New member for the worst club in the world :)
Hello! I was diagnosed on 1/2/24 with both DCIS and invasive mammary carcinoma with lobular features. Both spots are in my left breast. I have family history of bc, so I'm doing a bilateral mastectomy on 2/28/24. Question for all you lovelies who have been down this road…if my pathology comes back funky how soon after my surgery would I begin any radiation or chemo? Do you need to fully recover from mastectomy or can they get started right away? I'm an impatient germaphobe and this has got to be the hardest part for me…the waiting when you know there is cancer in you.
I hope that everyone reading this is having a great day! I appreciate all of you being so open and lovely with each other. I've been reading all the old posts and trying to glean as much info from you guys as possible.
So much love to you all!
DX 1/2024, left, Stage 0, Grade 3, ER+, PR+, HER2-
DX 1/2024, left, Stage IA, Grade 1, ER+, PR+, HER2-
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I’m sorry for the circumstances that bring you here, and know exactly what you mean about wanting to get the show on the road as quickly as possible. After my BMX it was a two week wait for the pathology results and I had appointments about next steps already lined up with the MO and RO the day and day after the report was in. I was back in the infusion chair the next week and would have also gotten started the next week with radiation too but was told I didn’t need it. So for me it was three weeks from surgery to treatment.
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@ttbeach1973 I had a double mastectomy back in May.I got my path results probably within a week after surgery. Chemo started about 3 weeks later because you need to have time to heal from surgery. I had 4 rounds of TC, last one was beginning September. Waited approx 6 weeks to begin radiation. Radiation was 5 weeks which lasted until the end of November. It’s a looong road. I feel ya though it’s hard walking around knowing you have cancer in your body. I found out in March about my cancer, two lumpectomies to try to get clear margins, it wasn’t until May that I finally got rid of it all, that’s 2 months walking around with stupid cancer in my body. I’m sorry you’re having to go through this! Hang in there…. There is light at the end of the tunnel! Hugs!
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I have another question. So both types of cancer were found in my left breast. I'm doing a bilateral mastectomy because of my family history with BC and to quote my Surgical Onc "that lobal carcinoma is a real bitch." :) My question is this, when they remove the sentinel lymph node, will it only be for the side that has cancer? I plan to ask this question of my doctor at my pre-op but was wondering if any of you ladies had only one sentinel removed, or do they do both even if cancer is only present on one side?
Thanks in advance for any info!
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I had two types of cancer in my left breast, too- mucinous and "regular" IDC- separate tumors. I also had a bilateral mastectomy and before surgery they did an MRI to make sure my right breast was clear. It was, so I only had a sentinel node biopsy on my cancer side, not on my "good" side.
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My lumpectomy surgery for lobular carcinoma was December 29th, and I will be waiting at least two more months before I start RT because I have a large hematoma.
On the same side, a sentinel node, and a previously biopsied node were removed.
If I recall correctly, total body PET scan said the other breast and nodes were clear.
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Hi ladies, I’m 3 days post op from BMX. I’m actually finding the whole experience fairly tolerable. With one exception. The stitches that are holding my drains in place are driving me crazy! Anytime anything rubs against them, which is pretty much constantly, it feels like there is a piece of wire poking into my side. Any tips and tricks from ladies, who have experienced the same? I go in for my postop next Thursday, which, of course seems like an eternity. Appreciate you guys so much!
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Hi @1troublemaker. I used a sterile gauze square with a little notch cut out to “secure” the drain and protect my skin, the drain tube sat in the notch, I think it was more of a slit, not a notch, nothing fancy. I used alcohol to clean the scissors, trying to be as sterile as possible. I then used surgical tape to tape the gauze to my skin so it all stayed in place. That way the stitches were covered and protected from anything rubbing. I’m probably not describing that well. It helped keep the drain tube from tugging where it exited my skin. That’s what they sent me home from the hospital with and it was helpful so I kept doing that. Best wishes for a smooth recovery!!
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@1troublemaker I had the same issue on my incisions especially the right side where the drain was. I had been using depends pads to keep me packed and cushioned & when I saw my surgeon post op (my 1st surgery was Jan 24, 2024)he said it was the stitches so he was able to snip the end (on the outside) and we had to wait on the internal stitches to resolve) now I’m using aquafor on the incisions & in the morning I’m using Camwell lotion specifically for RT that I’m about to start we just did my CT & mapping/marking last Friday. Now I’m waiting for the call to start.
I hope you get relief soon 💕
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