February 2021 Surgery Group

Hello - after three very long months waiting for my date, I’m now a week out from lumpectomy with bilateral reduction. The is has been such a hard thing to wait - miscommunication between my oncologist and surgeon seemed to be part of it, plus having the bad luck of being diagnosed right before Thanksgiving - so it seemed the holidays were a factor. I was assured COVID had nothing to do with it, but I’ve been having bouts of anxiety thinking that the cancer has spread.

Would appreciate any words of advice getting through the next week so I’m not spending it in fear - talking with my therapist and meditation and exercise have helped, but with it being close at hand now, I am also feeling a sense of sadness about how life is going to change.

I’m 43, stage 2 ER/PR positive, HER2 negative and no genetic disposition for cancer. Ki-67 was 10% and Mammaprint came back low risk

Hi there, my surgery is scheduled February 16th I'm feeling the exact same way!! I am 33, stage 3a Luminal B having a masectomy. I have been doing macrame while I wait for surgery keeping my hands busy seems to keep my mind off of things. Are you going to go through chemo after? I just went through 4 rounds of A/C and 12 rounds of taxol. I actually found chemo appointments to be very relaxing oddly enough. My chemo nurse said I wasn't the first to tell her that.

Good luck!!! We can get through this. The waiting is the worst part

Hi TXLorelei,

May I ask how do they know you have at least one positive node ? Did they do SNB before or if it show up in any of your tests ?

For me, they said so far they have not seen anything suspicious on the lymph nodes; they will do SNB during surgery; and if they find positive there, of course I have to come back and they will remove more nodes (ALND), that’s part I am scared.

Thanks

My MRI back in July showed “multiple enlarged nodes”, so they did a biopsy that came back positive. A new MRI last week showed that my tumor and the surrounding LCIS have gotten smallerafter the letrozole, however the lymph nodes are still enlarged.

@tntnsd would you mind if I ask why you decided to go with no recon? I would have to go through a second surgery for recon since I have to go through radiation due to at least one positive node. Honestly I am on the fence about the second surgery and have looked at other options.

That's an awesome way to look at it thank you for sharing.

Good luck with yours as well! Uncertainty sucks I agree wholeheartedly also having SNB and stressing about it for sure.

Hello, I am having bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction on February 1st. I was diagnosed in late October with DCIS and later in December with IDC stage 1. I am ER/PR + and Her-2 - and have no genetic disposition. My sister and first cousin are BC survivors. I have also waited 3 long months to get this surgery scheduled due to the holidays and further testing. I've been keeping busy with exercising, sewing, baking and just getting things I need for post-surgery care like zippered or button front tops and pajamas, food and even an over-bed table. I can't wait to get these out but I am scared and nervous not knowing how I will feel or look afterwards. Best of luck and well wishes to you all!

I'm meeting with my plastic surgeon tomorrow, as long as the snow storm coming our way doesn't lead to a cancellation. I'll be having a BMX with SNB, surgery is set for Feb 25th. Hoping to go the route of BMX > Expanders > radiation > swap to silicone prepectoral implants, but still have to talk to my PS and see if this is possible. I have IDC grade 2 w/ DCIS, ER/PR +, HER2 - . I also have the CHEK2 gene mutation, so I figured I might as well be a little more aggressive in my treatment w/ the BMX to lessen my chance of recurrence. Have already gone through chemo (4 AC, 4 taxol), and recent MRI results show a complete resolution of my cancer (including previously suspicious looking lymph nodes - yay!). So hoping surgery goes well and the MRI results are correct. Big surgeries are no fun, I'm not super nervous yet... but I sure will be towards the end of the month...

Catchi - Good luck on your surgery tomorrow!

Hello everyone! Just a small update. Since I'm scheduled for a 6:45am call time for surgery tomorrow, I'm going in today to do the seed placement (they said they don't do wire placements much anymore) and radioactive tracer dye in prep for the SNB. So - small bit of things to do today; hoping to get a walk in this afternoon before the big rain hits.

So far - it is 50/50 if my husband will be able to come in and visit me after the procedure tomorrow due to COVID. He isn't even allowed in the building today (same as my last appointment in January). I also had to do a drive through COVID test on Friday. While I am technically outpatient for tomorrow, they are keeping me in for the night with drains which will hopefully be removed by the time I go home on Wednesday. It's going to be crazy rain here and then bright and sunny the rest of the week - somehow, that gives me a bit of peace.

Joining you here - I was in the January surgery group but I'm an overachiever and get to have more surgery on the 16th. LOL

I had a lumpectomy and SNB on the 19th, so if any of you have questions on that, I'm happy to share my experience. Easy recovery, and I had it done on both breasts (left was benign, so they call it an "excisional biopsy" but same work, same scar, so ...). For me, the only annoying part was the SNB incision - it's under the armpit and chafes a bit when you are still swollen, which was a lot more irritating than the poor bruised boobs which looked ugly but weren't that uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, the DCIS was too extensive for my small breast, so I am going back for a right side mastectomy on the 16th. But, I now get to skip radiation, so that's something.

Catchi - I hope it went well today!

arb95f and tntnsd - Positive thoughts for you surgeries tomorrow! If you check the January surgery board, everyone did well with surgery and appear to be having smooth recoveries so far. I think the lead up is sometimes harder than the actual surgery or recovery, at least mentally.

annlat - good luck on the 3rd!

It looks like there are a couple other MA folks here. This snowstorm is kind of a bust where I am.

Hi there! I had joined the January surgery group page but my surgery was yesterday (1 February). I had a BMX and SNB, aesthetic flat closure. Everything went really smoothly and now I am managing pain with Tylenol only, going home at noon today.

Encouraging news: my doctor had really played up the nuclear tracing injection, but it was actually just a very light pinch.

I hope that everyone has successful surgeries, and no surprises on pathology reports. Sending out fast healing vibes to all!

tntnsd - glad to hear it went well. Hope the rest of your recovery is just as smooth.

Hi all, I had my surgery Monday, 2/1: bilateral nipple-sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. I'm so relieved it's done and happy to say it went well. They removed 3 lymph nodes and praying for good news next week when I have my post-op appt. I have not been in too much pain but when I use my arms or hands to reach or open something that's when the pain and tightness are felt in my chest. It is just uncomfortable. So do nothing & have your friends/family help you. At bedside have lots of water & Ricola or a throat lozenge. The intubation tube was rough on my throat and made it very dry & sore while trying to sleep my first night. My booty and tail bone are sore from lying in the same position, so getting up, walking around and sitting at edge help with circulation & soreness.

Thank you for your well wishes. Praying and wishing the best for all of your upcoming treatments, surgeries and recovery.