March 2020 Surgery Group
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PMML, isn't it nice to have the surgery behind you! Just take it easy. It gets a little better every day!
addysgram, those injections sound awful. Kinda glad that's not the method they used for me. Hope you continue to do well. It's interesting that you mentioned having hot flashes. I've had a few since my surgery as well and I thought those were a thing of the past. I would guess I haven't had any for the last year or so until now.
Grma4pooklie, will be sending thoughts and prayers your way. It will be over before you know it! Aren't daughters the best?
Now for my GOOD NEWS! My pathology report showed clean margins on the removed tumor and clean lymph nodes! Found out they removed 4 nodes. I'm so relieved! Now they will do the Oncotype testing so I will have to wait 2-3 weeks for those results. But it's such a relief to hear that everything was clear. Whew!
Hoping you all get good reports as well!
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pjb61 that is such amazing news! I broke down in tears of relief when my BS called with good news on the path report. One more box good box to check
I believe I asked the question somewhere in this thread but I don’t think I received any opinions... many people around me are getting hysterical about coronavirus and some are staring to say that I should postpone my surgery, but postpone to when is the question? I had my lumpectomy on 1/29 (with clean margins) so that part is done, it’s the BMX that is scheduled for next week. I REALLY don’t want to postpone as I’m sure all of you understand, I just want this saga to move forward but people are starting to drive me crazy. Any thoughts from the crew that actually understands what it feels like to be in this situation?
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Doggielover73 - I am right there with you. My surgery is scheduled for Friday and I am so nervous about the Coronavirus. 2 just tested positive for the virus in Michigan near me. I am able to work from home and I am not leaving my house until the day of surgery. Stockpiled items for quarantine since we know it is coming. Kids may be coming home if their university closes. I am going ahead with surgery and will just have to take extra EXTRA precautions when going to my post-op appointment and visits for saline fills. Not excited about having to spend the night in the hospital but it is what it is. It is stressful enough going through this!
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pjb61 - congratulations on the good news!!
Safe and Doggielover - I thought about you ladies who are facing surgery and this coronavirus outbreak. I think everything will be okay with your surgery! My surgery was a week ago but I know I would still go through it no matter what!
I mentioned earlier that I was struggling mentally with this BMX and the TEs especially. Yesterday, I was probably at my lowest point and my sister, who is a nurse, told me to do one chore around the house that would not exceed my limitations given to me by the doctor. I did that and what a difference it made! Like night and day! I’m so much better and getting around a lot better as a result.
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Sage and Doggielover, no one can say what you should do, but I know that I'd go forward and not even hesitate. I'm going to the hospital for two appointments just today--no hesitancy. And Sage, I wrote a post about staying the night in the hospital. I think it's a good thing. I live alone so it's an even better thing. But keep in mind, they do EVERYthing for you--that's to be enjoyed. I got sick to my stomach a few times later in the evening--probably because I was so hungry that I ate an hour after I got to the room. To happen at the hospital is way better than at home.
Has anyone in this group had a reduction on one side to match the lumpectomy side? I ask because it's been three weeks and the reduction/lift side is still really hard and feels engorged. Anyone out there that's had a reduction and/or lift?
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JLBinPDX, I had a lumpectomy with a bilateral lift/reduction (and am having a NSM next Wednesday, that’s,why I needed the lift, lol) I was definitely still very hard/firm at 3 weeks. Now they feel normal and look a lot better than before surgery! As they were healing they kinda went from numb, to nerve pain, to sore like when you have your period. You were lucky you were able to stay the night after your first surgery, that wasn’t really even an option for me.
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I had my exchange surgery this past Friday and it was in the back of my mind (still a 4 hour surgery), but I’m glad I did it. I’m sure they are taking precautions.
And you ladies that had a BMX with expanders, I feel the lightest I’ve felt (even though I’ve gained weight) with my implants. It’s worth it all in the end. Those expanders were awful, but you’ll get through it
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jlb, i live alone too. Had lumpectomy and bilateral reduction 3 years ago, then xrt to rt. So my xrt breast shrunk a bit after that, but both have always been soft and squishy. now I'm going in for bMx next Thursday. I think this recovery will be harder. The reduction and lumpectomy was a breeze - not much pain. Pretty functional a few days after. But this time they need to scrape some of my pec bc the cancer is deep and then the expanders. And the nodes. Gah.
good luck to everyone waiting with me! And for those recovering - please continue to post how you are doing and if you have any advice. love to all 🥰🥰🥰0 -
Thanks JLBpin, it certainly has been a decision from heck, trying to do what's best for ME.
My dr gave me a website to check out for women who chose NOT to reconstruct, breastfree.org, it has been helpful!
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Yesterday I met with the breast surgeon, for a second opinion at the Breast Center. She was super informative and gave me a lot of detail on the type of cancer I have and the prognosis. She's pretty confident it is contained to the one tumor. Although, until it's out and she tests the nodes we won't know 100%. Once it's out that will determine whether I need chemo and/or radiation. She gave me all the options, pros and cons of each procedure. I chose to do a double mastectomy and get it all gone with no chance of dealing with this ever again. No more tests, no more mammograms, mri's or biopsies. She said recovery is 2 weeks then back to normal activity (or as much as you want). I am not doing reconstruction at this time. But may opt for it at a later time. The reconstruction I am looking at is using my own stomach tissue to create a breast. That recovery is 12 weeks post-surgical recovery and 3 months to get back to normal. (ain't got no time for that!) So now I wait for a date for surgery. They are supposed to get me in this month. Let's get this over with so I can move on with my life!
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can I vent here??
My last period was in November - it lasted 3 weeks. I was hoping it was done and kinda giddy with the thought that it was over. Bmx is scheduled for next week. And surprise!! I got period today. Ugh, now I have to start the clock over again. Fingers crossed this one doesn’t last 3 weeks. I can’t imagine being postop and dealing with this!!
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Annoyingboob, life seems to continue as do the challenges of our lives even during breast cancer. It seems like all other challenges should just suspend themselves for the months of treatment, at the very least. Venting here sometimes helps so vent all you want. We get it. Some days it's just a "what the hell are you thinking, life, don't you think I have enough to handle right now!!!" Sometimes just yelling, even through the keyboard, helps a bit.
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2girls1boy - glad you had the consult that helped make the decision. I am 10 days post BMX w/reconstruction and I have to remind myself that the breast tissue with cancer is gone! What a good feeling! Good luck with your surgery!
annoyingboob - Sorry that your period showed back up! I almost celebrate every hot flash hoping that it’s a sign I am done with that
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Anyone mind if I vent too? I have had several medical opinions about surgery with corona virus and have been told by a few that any non essential surgery should be cancelled. Problem is my surgery is not black and white, it is gray. I had the lumpectomy in January so the “cancer is out” however, my BMX is considered treatment and not necessarily elective since I am having this rather than radiation. No one knows what to tell me. Hospital is also cancelling non-essential surgeries, but since I am in the gray area it isn’t an easy decision. I have to make the decision by Monday. The BS said the longest we should push back is 2-4 weeks. I doubt anything will even be better by then! I just don’t feel capable of making
One. More. Decision. ☹️
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So glad to see there is a March surgery thread! I'm actually NOT a newbie. Breastcancer.org was my lifeline when I was diagnosed in June 2006, at the age of 45, with a 2 centimeter IDC tumor. They wanted me to have the big guns because my Mom had bc. I am BRACA 1/2 negative. I had lumpectomy- (nodes clear), chemo and radiation.
Fast forward almost 14 years...I bee-bopped into my annual mammogram end of January with the utmost confidence because thankfully bc is a distant memory for me. I'm actually so far out I never look at this site anymore and I had to create a whole new account as I could not remember my username
The radiologist saw suspicious calcifications near my lumpectomy site. All of the diagnostic tests (CNB, MRI) show PLCIS. Good news is that it looks "in-situ" this time...bad news is the P stands for Pleomorphic which is the more aggressive type on LCIS. My breast surgeon said this is not a recurrence of my previous IDC. I just seemed to have drawn the short straw twice. PLCIS is treated more like DCIS than LCIS.
If I was a first timer and this was my diagnosis, this would most likely be a lumpectomy for me. That would not leave much left on my right side. I made the decision -peace of mind for me, and my family, to go ahead with a skin sparing BMX with expanders. I'm scheduled March 24th. Praying that they don't find anything hiding that the MRI did not pick up because there is always a chance that the diagnosis can be upstaged. Reconstruction hopefully in July.
Honestly I'm just trying to get over being MAD. I have always loved to work out and I had to have shoulder surgery last May due to a torn rotator cuff and bicep tendon. I rehabbed all last summer. I finally got the clear in August to resume slowly and then whammo...
So...I know it's doable and there is a light at the end of the tunnel...I know that I am surrounded by incredible blessings....but honestly I think if I hear one more time that I am a "warrior" and I am "so strong" I am going to hide out at my house for a while...oh wait aren't we supposed to do that anyway with an unprecedented pandemic health crisis?
...Just trying to inject a little humor as that is how I got through my 2006 experience.
Before signing off this novel of a thread response- the latest funny- someone told me I should watch the show "Botched" because then I would be sure to know the questions to ask my plastic surgeon. Yep...she was serious.
So "Sisters" I can't say I am glad to be back again...but I can say it is comforting to know that the support is still here because I know I will need it in the days ahead!
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mmtexas- it’s my second time here, too. But I’m just 3 yrs out. In a way I’m less stressed, bc I know how things are and the torture of waiting for results, etc... I just want to get the surgery done with and self quarantine at home. This Thursday can’t come soon enough!!
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Scheduling called today and asked if I had any conflicts with dates for surgery. HECK NO! I am sitting around twiddlin my thumbs waiting for the day to come! Sooner the better! So at least that's good news things are moving forward.
@ doggie lover I am worried they will cancel mine as well, since it's "non-essential" - I don't know how much more waiting I can take.
I don't have anxiety but this whole process and over-thinking has been on edge like unreal. Can't sleep, can't eat. Stress is totally getting to me!
@ mmtexasaggie, this is EXACTLY one of the reasons I opted for a bilateral mastectomy! I want a one and done!
Oh yes, I know my period is gonna come next week! Hopefully done before my surgery I can't imagine dealing with that crap at the same time! Talk about a beating on the ole body and hormones!
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Just checking in 5 days post lumpectomy and sentinel node removal. I haven’t had much pain - it’s a little itchy today. The nurse came today to change the dressings and questioned whether it was even worth putting new ones on as there was nothing on the dressings. She put new ones on but one has peeled off already leaving the surgical strips only. Feels fine though.
I’ve gone back to sleeping on my right side (left breast affected), sometimes on my right side and on my stomach!
I’ve had no trouble lifting or stretching. In fact, it seems to have been too easy. Really I’m waiting for the drama - my life is never without it! I’ll have an appointment with the breast clinic in just over a week so maybe that’s when the drama will start
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@annoyingboob- I totally get what you mean about the stress being less because I've been through this before. Good luck with your surgery on Thursday!
@2girlz1boy- Good deal that you are making a decision that feels right for you...that is so incredibly important! I know that at the time a lumpectomy made sense for me. For a couple of seconds I thought about the "what if" I'd gotten a double mastectomy at the time....then I realized it's wasted time and I only need to look forward. I will tell you the past almost 14 years I have seen my kids graduate high school, college, get married and now I'm looking forward to my third grandson coming in April!
This is just another detour I did not expect, but I'm ready, like all of you I'm sure, to move on and find the new normal.
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PMML So glad this has been an “Easy” process for you, although none of this is really easy, is it?
2girlz1boy, when did they schedule your date for? I agree, just want to get his done and over with.
How is everyone else doing? Those of you that had surgeries recently, are you limiting visitors?
Mmtexasaggie3, I’m sorry your back but I’m sure we can all learn from your experience. Do you know when you are having your surgery
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mmtexasaggi…, I, too, am back here for the second time. I had triple negative bc in 2017--four months of chemo, a lumpectomy, and then radiation. I now, 2 1/2 years late, have a new primary but, thankfully, it isn't triple negative and it's only 1.1 and stage 1, grade 2. I had a lumpectomy three weeks ago and am now awaiting oncotype results to see if chemo is recommended--which is very unlikely.
I, too lived my life in between and I'm thankful for that. Yes, I was stunned as well, but that's worth just living my life in between without constant worry of recurrance. I feel blessed that I was able to gradually put my 2017 cancer behind me and just be happy and live my life (with a few new blessings that came along with cancer). To me, as well, this feels like a "detour" and not a whole lot more than that. I look at this as my burden and challenge--everyone has some from time to time, this stupid breast cancer is just mine for awhile. And, honestly, it's been so much easier to manage and deal with this time. I knew just an hour or two after the shock that this was something I could handle. My "new normal" after my first cancer was better than my previous normal. I expect nothing less this time.
Julie
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@doggielover- thank you! Surgery is scheduled for Tuesday March 24th. Thinking reconstruction will be sometime in July.
I would be happy to share any of my experiences. I found all of my previous treatments to be tolerable- chemo, radiation and 5 years of tamoxifen. I worked at my job and worked out through it all. Good nutrition is key. At least at the time I went through this my oncologist didn’t talk about that at all and actually was not happy when I told her I was working with a naturopath. (He works with doctors at Stanford to help patients through chemo). I just basically quit talking about it to her.... but my bloodwork every chemo infusion was really good- my oncologist was always amazed. Go figure....
Anyway I do want to tell you all that have had or are getting a lumpectomy to not be surprised if your scar is tender for a long, long time.
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My "new normal" after my first cancer was better than my previous normal. I expect nothing less this time.
Julie, I love that!! This is my first (and hopefully only) BC experience but I truly hope my new normal is better than my previous normal! That’s what I’m working towards
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So we just got word today our schools are closing for 2 weeks to a month. This seriously worries me. I am self employed and orders are being cancelled rapidly, I will not be able to pay my staff, let alone keep my business open during all this.
On TOP of dealing with the friggin C!
Talk about stress!
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Hello all! I had my surgery on mar 11th and have been back home since the 12th. Had a uni mastectomy with deip flap reconstruction. All 5 nodes removed were cancer free. It's been such an easy go of things until I think I yanked something around my incision/nipple. Now any kind of pulling or shifting when I stand up is excruciating! I have to hold my boob up and tight to keep the pain at bay. Has anyone had any luck with pain creams? Lidocaine? Anything? My nurse just said it was my nipple sensation coming back but I think she's not understanding the pain I'm feeling.
Also, had the vacuum sealed pump that kept my abdominal incision nice and tight. It's since been removed (along with an unexpected Brazilian, if you get my drift) and swelling is under control with no pain in that region. Amazing what they can do! I got a flat tummy and a new belly fat boob that looks really nice! Highly recommend if they're going to only cute a scant few inches of muscles to harvest veins.
I'm open to talking to anyone about my experience or answer questions! Hit me up. Wishing the best for us all!
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Hello everyone!
I had my mastectomy/lymph node surgery Friday the 13th and came home that afternoon.
I won't see the surgeon until Thursday. The tight bandage around my chest is so constricting, it's hard to take deep breaths. And I now have bruising around it and under my arm. Is this typical?
Am calling the doctor today, but is it okay to put ice packs on it? That's my pain go-to, but thought I had read that we shouldn't use ice if we have drains in place.
Very hard to sleep with the discomfort and last night I was thinking there's no way I can make it until Thursday.
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hello everyone. Had my surgery as planned Friday the 13th. One night stay in a room similar to the surgery prep room with about 15 other short-term recovery patients separated by sheets. Glad I had the one night stay because the binder they put me in was slightly too small and put too much pressure on my breasts and was doing more harm than good. They were worried it was causing a seroa which would require another operation. Switched to a larger one that i had to wear for 48 hours. That was like a torture devise and I was so glad to get it removed Sunday night. Now in a surgical cami which is much more comfy. Abc54321 - hang in there. The binder is supposed to hurt. In the end, it will help with swelling. Bruising is normal... I have tons. I am super SUPER sore. My procedure was not skin or nipple sparing and under pectoral placement of expanders. They were able to do my first fill during the surgery so I have an intense amount of pressure. To me it feels like I was I was in a car accident and my chest hit the steering wheel. I so want to use ice and/or heating pad but my plastic surgeon said both were a no-no. So I use my meds regularly and use a heating pad on my lower back only. Don't know what I would do without that especially for sleep.
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Hi all, despite all the chaos in the world today, they did not cancel my appointment with plastic surgery yesterday. YAY!
I have said from day one I don't want reconstruction. I don't want a foreign 'thing' inside me. It creeps me out. I was leaning toward do the recon with my own body tissue but didn't have enough information to make an educated decision.
My Dr. was very informative and very reassuring with all the procedures. Since I am not sure about reconstruction she suggested putting in fillers until I decide, that keeps the space avail. Apparently they are little water balloons (my analogy) they fill up to the cup size you want and stay in there until you decide what you want. So basically if I want to do ANY recon at all I have to do this part anyway.
The good news is she's doing a nipple sparing mastectomy. So one incision in the underside of my boob, and she usually makes it so the breast dr can get at the nodes thru the same one. So no added incision.
Basically I'm looking at it as a trial boobs, lol. We'll see if I like them and if I can deal with fake 'things' inside me.
Apparently if I want silicon ones they just pop these out and pop the real ones in lickity split.
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I am sitting at home with two grumpy ass teenagers whose social life has bee ruined by C-19 since school has been cancelled til April 27. I have self-quarantined (uhum, 'social-distancing' for those hat are offended by that term) myself from my work. I am self employed so I can work from home. Right now I am not sure that's lucky or a curse! LOL
Man o man, the complaining and moaning and groaning! They don't even realized the stress and anxiety I am under with dealing with the big C in my boob and waiting for surgery. I am scared as hell and their worried about not seeing their friends!
This is all BEFORE surgery! After surgery this will be more fun right? bahahahaha, maybe the meds will help with that!
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Hi all.
It’s now been 10 days since surgery and I think it all hurts more now then it did to start with! Probably because while I am sleeping I am stretching out my arm and pulling on the stitches. Oh how I wish I could sleep on my back and perfectly still! If you can stay sleeping in a recliner or propped upright, do it! I went back to work this week but left at lunchtime yesterday and am staying home today. I’m too tired and want to “wear” an ice pack all day
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