MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

elimar86861

janis,  I don't know llamas from schlammas.  They seem similar to having mules as pets only with greater emphasis on hair care, but your llamas sounded like a cute couple.  Sad that Fernando will be by himself now.  R.I.P. Dolly.  {Oh yeah, now see your pic, they have much more glamorous eyelashes than mules do.]

Do NOT panic about the LE, but get PT for it and learn the massage to keep the fluid at a minimum in that area.  After months, after a year even, some new lymph channels may form and create new drainage pathways, so if you are lucky this could still be a temporary problem that will get better over time.  It probably seems like you are all healed now, but nerves and lymph vessels are still trying to sort themselves out.  LE is truly one of those things where "an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" so do as much as you can for it now.  Good Luck!

barbe1958

Oh dear Janis! My heart goes out to you, sweetie. I know you wish you could have given her one last hug and told her you loved her, yet again.... She will meet you at the Rainbow Bridge when you pass, so you will see her again. I am so, so sorry for your grief!! But, I am SURE she knew she was loved by you!

barbe1958

Sherry, what kind of recon are you going for? I'm glad I had a BMX as my right breast (which I'd already had a lumpectomy AND a cyst drainage on) had ADHP and was lining up to become cancer. In fact, there was a bit (a LOT to me!) of confusion on the day of my ultrasound, so when they finally said they were going to biopsy my LEFT breast I asked them to go tell my DH in the waiting room as we were worried they were going to do my right! (Just asked him and he said they never told him it was my left! Doi!)

Sherryc

Janis what a cute girl you had there.  I know you will miss her.

Barb I am going to have TE's with implant exchange later.  The PS group I am going to does alot of DIEP but I am way to thin and don't have enough belly fat for that.  Because I did radiation and I have lot's of nipple damage the other flaps become complicated.  So we are going for the TE's and if that does not work we will probably have to do Latisma dorsi flap.  However my PS says he has done others like me and has not had a failer yet. So let's hope i am not his first!

elimar86861

Sherryc,  Glad your recon. is finally on the calendar.  I know you were on the "grow your own" plan, so how much weight did you have to gain for the surgery?  What cup size will your recon. be?   (Trying not to be too nosy, but I am nosily curious about how much belly-fat makes a boob?)  I thought it was funny when you got a bunch of offers for "donors."

elimar86861

And Eph, yes, take ANOTHER turn.  You are good at the Mystery Pic.  We are not that clever and your last two didn't give us that much to go on, and lack of color made it harder too.  You better let up on us a little this time.

Sherryc

Eli I ended up going to two more PS and they both said no to the DEIP. Said I would have to gain way too much weight to be able to harvest enough belly fat.  And to my surprise one of the PS was the first one's partner.  He is the one I ended up going with as he was very self confident that he could save my nipple on the radiated side and everyone else said no way.  His thought on it was we won't know unless we try.  If we loose it we will deal with it.  No one else was even willing to try. But as far as size I am a 32A and don't even fill it up.  I told him if I was going to go through with all this I wanted to be larger.  So we are going for a full B cup, maybe small C cup.  I am small framed and don't want to look like Dolly Parton.  I figure in 10-15 years when I need to have the implants switched out I will be older and maybe fatter for DIEP or they may have the fat grafting science down to rebuilding boobs completely with fat grafting.  There is alot going on in that research field right now.

Hauntie

I've been off all but one thread for a while. Just too busy. This was one of the threads I read all the time and I miss you gals. Hopefully things will calm down some and I'll have time to check in more frequently. I must be 20 pages behind.

Did you know that once you have a MX, you can't feel anything on that side of your chest? Or in my case, with a double MX, either side of my chest. Of course I know that, but did it dawn on me when I picked up a hot bowl and rested it against my chest - NO! I found a burn with a blister, a little smaller than a dime, on the left side of my chest in the shower this morning. I never felt a thing. I put bacitracin and a band aid on it. I have a previously scheduled MD apt tomorrow, so I'll have her take a look at it. I once almost did something equally as stupid, when I put an ice pack on my chest in a desparate attempt to calm some very aggravating nerve pain. As soon as I did, I realized I couldn't feel anything and took the ice off, so no harm was done. Injuring myself because I can't feel most of my chest is not something I ever think of. Hopefully I'll be more aware from now on. Just thought I'd share so no one else does something this stupid to herself.

dltnhm

Always learning on here. I have been extremely vigilant watching that I don't yank the tape off on my left side eve though I cannot feel it ...I can see that it would PULL something awful. But I have a feeling I might forget unless I remind myself from time to time. Having sensation on the right keeps me alert.



I don't think you are stupid at all. Just human! I like imperfect people who are willing to share their stuff.

Paula66

Hauntie its been 10+ years for my sissy and she still forgets she has no feeling sometimes.  I find it abit weird sometimes myself.  I have no feeling towards the outside of my foobs, but if you go more to the center of my chest I have complete feeling.  Trust me my hands are cold, lol!

Kay_G

Janis, I am sorry about your llama. She was awfully cute. I hope Fernando will be okay. I'm sorry about the lymphadema too. I remember you had a tough time with your skin after rads. I wonder if that makes lymphadema more likely. I have lymphadema too,but it's in my hand and arm,not my breast. Not sure which is worse. It's under good control now, but if I leave the sleeve off for awhile, it starts swelling. I hope Eli is right and we can grow new lymph channels. My onc says at some point I won't need the sleeve any more, but my PT isn't so sure. It is what it is I guess.



Eli, I had DIEP in August after chemo. I lost weight with chemo, weighed 118 just before surgery. I'm only 5'2 though, so I wasn't all that thin. PS said I only had enough fat for one boob. I've lost some more weight since surgery and that and rads caused it to shrink some. It's a small B and matches my natural boob pretty well. My biggest fear is since it is made of belly fat, if I gain weight, it will get bigger faster than the other one. I don't know if that actually happens or not. I am afraid to ask the PS though.

barbe1958

Hauntie (and others) I had a double mast in December of 2008 and I have full feelling across my chest. It CAN happen!! I had to sit here and run a cold glass of water across just to make sure. It gets a bit iffy on my left side where I had a huge seroma but other than that I'm good. So that's 3 years out. I have no idea when I began to "feel" again, but do know that at the beginning some fabrics bugged me, so I must have had feeling then, too. Again, examples of us all being different...

Sherry, sweetie, please be careful what you wish for! A C cup is a LOT of weight!!! You would look very top-heavy as it looks like you have a small frame. Have you worn a bra with a C insert so you can see? I was a large C-small D and I had a SHELF of breasts (even after reductions)! If I got recon, I'd go to a B, and I'm big boned. My shoulders are very wide and I know I'd have an arguement with a PS, but having larger breasts bring it's own issues. Remember, a C on me is the same as a C on you!!!

justmejanis

Kay I am very confused now about my condition.  Last week my onc's nurse, Esther, put me on Keflex for what she thought was cellulitis.  A week later the red on my breast and the warmth are still present as well as of course swelling and soreness.  She phoned my RO as he wasn't in, described it, and he decided I have some vascular problem so now they prescribed a mild blood thinner.  Esther said I need to take this drug (Trental) three times daily along with 400 IU's of Vitamin E once a day.  She said right now the breast is too swollen and sore to start LE therapy.

So again I am delayed and not sure what will happen next.  I do not go back to the RO now until Feb. 17th.  If the redness and soreness is improved, Esther says then my RO will be there and they will work on starting the LE therapy.

She did say to wear only sports bras for now. 

I am so sick of side effects, then delays, more side effects.  Has anyone ever  heard of this kind of treatment or condition before?  She gave it a name and I forgot it...so tired  from little sleep and then of course it was a hard day.  Thanks for all the sweet comfort about Dolly Llama!

barbe1958

Janis, did she call it Vasculitis or something similar?

justmejanis

Barbe that sounds real close.  Sounds like it.  I was not thinking real clearly and should have written it down.  I had a blinding headache and really just wanted to escape.  Thinking you are right though.

Sherryc

Thanks Barb, I think I will probably go a full B.  My PS thinks that would be a good size for me.  But like he said with the TE's once I get to the size I want we can stop.  Also we don't know how my skin will stretch because of rads.  He said staying smaller will give better results.

Janis-- Trental and Vitamin E is used for Radiation Induced Fibrosis.  You can google it. It is also used to prevent.  Here is something I googled on it:   Another study, by the University of Rochester and National Cancer Institute showed that 85 percent of the patients experienced some improvement after taking the drug pentoxifylline (Trental). It appears that the drug works by softening red blood cells, improving blood flow to the scarred area and reducing inflammation of the area of radiation-induced fibrosis

elimar86861

Everyone that is commenting about Mx...Due to the different locations of our tumors, and differing surgeon skill, I bet some of us just take more nerve damage and more lymphatic severing than others.  Then, factor in that everyone heals differently (amount of scar tissue and all that.)  Guess that is why the results vary as far as feeling returning for Mx, and the lesser surgeries too.

It was my RO that said during the healing of the first year, some new lymph channels form.  Just like you grow some new blood vessels, I guess you grow some lymph vessels too; but again, some of us fare better than others.  I just do not think enough emphasis is put on the lymphedema risk when going over the mastectomy option.  Even with mild lymphedema, you will have a new sleeve-wearing lifestyle to prevent it from getting worse.  

Since I don't see any of you online sisters, the worst case of lympedema I saw was at the one support group meeting I attended IRL.  A poor woman had a right arm that was three sizes bigger than her left.  It looked painful!

Sherryc,  Agree with Barbe that you should do a test run with inserts of different sizes, preferably ones with realistic weight, to get an idea what will look and feel best.

Hey, Hauntie, don't even apologize for being busy with life.  Hopefully it's the stuff just like in your "old normal" days, and not cancer-y things that you are busy with.  

Kay1963,  LOL!  Watch out for the belly fat in its now location!

Kay_G

My PT told me LE makes you more likely to get infections like cellulitis. I forget the reasoning he used, I think he said something about the fluid that just sits there can develop an infection, but I might have gotten that wrong. I couldn't start the pt right away either when I first got diagnosed. I was just starting rads and they knew rads was going to make it difficult to control. The key is getting a good pt. he or she will help you get the swelling down as low as possible and teach you how to keep it that way. They'll also help you get the right supples or whatever you need to manage it. It will get better when you know what you're doing. The beginning is the worst part.

Paula66

Sherry I went to a full B and couldnt be happier.  I didnt want to go so big that they looked to fake. You just have to be comfortable in what sixe you choose.  Good Luck

 

Sherryc

Paula I am like you I don't want to look fake and defiantly no Dolly Parton!!  I am so small chested all my friends agree just a little bigger would look nice and natural.

justmejanis

Thanks for helping Kay.  I am off to Google.  I'll probably just make myself nuts as tired as I am!

barbe1958

Sherry, you can alter the SHAPE of the implant to be more pleasing...teardrop and things like that I've heard. I'd rather have small cute breasts than big hard balls.

Kay, that would be right about the lymph fluid just sitting there and getting infected.

barbe1958

Oh, as for the mastectomy. There are Radical mastectomies, Modified mastectomies and Simple mastectomies. Each one takes out tissue (and muscle!!) to different levels depending on where your tumour is located. Mine was almost on my chest wall so I have a Modified on one side and a Simple on the other. Radical takes muscle.

Meece

Janis, I know exactly how you feel.  I had many llamas in my "former life" (that with my ex).  I remember how I felt when my first and favorite "Cedro" passed.  It is amazing the emotion we have attached to our pets.  Over the years we had many, I delivered several, and it was difficult when I left.  It gets better.  Really it does.

justmejanis

Meece thank you so much.  Having had llamas you understand, but any animal lover would too.  They are so different and unusual with distinct personalities.  Fernando was my guard llama, always on alert.  Dolly was more laid back and just quiet and sweet.  I know it gets better.  We lost our cherished Sunka, a Border Collie, two years ago.  I lost my first Golden Retriever to cancer at age five and it really sent me into a serious depression.  That is always the problem with pets, we know we will lose them.  My remaining Golden's are seven now and I am always a worry wart about anything when it comes to them.

elimar86861

Haven't heard from cmblastic, KittyGirl, madpeacock, or OG56 in a while...what's up?

Sherryc

Barb thanks for the info.  My PS already said what he thinks would look good on me and I ran it by Whipptomom who is the expert here on the boards and she agreed with my frame and all.  My MIL had a radical MX in 1969 and she looks butchered with all the muscle that they removed from under her arms etc, of course they also removed all the nodes back then as well.  That was the only kind of MX that had at the time.  She is lucky that she has never had lymphodema. 

I just got back from the BS to go over my MRI which was good.  So I will be having a simple since all the bad stuff has already been removed.  Guess it was good that this last surgery in Nov which was a surgical biopsy because they could not get a good FNA, they had to scrape it off of my muscle, if I had had the MX at that point they would have had to remove some of that muscle.  So now I have to decide if I want my new BS to do the MX and the PS do the reconstruction or if I want the PS to do both.  BS & PS said it is my decision who I want in the OR, but if anyone has a thought on the matter I'd love to hear it..  I really like both doctors and they agree on how to proceed with the cuts etc. and both agreed on trying to save my nipple even though it may not make it because of the radiation.  We will just have to see.

elimar86861

Can't offer a comment to your Mx discussion.

Wanted to just report the good/bad news about my DEXA scan from a couple weeks ago.

The good news was my bone density did not have a significant change from two years ago.  Good because I could have had some (pre-menopausal) bone loss from the Tamox., but it doesn't seem to have done that.

The bad news was my bone density did not have a significant change from two years ago.  Bad because  I have supplemented with calcium faithfully, these past two years, and it didn't seem to have made a bit o' difference either. 

My plan will be to have another one in 2-3 years at the end of my Tamox. time.  See how I am then.  Then, follow up 2 years promptly after quitting Tamox., since a lot of women show a sharper decline when they come off Tamox.  If I can stay relatively stable thru' all that, I will probably just want to monitor it at 3-5 year intervals.   I guess I should keep supplementing, walking and doing weights, to try and keep my variables the same throughout.

Sherryc

Eli guess that is good and bad news.  At least it has not gotten any worse but don't we love to see improvement in the things we do. But then think if you were not supplementing what it might have been Keep moving and supplementing because it sure can't hurt anything.

barbe1958

Sherry, I didn't realize you had already agreed to a size as you mentioned both a B and a C cup. What did the PS and you decide on?