August 2020 Surgery Group
Alrighty so I couldn't find a group already made if there is one ill delete this post but I searched with search bar and nothing..
Anyways, I'm brca 2 positive and going with a preventative double mastectomy with immediate diep reconstruction. Was diagnosed two years ago but I chickened out on surgery then but im much more prepared now.
My double mastectomy is scheduled for August 21st and diep reconstruction the 25th of August. Waiting on more info such as pre op appointment and plans as to if they will have me leave after double mastectomy and return for reconstruction or what their plan is since the two are days apart. Dates are tentative but mostly just the double mastectomy day i think because they want to try to get the dates closer together but BS only is in OR on Friday. But anyways, finally have my date.
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Damn... auto correct messed up my topic lol and idk how to delete or change top. Lol..
Alrighty so I couldn't find a group already made if there is one ill delete this post but I searched with search bar and nothing..
Anyways, I'm brca 2 positive and going with a preventative double mastectomy with immediate diep reconstruction. Was diagnosed two years ago but I chickened out on surgery then but im much more prepared now.
My double mastectomy is scheduled for August 21st and diep reconstruction the 25th of August. Waiting on more info such as pre op appointment and plans as to if they will have me leave after double mastectomy and return for reconstruction or what their plan is since the two are days apart. Dates are tentative but mostly just the double mastectomy day i think because they want to try to get the dates closer together but BS only is in OR on Friday. But anyways, finally have my date.
Edit: Pre op/admission is scheduled for August 11th at 11:15 am. Says will take about 1.5 hours. Physical exam, blood tests, and a chest xray/ekg will be done.
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Hi Ekojio—
Mind if I join you! My lumpectomy/ies are scheduled August 21–for now anyway. I'm glad you have some dates on the calendar, even if tentative. I know it's made me feel a bit more settled.
My surgeon did say my date could get postponed due to COVID depending on the spread of the virus and whether hospitals again need to limit services to just emergencies. So that uncertainty remains unfortunately.
I've yet to get my genetic testing results (just rec'd the kit yesterday) and still awaiting path report from two recent biopsies. Hoping my surgical plan will remain the same.
Please let me hear how it goes for you. Do you have help at home for after your surgeries?
Best,
R
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Hey we go same day!
And i kind of have help at home after. My boyfriend will be coming. My brother maybe... my boss from my job offered lol but I have to not feel weird about that still because I know she just wants to help. And hopefully getting visiting nurses to help. I got my pre op date today so that helps me a little. I wish i had more help at home but my family is so distant..
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I am joing the group! I am scheduled for bilateral DIEP/ modified free tram on August 24th!
Complicated reconstruction history: I had BMX with direct to implant on the left side way back in 2014 and tissue expander on the right (skin on that side was intimately associated with the cancer so they had to take too much skin to do direct). In 2015 I had my exchange on the right and I got a bad post op infection and that implant extruded and I had open wound packing for 6 months
Needless to say I have been nervous about more surgery and also had another baby in 2018 
But lefty has been having issues with repeated cellulitis and now a heterogeneous lump that looks benign, so with all the concerns about textured implants my remaining implant is coming out and bilateral flap reconstruction it is.So I am excited but also nervous. My mom will come from 2 provinces over for the first 2 weeks (I will be in hospital for the 1st 5 of those days) and take care of my 9 year old daughter and 28 month old son. I am hoping the drains will be out before she leaves. They won't delay cancer surgeries here, and because they don't know what that lump is they coded me as possibly cancer related so off to the races we go.
Trying to find a power recliner rental but just might by one to keep on wayfair.
Great to meet you, will be cheering you on up here in Canada!
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Canada oh wow! Good luck with everything. I think its exciting we are all having surgeries around the same dates. How is covid in Canada? I dont really hear much about it..
I'm asking because my inpatient pre op appointment was just changed to a phone call lol.. not sure how they do a physical exam over a phone. Doesn't say video just call..
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I wrote a big response and it dissapeared:(
Anyway Canada is doing okay with Covid. Our Prime Minister's wife was one of the first cases back in March after returning from Europe so our leadership took the threat very seriously. Most of our early cases were traced back to US travel and we realize now that we should have closed the border sooner. We love our American neighbors and miss travel, but we simply can't open up yet and implode our public health system. We have reopened almost everything except nightclubs but maintain physical distancing requirements and have seen a small but concerning increase in our caseload in the last 2 weeks. Mandatory masking for indoor public places is starting to become policy in most large cities. Comparatively we are recording about 8% of USA cases when divided per capita. Our hearts are with you all and we are hoping things settle down for your country soon.
I have had virtual pre-OP appointments. They mostly did all my measurements and markings 20 minutes before I got on the table last time I had surgery so I don't think you will miss anything with a phone call.
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hiya ladies,
My surgery is planned for 11th August, have various appointments for next week as surgeon is going to do an ALND at the same time, with radiation to follow then reconstruction in about 6 months or so. Cant say I am looking forward to it, but hey ho it is what it is. The reason for this treatment plan is even though i have responded extremely well to chemo, I presented with possible IBC and they are treating me as if it was.
With regards to appointment so far all of mine have been in person since covid started, and havn't had the joy of a teleone.... for some reason they always want to see me at 9am..... when you finally get to sleep for a few hours at 5am in the morning 9am appointments are sheer evil incarnate
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Hello!
My preventative (BRCA2) bilateral mastectomy is scheduled for Aug 4th, so I'd also like to join this group. So far, all I have left to do is a little shopping and then covid testing (8/1) and self isolation until my surgery.
Has anyone else's surgeon suggested using Arnica Montana to reduce/relieve swelling and bruising? My PS has been very thorough, including a 2.5 hour seminar for patient and caregiver, which included nutrition, an Excel spreadsheet to keep track of meds and an appreciation for the caregivers.
Good luck everyone - we are in this together!
~Valerie
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Hello
I wish i had more info on my surgery stuff. I have a small notebook full of questions. I was thinking my pre op appointment would answer them but it has been switched to a 30 min phone call now lol. I think I'm going to see BS before surgery as they gave me a folder a month or so ago that needs to have a paper filled out by them still... but with covid I'm not sure. Going to call tomorrow to find out. Hopefully I can get more information like your PS gave you. Are you having reconstruction too? Or going flat? You will be our first august surgery goer so definitely keep us posted.
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Hi Ekojio,
I decided to reconstruct, so expanders first and implants in about 6 months.
The seminar really stressed getting enough protein to help heal... like, try for 150 grams a day. (I'll use My Fitness Pal to keep track of that.)
Good luck, ask as many questions as you have - we all 'own' our own recovery. We've got this!
Happy Friday and have a great weekend.
~Valerie
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Hey all!
I have my double mastectomy with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction scheduled for Tuesday, August 4th! Yikes!!
I completed all my Pre-Op appointments, including a COVID test, yesterday. (Negative, thank God!) My BS gave me Impact shakes to drink.....3 a day for 5 days before the surgery. Blah....they are horrid, lol!
......but they are supposed to help in recovery and prevent infection. If they do their job, it's worth the disgusting taste!
I've had plenty of surgeries in the past, so I'm okay with that.....but I am so apprehensive about how I will look afterwards. I keep staring at my breasts and body in the mirror, thinking I will NEVER look like this again. *sigh*
And thanks to COVID, I am not allowed to have anyone with me, the entire stay. (I am scheduled to be discharged Friday, August 7th) My husband can come with me into the Pre-Op area, where I will get ready for surgery, but that is it. After that, I won't see him again until the day I am discharged, at the curb, when he drives in to pick me up. Honestly, this is the worst part! I have been alone this entire cancer "journey".....chemo and Herceptin.....and now this surgery. It's hard. I am TIRED of fighting alone. Yes, I know I am not alone.....I do have the support of family and friends.....but when you are alone for every appointment and procedure.....you sure feel alone.
Anyway.....I'm looking forward to getting to know you ladies. (((((Hugs)))) I pray that all of our surgeries are a great success and recovery is smooth!0 -
welcome etnasgirl- I am wondering what the impact drink is? A protein shake? My doctor hasn't said anything about diet, but I have been upping my protein anyway so it sounds like a good idea
Thanks for the tip!0 -
clarn.....It's a immunonutrition drink called "Impact Advanced Recovery" made by Nestle.
I hear that they are a bit pricey, but I don't know. My BS gave me a carton of them when I came in for my Pre-Op appointment. I'm sure she billed my insurance for them, so we'll see if it's covered.
They are small, 6oz containers and I am supposed to drink one three times per day, for 5 days before surgery, and 5 days after. According to the labeling, it is "a unique blend of nutrients to support recovery after major surgery - protein, omega-3 fatty acids and nucleotides,"
All I know is that the taste is awful.....think of very thick fish oil....UGH!.....but....it it does what it says it will do, it's worth it!0 -
Thanks! I have never heard of it
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I guess I am now a part of the August Surgery Group. I have a bi-lateral lumpectomy scheduled for Aug 19. Per biopsy I have idc grade 2 and DCIS on left side, and a Radial Scar/Sclerosing lesion on the Right. I was ready to go nuclear on this and do a double mast, but surgeon talked me off the ledge. She said give the small tumor size (< 1cm on u/s) and great markers (E + 100%, P + 90%, HER2 -), that lumpectomy + rads and AI after would give me just as good a recurrance potential as going big. She also basically intimated that with COVID 19, if you can avoid the hospital that would be much preferable. She implied the additional risk of being in hospital now just is not worth the risk unless you have no choice.
I am not sorry that I get to keep the girls, but it would be kind of nice if she could take a little extra out of lefty and reshape it so they both match! Lefty is much closer to a D than a C but righty is a C.
Do many women find they need a reconstruction after lumpectomy? Do they end up looking funny or should they heal so they look fairly normai again?
I hope all goes well for everyone this month.
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I just wanted to say good luck and prayers to everyone who has had or is going to have surgery tomorrow. (Err today the 4th)
Really wish I could update the group title to say August lol but I'm glad we all know what I meant haha..
I really need to look into more info about cancer i feel like because a lot of posts have info on their cancer and I have no idea what they are talking about but I'm glad everyone is doing well.
Lastly, next Tuesday I will be talking to my 3 boys about my surgery. 10, 6, 3. The 3 year old won't know or understand much but the two oldest are super smart and I have decided to read the children's book about mommy getting a double mastectomy i borrowed from the library. As well as go into a little detail about cancer, my breasts, and the reason I am having surgery. As I don't have cancer but strong family history as well as brca 2 pos I want them to understand mommy is doing this to prevent cancer from causing mommy any problems shall I have got diagnosed with it.. any tips would be nice as well..
My BS office is slacking on surgery.. I called today for a note for court and shes like.. is there a date? Oh there is, ok.. have we discussed xyz with you? No? Oh my gosh I'm so sorry... but we will schedule to see you next Tuesday to go over everything it will be ok.. lol.. ok.. im already paranoid doing this alone basically and now feel like BS office is slacking.. but yea.. hope everyone is doing well and anyone who has had a surgery already please keep us updated.
Courtney
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Hey there August group! All the good vibes to those having their procedure done today 💙. I am scheduled for a prophylactic mastectomy of my left breast on August 20th. I am hoping to be able to go direct to implant. The date is actually the day before the 2 year anniversary of my diagnosis. I was supposed to have the surgery in May, but covid☹️. I am almost more nervous for this surgery than the mastectomy for my cancer. I just hope my skin is in good shape for the implant. Just trying to get things done around the house before then!
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Well, my surgery has been rescheduled for August 20th.
Apparently, the ICU has reached 50% of it's patients as COVID patients. Once it reaches 50%, they do not want non-COVID, surgery patients in the ICU. Since I have to spend my first night in the ICU, my surgery had to be rescheduled.
UGH!!
I just gotten my mind to a good place about this surgery and now I have to wait. It's caused quite an emotional toll and I just want to be DONE. This all seems so never ending.
First, the unexpected blow of a second diagnosis, then having to go through chemo alone thanks to COVID, and now this. Not to mention, Herceptin for another 7 months. What a year.0 -
Oh no etnasgrl! I was expecting to read a comment about how your surgery went not that it got post poned. On the bright side our surgeries are close to same date now with same procedures so we can discuss things more commonly going on.
Covid cases are going up here.. i hope hospitals don't go up in patients because ill be probably getting delayed surgery too. I blame it on the beaches. Only thing that really changed with cases. That and I guess summer with more gatherings. So much for RI doing the best. The governor can't even move us past phase 3 which was supposed to happen couple weeks ago.
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I'm in a better mood now, lol! I was SO frustrated the other day, when my surgery was rescheduled. I'm over it now.....it is what it is....and am moving forward with a positive spirit. (As positive as possible, I suppose, lol!)
Yep, Ekojio, our surgery dates are real close now. I really am looking forward to sharing this "experience" with you and talking about how we're doing. I know that will be a big help!0 -
Hello!
I'm on the other side of surgery now (8/4). Everything went as planned - I had PBMx with tissue expanders. Stayed one night in hospital, and have been recovering at home since Wednesday.
A couple of things that have definitely helped me: 1) a travel neck pillow to sleep more comfortably in the recliner ( I tried using a regular pillow, but I couldn't keep it in position) 2) a nail apron from building materials store to hold the drains. The nurses at the hospital pinned them to my bra strap, which kept them out of the way, but made it harder to empty. With the nail apron, there was a lot more room to empty, and my husband and I could empty them together. 3) a picker-upper thing. It hurts to bend over to pick anything up off the floor. 4) The spreadsheet given to me by the nurse to check off medications to take at breakfast, lunch and dinner.
My surgeon wants me to take 6 weeks off from work (I do computer work), so I'm on short term disability. Trying to focus on getting enough protein (trying for 150 grams per day!), resting and staying on top of pain management.
I did get my pathology report (over the phone) - they found LCIS, ADH and ALH, so it ends up a good thing I did this! I'll go over the whole report with the breast surgeon on 9/1.
Next steps for me are finding out when the first drains will come out... hopefully sometime next week!
I hope everyone is doing well, staying safe, and keeping positive thoughts!
Best wishes to you all!
~Valerie
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I got diagnosed on July 27- hvg a lumpectomy w sentinel node on Aug 20th. No family history- lots and lots of cysts bilaterally- that IS familial.
Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, ER+ PR+ Her2 - super slow growing, well differentiated, no apparent adenopathy. so all that is good.
I lost 45lbs (on purpose) this year mostly in my breasts. When the Covid hit & the gyms closed we got a rower to keep active so I'd been rowing. One of the cysts on my left got really big and was super painful. They had me come in person rather than telemed so they could check it out. They sent me for a mamo & an US just to confirm they were all cysts and to schedule an US guided aspiration. My breasts are officially "very dense" so mamos dont see much. I pointed out a firm lump the size of my thumb above my breast to the radiologist - I honestly thought it was either a rib or a muscle from rowing and I even felt stupid pointing it out. She scanned it & said she wanted me to come back for a biopsy of that lump. I went in for the biopsy and aspiration. I wasnt worried. I figured it would be benign. No one on either side of my family has had Breast CA just lots of benign cysts. They had posted the inital results from the mamo & US to my My Health Online results section and like an idiot I read it- they described it as BiRads 5, which, like a bigger idiot I googled. That left me with 2 days of totally freaking out. oh my god. that was awful.
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I am having my lumpectomy on 8/12. Wish me luck!
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Good luck July!!
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Good Luck July152020!
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I had an MRI this morning and got a call from the surgeon that there were things found in my other breast so now I have to get another US guided biopsy on Friday on THAT breast- now I'm looking at my 08/20 lumpectomy becoming a double mastectomy. I feel like someone pushed me over the lip of an iced over super steep double black diamond and I'm just trying to get an edge in and there's no way to slow down like I just have to steel myself to get safely to the bottom. Now I've got to revise my leave request and for how long? I'm sure they can find adequate staffing for the clinic but now it's short notice amd I may be out much longer and how kuch do I tell my manager?? When can I get back to the physical acitivities I do? Will this affect my ability to play the piano? Should I record all my difficult pieces now with an expectation I'll never be able to play them as well again? Considering all of 2020 has been a surreal parallel universe, I'm having a truly difficult time processing all this. My conversation with my son (13) was going to be "not a big deal" but now I don't know what to tell him- especially with the first day of school coming up on 08/21 and thats all up in the air too -will they even be going back or will it be another semester of online homeschooling? Too much. too much. this is probably the wrong forum to post this, but i am hvg an august surgery.
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RBC- so sorry that it's one more thing you don't get to make a choice about. I am 6 years out from mine and switching out my implant for a flap reconstruction. But yes, your piano playing abilities will be just fine after the initial few weeks and you will be able to do everything you do now (if you get implants they do feel really weird under your pecs when you do pushups but some surgeons are placing them above the muscle now too).
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Hi ladies,
Well i had my surgery as planned 8/11, stayed overnight in the hospital, which was awful, didnt help that the anesthesia made me cranky, minimal pain, have some numbness, and the drains are fun o.0, not sure what to think of my poor chest at the moment will see how it is when its had some time to settle... I was up and about a couple hours after surgery, and am reminding myself that even if its all numb and dont hurt it doesnt mean i should be doing stuff.
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RBC I am so sorry you got the additional challenging news.
Do you have a therapist?I have one, new in April due to other life stress, and have found her to be helpful now with this dx.I definitely relate to what you’re saying. I hope you have good friends you can talk to and help lift you into a place of more hope.
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We are surgery buddies. August 11th was my lumpectomy with reduction and lift. No implant.
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