo. And .7 cm from nipple. The pathologist said the margins were not clear so BS went back and took more. Therefore the plastic surgeon was not left with as much tissue as she expected. They are larger than I expected but the shape just throws me off. Both the BS and PS told me after they heal and swelling goes down they will have a more natural shape. If not the PS will go back in and fix it and that will be covered by insurance. In a bra and top they look fine. When I shower and look down they look great. Looking straight on in a mirror is what I don't like.
But I am thankful for the clear margins and no invasive. They also examined the tissue removed from the "good" breast and found nothing.
I hope all are doing great!
0 -
Happy to hear your good news, BWH5!
For those of you who've had surgery, did you buy one of those drain belts? I purchased a top with drain pockets for recovering in bed but wondering if I should buy a drain belt for when I venture out.
0 -
BWH5 Glad to hear the good news! I was looking to see when you come share any news!
Cin17 I only used the surgery bra that had rings where could hang the drains. When going out I used a few hoodies that were a little tight on my hips and hid the drains in the roomier area under the chest. It worked perfectly for me. One of the hoodies ( Abercrombie&Fitch) even has inside pockets and that's the one I wore the most as it was more comfortable not feeingl the drains touching my skin.
0 -
I did buy a belt for the drains off of Etsy. It was $30 but has been worth it.
0 -
Hi BWH5, congrats on the post-surgery pathology report! I have been thinking about you.
I also had lumpectomy with oncoplasty. Mu surgery was on the 13th. Only my left side; my plastic surgeon wants to see the effect of radiation on my breast before resizing my good breast to match. I’m happy with my choice of surgery, but I too was surprised by the cosmetic result. The shape is not as natural as I expected and I have a cavity under my breast. They had to take quite a large area (7.5 cm) so maybe I shouldn’t be that surprised. I too am hoping but it will look more normal with time. It’s also odd to have one small breast and one large breast, so looking forward to getting that fixed!
I also have numbness and a “rug burn” sensation in my underarm and back of my arm, even though there are no incisions there. I’m wondering if I’m feeling nerves? Did you have that?
Did you have nodes removed? I had two removed. Hoping for positive results!
Wishing you well!!
0 -
Thanks AMLMom.
Yes, I too was surprised with the shape but they reassure me that it will look more natural after the swelling goes down. Looking down at them they look very much as they did prior to surgery. But looking in a mirror is completely different and is hard to do. I think some swelling is gone. At first when I walked it felt like I had bowling balls strapped to my chest. Thankfully that is gone.
When I saw my PS at post op she told me she left the right a little larger since they had to remove more in the left than anticipated. She said she figured I would want to have the left made a bit larger. Funny thing is the right was always larger and even after plastic surgery it still is. Not very noticeable though. Neither my husband or I noticed until she pointed it out. But after being married 23 years my husband was not aware the right was larger until I was DX and I mentioned it in the doctor's office. 😄
I told my husband that after radiation the left breast will shrink so will be even smaller than right. Ugh. So the way you did it may be best.
The PS also told me that after the glue comed off the incisions will not be as bad as they look now. She said right now the glue has the blue marker under it that she used pre surgery plus some blood. So they stand out more.
I do have that numbness around my underarm area and I hate it. I forgot to mention it to the Drs. Did you mention it to yours?
I did not have any nodes removed. Did you?
Please update us on your pathology report. It is hard waiting for that.
0 -
if you’re not comfortable with the surgery, then it’s totally ok to explore other options like getting chemo getting first. Do not delay, though. Some form of treatment needs to be happening soon! I personally could not wait to get the cancer out of my body. I just had a left mastectomy on feb 19 with some reconstruction. I’m basically pain free with only a little burning now and then. Good luck on whatever decision you make
0 -
How did surgery go?
How are you feeling?
BTW my name is Amber I'm setting this up 4 my gf
0 -
Well I had my BMX with prepectoral TEs placed on Wednesday. The surgery went well. The BS said that the tumor looked dead and no evidence of active cancer. They also took a preliminary look at the sentinel node, and no cancer cells there either. I’ll get full pathology early next week.
I had to spend 2 nights in the hospital. My blood pressure was dangerously low so they wanted me to stay on fluids for an extra 24 hours. Pain has been manageable. The first 24 hours it really hurt to get up and move, but after that I was able to easily walk around the hospital floor without pain, but got fatigued quickly. I haven’t had to take any narcotics since yesterday, and have been on just Tylenol. I was expecting this whole process to be much worse than it has been so far.
Yesterday before being discharged my BS came to see me and removed my surgical bra and dressings so I could see what everything looked like. It’s all very lumpy and bruised, but after only 1 day, everything is looking great. Drains get in the way a little, but not as annoying as I expected them to be.
I’m taking it easy at home now. I hope everyone is recovering well, and good luck to all who’ve yet to have their procedures done.
0 -
fritz happy to hear you are doing well. I agree the pain is not as bas as I thought. Hence I dont have TE since I went flat but still. I'm up and active.
Are you having radiation? Just curious since I was also diagnosed as stage 3 but had good response to chemo. But they still recommend I have radiation as an added measure since my lymph node did test positive before I started chemo.
0 -
Sunocean, I’m not sure on radiation. If I have a PCR, then I might be able to skip it, but I imagine I’ll be doing some amount of radiation. I had at least 2 positive lymph nodes before chemo based on imaging and biopsy. Neoadj chemo seemed to have done a good job, but I’ll have to wait for pathology to come back to know for sure.
0 -
Fritzmylove, sounds like you had great results. Happy to hear the good news.
My surgery is scheduled for Wednesday (if it doesn't get moved) and it's encouraging to hear that everyone's pain has been manageable.
I had gone to the doctor last Thursday to check for strep because my grandson (who lives with us) had it the weekend before. Told the NP that I needed to be sure because I had upcoming surgery but she wouldn't do a swab because she told me "you don't look like you have strep, I can look at an adult and just tell." Well, Friday night it felt like someone had cranked up the volume knob on my sore throat and headache so on Saturday morning went to the local urgent care and, sure enough, I have strep. The urgent care NP was taken aback that they hadn't taken a swab because "everyone presents differently" and with my upcoming surgery they should have double-checked. I had my first big sob when she gave me the strep news. The NP said she doesn't think my surgery date will be affected, not sure if she was just trying to comfort me though. I called both my surgeons this morning to tell them and am waiting to hear back. I've been on penicillin since Saturday.
0 -
Cin17 - sending good vibes for tomorrow! I was diagnosed with strep throat 7 days before my excisional biopsy (similar to lumpectomy). They had no problem with surgery, and in fact, they didn't prescribe any additional antibiotics for the surgery because I was still on penicillin the 3 days after my surgery. I had to talk to the pre-op nurse the night before - they had me take my penicillin dose with some water the morning of the surgery (you have to check with them - the anesthesiologists want your stomach empty), and I had my second dose post-op, and then my third dose at midnight. Make sure you're honest about whether you've been taking the penicillin as prescribed!
I blame stress for my strep throat :-)
0 -
I'm devastated. They have postponed my surgery for a full two weeks, not until March 14. The plastic surgeon is concerned about the infection spreading to the implant. I am at my wit's end.
0 -
My surgery is set for Feb 28. This is my second primary breast cancer -- had a mastectomy in 1998 when I was 30. Thought I was in the clear! Now this little surprise 21 years later. I am nervous and scared. So glad I found you ladies!
0 -
sweet daisy sorry to hear about your second round with this. Must be so frustrating after 21 years!! Ugh.
How was it found? Is it on your chest wall? Did u have a double mastectomy the first time around?
0 -
Sunocean, I had a mastectomy on my left side in 1998. This time it is on my right side, so I will have a mastectomy on my right side tomorrow. It's not in the chest wall -- not a recurrence. Just starting all over again with a new breast cancer -- IDC, 1 cm, er/pr+, HER2-. It was found during my screening mammogram and it is non-palpable. Need to do my stats in my siggy!
Cin17, I am sorry your surgery was postponed! That stinks.
0 -
SweetDaisy, I am so sorry to hear you are on a second time! Good luck with the surgery and hope for the best!
Is the second tumor the same type as first one or entirely different type? Did you have any hormone therapy after the first one?
0 -
Cin17 I am very sorry to hear about the infection! It must be hard to reset mentally and extend two more weeks! Hang in there, it might be for your best!
0 -
Hi! I had bmx on Feb 18th with expanders placed prepectoral. Still taking it easy. Our pain meds but sleeping still sucks as I'm a tummy sleeper. My path results came in and tumor was smaller than estimate of 2.3cm. It ended up being 1.3cm st largest spot. Surgeon removed 2 sentinel nodes, both negative. Cancer still grade 3 (agressive) and I'm stage 1A.
Waiting on oncotype to determine chemo or not. No rads will be necessary. I am palb2 positive, which is why i elected a bmx target than a lumpectomy.
The only weird thing I'm experiencing after sx is that my right arm (where nodes were taken) is feeling very sore since yesterday. I wasn't expecting this in my second week after sx. It's the skin on the underside of my upper arm. It also feels tighter on this side. I'm hoping it's normal swelling and nerves and nothing worse. I see surgeon tomorrow so I'll find out then.
I'm glad to read everyone's recovery.
0 -
Applejuice, my first time it was 1.4 cm IDC, er/pr+, grade 2, no nodes, HER2 unknown. I had 6 round of chemo (CMF) and five years of tamoxifen. Very similar this time, except a bit smaller and grade 3. Will know if it is in nodes after surgery, although nothing showed on MRI.
I got my gene test result back last week and I am negative for any known breast cancer genes. Go figure! Guess I am just "lucky" to get it twice. I should play the lottery!
0 -
I’m one week since surgery and feeling good. I’ve been off narcotics since 2 days post-op. The only thing that is a little painful right now is where my surgical bra cuts into my armpit area. I had nodes removed on both sides so it’s all a bit tender. I finally was brave enough to look at my breasts in the mirror tonight. I had TEs placed and the PS was able to fill them quite a bit. In fact they look bigger now than before surgery! But they look great. Much better than I ever imagined they could only one week after BMX.
My pathology report was not what I was hoping for. All cancer in the breast and sentinel node was dead after chemo, but I still had 4/7 positive nodes. So my prognosis is not as good as it would have been had all the nodes been negative. Trying to stay positive, but it’s been hard.
Hoping to get my drains out either Monday or Wednesday, and then it’s onto radiation and hormone therapy.
0
