June 2021 Surgeries
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Hi Imhere,
I was sorry to hear that the margin was not clear. I know what you mean about the drive. I can see how that distance would not be ideal every day. I too will need radiation and have just begun to look into a different radiation center than the one to which I was initially referred. It's farther away by about ten miles but seems to have newer options, including a few that are shorter radiation techniques and do not last for weeks. I have not had my consultation there yet and don't know if I am even a candidate for the shorter radiation therapies, but I wonder if any of those might be available to you where you live. I know you'll have a new set of decisions to make in the coming months and I hope that your preference becomes clearer to you as you think through it.
Blessings to you,
Esther
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New to this site, but started reading yesterday evening & already found great information & support. Surgery on June 16. 2 days or 48 hours from now. Lumpectony & Sentinel lymph node dissection on the left breast. It's getting real.
My biggest worry right now is do I have the right type of bras for after? Bought some non underwire bras this weekend in my normal size. I tested it by wearing it to sleep in. It was ok to a little snugger than I'd like for sleeping. So, with swelling, I think it might be too tight? Or, am I supposed to have a good amount of compression on the area?
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Eviec1 - What's wire marking? I'm also having a lumpectomy & my surgeon hasn't mentioned that.
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Looks like everyone that’s had their surgery has made it to the other side. Yay! It looks like I’m lucky I don’t have to worry much over margins and pathology. No great mystery over diagnosis for me. I’m done with chemo already. My surgery is next week.
MitG8, When I get to 48 hours, I’ll be climbing the walls. How are you dealing with it? I had my COVID test today. Tomorrow I go in for my pre-surgery labs and Friday I go for PT with the lymphedema specialist. Keeping busy helps I think. I bought a couple of sports bras, front zipper. I’m hoping that will work.
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MitiG8dNsaniT Not sure if they do it for all lumpectomies, or only some. My cancer was only detected through calcifications on a mammogram - there's no lump for them to look for or feel, so that might be why I needed the wire marking. If you have a lump the surgeon can see, maybe they don't do it? I really don't know.
But what they do is a specialist puts you in a mammogram compression and looks at the images which guide her to insert needles, then they thread these needles with wire. The wire creates a border around the lesion, so when the surgeon goes in, she knows what to take out (everything inside the wire markers). It's to help guide the surgeon to the right place and take it all out (although, in my case, it wasn't totally successful because I had a close margin, so the wire didn't accurately mark part of the border).
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Hi Miti,
Love your chosen name. That gave me a well needed chuckle.
As long as they cover you like a full sports bras (not a regular bra) to cover your entire breast area including an inch or two underneath and up under the armpits they should work. And yes, you will want compression on all of those areas, including the underarm. If they're just lightly snug now, they'll probably fit perfectly. I bought two at a size up, and one at my normal size, and I'm so swollen that I'm still wearing the larger ones with the bottom two eyelets unlatched. I'm grateful for the compression. Either my underarm is more swollen this morning or maybe the numbness is passing because now I'm feeling the discomfort and swelling. I will see my doctor on Wednesday. Looking forward to making sure all is well.
Evie will weigh in on the wire marking too, but I suspect they don't tell us about it so as to not overwhelm us. Sometimes it's done at the beginning of surgery when you're already asleep. For me, they had me arrive early for it. It was the same doctor who originally biopsied me at the beginning of this adventure. He numbs the area with anesthetic and then they put in a very tiny wire (I never felt it or saw it because they bandage over it right away). It sticks out a tiny bit from the skin (so I am told) and you won't feel it. They then take a gentle mammogram of that spot for the surgeon to see. Well, I assume it was gentle because the numbing helped with the mammogram. The wire guides the surgeon exactly to your tumor spot.
If they schedule you for "lymphatic mapping," that's the one to prepare for. I would ask your dr. to prescribe EMLA cream right away so you can numb your breast one to two hours prior and cover it with saran wrap in the meantime. I numbed it one hour prior and it worked fine.
Welcome Goldcity, it sounds like you are so much more prepared than I was. And, Congrats on getting past your chemo. That is such a huge milestone. You got a lymphedema specialist already, wow! Just this morning I realized I want to ask for a lymph node massage specialist and a prescription for an arm sleeve for flying.
You may want to add at least one sports bra with eyelets in front so you can open the bottom during the worst of the swelling. Just that little bit of extra breathing room has made me more comfortable and helps to sleep easier.
Now is a good time to pepper them with aftercare questions: Will they want you to ice or no ice? What kind of gauze pads will you need (nonstick dressings or regular gauze pads)? How long to use Neosporin/Bacitracin before switching to Aquafor? I wish I had asked these before surgery.
You're almost there!
Blessings,
Esther
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Good morning Evie,
That's a better description of it, for sure! I so wish they had something even more sensitive and maybe less intrusive so that we don't have to worry about margins in the future.
Blessings, Esther
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Seeing the lymphedema specialist before surgery is standard procedure for my surgeon. She’s the greatest. Very straight forward. She did my biopsy too. I’m fortunate my cancer clinic is only about a 50 min. drive each way. That’s the max I’m willing to drive for treatmen. I mentioned before (I deleted a bunch of my posts from earlier) that my surgery will be a single mastectomy with ”some lymph node removal”. No reconstruction. I’m advanced stage 3 with possible mets to lung.
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@Goldcity - I'm actually not too bothered by the surgery itself. I know I have a really great surgeon, and it's in her hands. I always worry about the after stuff. Do I have everything I need? Does this look normal? Am I doing everything correctly? I actually had a surgery class this morning that gave a lot of good information and answered those questions. My husband was furiously writing notes like, "Do NOT peel off your dermabond on your incision." He knows I tend to pick at things, so he's going to have all his notes ready to show me what the doctor's orders are. LOL.
Otherwise, yes. Stay busy with other things, even if it's organizing yourself & your house for after surgery. Good luck to you.
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Eviec1 - Thanks for the explanation. I also don't have a lump. It was caught very early. And, it was my very first mammogram! <--Can't decide if that meant I should have bought a lottery ticket or not. LOL.
I did have a biopsy though (actually 3), and when they did that, they placed a tiny titanium marker in each area. I remember them saying that it was so the surgeon would know where to cut, if I did need surgery. So, maybe she won't have to do the wire? Or, maybe the marker shows her where to wire it up. I guess I'll find out in about 39 hours...
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@Esther01 - Thanks for all the great info. They told us in surgery class today that they will provide the garment they want us to wear at home, and then we can transition to the sports type bra later. Apparently, I will be wearing basically a tube top that velcros in the front for awhile, which will be a first for me. LOL.
I am having sentinel lymph node dissection, which looks like is the same thing as "lymphatic mapping". Since my surgery is early Wednesday morning, I have to go get the injection for that tomorrow afternoon. They mentioned that it's 4 injections around the areola in the class today, which caught me off guard. So, thanks for the recommendation of the EMLA cream. I'll look into that.
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MitiG8dNsaniT That was the same for me - caught on my very first mammogram!
The metal chip from the biopsy is different - I got that, too, and it was taken out during surgery. So it's a separate matter. Which isn't to say that you will definitely need the wires - I'm not sure how they decide whether to do that or not.
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they don’t always use wires for localization. I got savi scout which is a tiny reflector. They insert it similarly to the way they do a core needle biopsy. It gets read with a handheld in the OR. You can do it before surgery vs. the day off.
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What helpful posts. You are all so inspiring. I didn't have any aftercare instructions before surgery, and kept being told I would be given that later. On Friday, the day after my lumpectomy/SLNB with removal of a few nodes, a nurse did call to check on me but emphatically said, no ice. Well, how do I keep swelling down then? Thank God for the sports bra. Who knows how swollen I would be without it.
MsMonster, thanks for reminding me! I got both a Savi Scout seed (nonradioactive) and the lymphatic mapping injection dye (radioactive). I asked for two Savi scouts and no dye but it turns out when your tumor and the involvement in the nodes are very close to one another, they can only place one seed. So, I ended up with one Savi seed and one dye. (And yes, the original metal biopsy seed was still somewhere in there as well). I can't wait to wash that radioactive dye out of my tissues with a chelation treatment from my integrative MD but that's a post for the integrative/alternative forum. I pray each of you who are still preparing for surgery will only need a Savi scout. As for me, I think I was so ready to finally get this surgery over with that I didn't really care what they gave me at that point.
Miti: Yes! That's the injection. They say it only stings for about 30 seconds. Hopefully you can get the EMLA cream prescribed and filled quickly just in case it's a bit much. It should be applied at least 1 hour prior to the injection, like icing on a cake, and then cover with saran wrap while on the way to the mapping injection appointment.
Day 4 after surgery update: I woke up with what felt like new swelling under the armpit, and the lymph node removal scar which hadn't bothered me before is now hurting. Either my nerves are just starting to wake up, or it's actually more swollen. I can't even tell. There is new yellowing and a brand new smily face shaped area of bruising under the breast where the lump was removed, which coincidentally happens to be right where the sports bra hits it.
Two puzzles: For some reason, I was told not to ice. I had reconstruction during the lumpectomy (both surgeons working in tandem) and the plastic surgeon said he wanted blood flow, and if numb, my skin could be damaged. Second puzzle is why along with the heavy pain meds I didn't use, the plastic surgeon quietly supplied me with an antibiotic Rx without any instructions. Was I to use it right after surgery or only upon being told to take it due to an obvious infection? I figured it was the latter, but couldn't reach either surgeon today and will admit, this was very frustrating. Fortunately, I will see my oncology surgeon in the morning so he can see the swelling, bruising, and answer my questions. I'm not big on prophylactic antibiotics.
Good night dear ones. Sleep well!
Blessings,
Esther
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I wasn’t prescribed antibiotics at all. I was given them during surgery (I read the intraoperative report when it was posted). I had a low grade fever over the weekend. The on call doc called in antibiotics but told me not to take them until the situation got worse —- it hasn’t.
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Esther, did you get to see your doctor today? Also, I was curious how you were handling your drains. I don’t like taking any meds that I don’t really need either.
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Hi all,
I just went to my 7 day post op appt with a PA. Thankful for a good path report = lumpectomy and SNB. I pointed out the one area of the scar that kept filling up with liquid then popping then filling up again. She said the skin there was "mangled" and that the top layer would need to turn black and fall off and that new skin would be below it. But no other areas of concern mentioned by her.
I was greatly helped by all the advice on this site pre-surgery. I was pretty pleased with what I had ready for post surgery. Wanted to update my final recommendations based on my experience alone:
1. Throat drops (cough drops) - my throat took the worst of it with the anesthesia - it is till red and raw a week later. PA advised also gargling with salt water so I will try that too. I thought buying two bags was overkill, it was not.
2. Bra - my surgeon said to get a sports bra. After reading these boards, I ended up buying a size up and a size up from that soft sports bra that had hook and eye closure in the front. I ended up using the one 2 sizes above my normal size. A week later I still am.
3. Pillow - my best friend over the last week. I ordered off Amazon - said it was good for cushioning the seat belt on the drive home. It was all that and more - when I walk I often hug it with one arm, to further stabilize the wound areas, it helps a lot. In the car, it protects from the seatbelt and also offers support for that arm.
4. Go home clothes - I wore in what I planned to wear home - a super soft cotton button up oversize loose shirt. I did not wear a bra to the appt and I did not wear one home - reference my friend the pillow above. I brought my own no-slip socks and then put the hospital ones on top - that way I had a little more protection from the floor. I bought some other clothes but didn't use/need them.
5. Lip Balm - I bought but didn't use. I was super thirsty but my lips were fine.
6. The nausea patch - I asked for it before surgery and it worked like a charm. Don't forget this.
7. Pain - I used all but 2 of the hydrocodone pills provided. Maybe I'm just a wimp, but I felt I needed it for the two incisions as well as my throat.
8. Other unexpected side effects - I woke up with a raging sinus infection. Still dealing with that. I was wheezing when I got home; called the nurses line and they prescribed an inhaler - used it for four-ish days til the wheezing stopped. I should have asked to take the spirometer home from the hospital but didn't think to ask - I ended up buying the same on on Amazon so that I could keep exercising my breath til the wheezing cleared up.
9. BM - I bought both coalese as well as Miralax. After first night switched to Miralax - took three nights of taking that to get everything moving again.
10. The wire insertion before the surgery was quite painful but mercifully brief. If you can remember to ask for and apply ahead of time the numbing cream recommended by others, I would recommend doing so. They tried to do it with ultrasound but couldn't locate correctly, so I had to have a mammogram and stay in that machine locked down while they inserted the wire.
All in all, I'm very blessed and I know it. Very grateful to all the wonderful people on this site sharing their stories and recommendations. After a crash course in reading many many posts here I felt very prepared and I wasn't surprised by anything.
Thanks to all and I hope this might help others.
Take care,
Beth
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T-minus 12 hours. I have extra food cooked. Clothes picked out to throw on after a quick shower in the morning. I found front zippered sports bras at Walmart of all places. Avia brand. Super comfortable, and go up to 3X, which is what I got.
I completely forgot to ask about the EMLA cream this morning for the injection today. However, it wasn't bad at all. Doc ordered lidocaine buffer. I'm not sure if helped, because lidocaine stings when it first goes in. However, the shots were sub-cutaneous, so really just like 4 little strings that lasted maybe 5 seconds each. Took no time to do it.
@Ester - Sorry you're having more pain. Based on my class yesterday, I think that's normal. They specifically said, "Do not call and tell the doctor you have lymphoedema, during the first few weeks, because you have swelling. You do not have lymphoedema." LOL. Lymphoedema is more gradual and wouldn't start for several weeks after surgery. However, they did say to call your surgeon directly, if you have redness around the wound or pus like drainage from it. Ultimately, go with your gut. If you're not sure, call. No use in stressing yourself out, because that's counterproductive to healing.
As to ice, they said several times to not use ice. It constricts the blood vessels, which makes it difficult to for the blood to get where it needs to go. Hope you can get you're questions answered, and you feel better soon.
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Thanks so much for all the great info Beth. I forgot about miralax & throat drops. I'll add it to the list for the pharmacy run hubby will have to do tomorrow afternoon.
Can you share the link for the pillow?
If you have a sinus infection that might be why your throat is still sore due to all the drainage that comes along with that. I second the warm salt water gargle, along with netti pot to help clean out sinuses & reduce inflammation there, too. Hope you feel better, soon!
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MsMonster: I'm glad you didn't have to take the antibiotics. It's hard enough getting our systems back to normal. How are you feeling now?
Thanks Goldcity: He says it looks good overall. Turns out he took 5 nodes instead of three. Bruising and swelling as expected. Just good old-fashioned lemon-yellow and purple bruising. Lovely. I didn't have drains placed but was prepared to know how to tend to them in the event I needed them. He agreed no need for antibiotics, especially since I didn't have implants. I'm glad, because otherwise I'd be about 5 days late in taking them.
Beth: Yes! The sore throat! Five days later, it's still lingering. I know it's a common complaint post-general anesthesia. I was just surprised it has lasted this long. Feels worse in the morning and evening, but pretty much goes away during the day. I did read pre-op that some women gargle with listerine before the surgery. Maybe to cut down on bacteria in the throat before anesthesia? Wish I'd thought of it. Remember, I was the goof driving to Walgreens at midnight because I'd forgotten antibacterial soap. I never realized how many people shop at midnight. It was bright, cheerful and busy!
I LOVE your list, Beth, and I hope June and July surgeries and beyond will see it and be blessed by it. I agree with you, I feel blessed and grateful even in the midst of the wild bc adventure we're going through at the moment.
Miti: You rock. You are so wonderfully prepared, that is awesome. I hope everyone could find a class like that, even if a virtual class. What you said about ice makes sense now. Thank you! I followed my drs. instructions on that (except for going rogue on the unwanted antibiotics). I am more at peace with the healing process today, and trying to ignore the numbness under my armpit. Also got my Zolodex injection (ouch from the new girl today) and rested in the IV Suite recliner having my high dose IV 50g vitamin C drip while probably napping open-mouthed through Love Boat reruns. The C will help restore my immune system and deliver connectivity for the tissues to knit together again. I have to remember to add collagen powders for rebuilding the tissue, too.
You are going to do great, Miti! I hope you are asleep by now and rest well tonight. We'll see you on the other side of surgery! I will be praying and thinking of you all day tomorrow. May all go well and the surgeon's hand be perfectly guided.
Meanwhile Beth and I will be gargling with salt water...
Blessings,
Esther
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I HATE this drain. Ugh. I can't wait to get it out (Monday next week).
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Whew... what a thread! Y'all are great. Sending all good thoughts out for Miti (MitiG8dNsaniT) who is having surgery today. xoxo to all you, stranger-friends.
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Good luck today, Miti!
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Miti, you’re probably done by now and resting. Hope it went well. Be sure to tell us how you’re doing when you feel up to it
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Esther01 — I’m feeling pretty good under the circumstances. I’m not a shakey as I was over the weekend. And I don’t seem to have a fever. The majority of my pain seems to be coming from the compression bra laying on the bruises on my ribs. But I’m starting to get nerve pains and itchyness. My period is due to come soon so I’m really wondering what kind of fun that might be.
I got canker sores on my lip, I assume from the breathing tube. My hubs got me an Oral B medicated wash and it helped them clear up — in case that info helps anyone.
I got my hair washed n set today. It helps so much.
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Hi everyone. I was done and back home by 11 this morning. Spent a good portion of the day figuring out what positions were most comfortable & then finally got a bit of a nap. I'm actually feeling decent. Definitely sore and sensitive to the touch, but tolerable.
I don't have a sore throat, but it was just an oxygen mask since it was a short procedure. However, the end of my tongue hurts like it was burned. Hubby thinks they might have used suction to pull my tongue out of the way to improve my breathing. A weird thing, but wanted to mention it, in case anyone else experiences the same thing.
Otherwise, just chilling in the soft bra like thing they put me in and a baggy t-shirt.
Beth & Ester, hoping your sore throats are improving. Hoping everyone is healing nicely. Will check in again in a day or two.
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Miti, hurray, so glad it went well and you're home resting! You're in much better shape (conscious) than I was at that point right after surgery. Hope you can get some good sleep as your body starts repairing itself.
Gb2115: I'm so sorry.. I will be thinking of you these next few days. I'm sure Monday can't get here soon enough. I hope there is something in the meantime that might be a good distraction.
MsMonster, that pressure on top of the ribs is awful, isn't it? I keep putting my fingers under the bottom of the sports bra to take the pressure off that edge. Sometimes I fall asleep like that and wake up with numb fingers. My bras are either too tight or too loose. And, wow the itching as it heals. Oh, well. Each day is one day closer to healing!
Hi JulesAl, thanks for your sweet comments. This forum has been such a blessing. Because of you all, I didn't have to go through this alone.
Goodbye sore throat! Day 6 and I think it's finally gone. Here's a picture of the tea I'm using for the immune system. Lemon echinacea, but it tastes like licorice. Does anyone have any other favorites? And is anyone else's digestive system off or is it just me?
Sweet dreams, hope you can get some good rest.
Blessings,
Esther
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Miti, good to see you on the other side. Get lots of rest.
Wondering what they’re going to put me in after surgery. I see the lymphedema specialist tomorrow. They have tons of paperwork to fill out ahead of time. I think they ask more questions than all my doctors combined. Pretty personal ones too that I’m not sure they even have the right to ask and I can’t see a reason in the the world why the would be relevant to physical therapy.
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I got my period today so I have a new kind of pain to deal with. I'm also very salty about the entire situation. Kind of not sure what to do with myself.
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