the reduction+lumpectomy thread

cookiegal

yea, I had pretty bad pain too. I don't regret it, but it seems like nobody was quite prepared for it.

justmaximom15

Hello all, thought I would give an update here for those considering going through this procedure.

I had this surgery a week ago yesterday. The pain of that day was BEFORE surgery during the radioactive injection and then the subsequent uncomfortable mammogram/wire localization. By that point I was happy to go to la la land and get this done.

It was a long surgery, about 5 1/2 hrs with the lumpectomy taking very little of that time. I woke up in recovery very hot with high BP rate and I was given ice chips and a nice fan to cool me off as well as some pain meds in my IV. As soon as my BP was good I was released and on my way home. I was sore of course but not in any pain and the trip home was uneventful and smooth.

I slept in the recliner for 4 nights because it was so much more comfortable and kept me from rolling from side to side.

I took pain meds when needed but less than what was prescribed and I was up moving around as needed but made an effort to not overdo it and get plenty of rest. I returned to work (administrative office work) yesterday and worked til noon before going to dr appts in the afternoon. I got home about 4pm and was pretty tired. Today, I'm doing pretty good and time to go home will be here before I know it.

I have pretty good movement in both arms but the left (where they removed the node) is pretty sore and a bit more swollen.

Best part is that the PS did an EXCELLENT job and other than bruising I still have, they already look fabulous!!!

PoppyK

Justmaxi, Thanks for the update. The PSs do a great job, don't they?! You are very swollen, so they will soften up as you heal. Mine no longer look like implants (since the swelling is gone), they look like real boobs that don't droop.

Try not to overdo it because you don't want to cause additional bleeding or swelling. Keep up with the arm movements to maintain mobility.

The wire localization/mammo was so painful for me! When they compressed my breast I actually screamed.... loudly. I was sobbing it hurt so much. My understanding is that this level of pain is unusual, but it sounds like you were miserable, too.

My surgery was 4.5hrs... most of it was the plastic surgeon's portion.

Now that I am 10mos out, I can say it was totally worth it!

Hope you get clean margins and good news with your path report!

justmaximom15

Thanks Poppy! Actually the pain was only from that radioactive injection. The wire localization was nothing compared to it but was extremely uncomfortable. I'm short and so are my arms so for me to reach up and hold like I was told wasn't easy. I also have a big belly and sitting in that chair just forced the bottom of the machine into big belly. Plus she put my in the machine wrong and we had to do it all over again the right way. Ugh!

Thanks for the good thoughts about path report but unfortunately I have already received that it and it burst my bubble. Although the margins were clear they did find cancer in the lymph node so I get the joy of chemo in about a month. I'm tellin ya, this is my lucky year!!

PoppyK

Justmaxi, I knew you were headed to chemoland, but am glad your margins were clear! (I have chemobrain and am much more forgetful now.)

merridee

Hello ladies...glad I found this thread! My surgery was May 6th, double lumpectomy in the right breast with reduction/lift in both breasts, also three lymph nodes were removed. Recovery is gowing well...I am sleeping good using extra pillows and taking it slow and easy during the day. I am anxious to see the pathology report!!

PoppyK

Merridee, Take it easy; it's a big surgery. I surrounded myself with pillows so I wouldn't roll hurt myself while sleeping. I hope you have clean margins and clear nodes. When do you get your results?

merridee

Hi PoppyK...I am still waiting for the report...

justmaximom15

Hoping you get good news from your report! I slept in the recliner for the first 4 nights and it made sleeping so much easier, then I moved to the bed and surrounded myself with pillows. Last night was actually my first pretty comfortable night in the bed with minimal pillows. Also, last night was the first shower that felt really good since surgery, up until then I was too scared to really touch my breasts. I actually showered the water directly on my breasts last night though using one of the lower pressure adjustments and it felt really good.

PoppyK

Amazing how we take showers for granted, until we can't take one or are afraid of removing dressings and letting the water touch certain areas! :-)

Once I started moving around more, my incisions oozed a bit. I was wearing a loose bra and would use sanitary napkins over the incisions. Sounds weird, but they cushioned the incision area, absorbed any ooze, didn't stick to the wound and were way cheaper than gauze. The best part by far was that they protected the incisions much better than bandages/gauze.

Astarte

My PS actually recommends maxi pads over anything.

cookiegal

Justmaximom, are you having an oncotype done? One node with a low oncotype could possibly allow you to avoid chemo.

justmaximom15

I am having the oncotype and results are expected by the end of this week. I have an appointment with my MO on Wednesday of next week. She said that because I'm so young (never thought I'd be tired of hearing that) she would still recommend chemo even if the score is low. We're using the score to help guide our decision as to which regimen to use.

cookiegal

sounds like you have a good plan

Barbie7

Hi All,

I'm having surgery tomorrow - reduction on my healthy breast. I had a partial mastectomy and 7+ weeks of rads on my right breast in 2008. I've struggled with significant asymmetry for years, and I've decided to do the reduction to help with that as well as to hopefully alleviate neck pain. I'm scheduled to have the anchor incision. My PS said they use a template to cut around the nipple/areola (sp?). But, I have gigantic areolas, and I think that it is going to end up looking massively mutilated because of the size of my areola vs. the size of the template. Does anyone have any experience with this?

momoschki

Barbie,

I had a lumpectomy followed by a bilateral reduction. I think my previous areola size was pretty average, but I can tell you that they did end up smaller than they were before. How would this make you look multilated? Four years later my scars are nearly invisible

justmaximom15

Just recently had a lumpectomy plus bilateral reduction and my areola size was pretty large. My PS used the anchor incision that you've mentioned and I know the areola is smaller now but certainly doesn't look mutilated or bad in any way. I think it would have looked stranger if my breasts had been reduced and my areola stayed the same size - make sense?

Barbie7

Thank you justmaximom, I do know what you mean! that is a relief. I know they will not match, but I'll adjust to that.

cookiegal

I'll be honest of all the scars, my areola scars are not my favorites.

PoppyK

Mine are pretty faint, but the scar from my nipple down to the breast crease are still quite noticeable. I hate that my reduction scars go so far on the side of my body. I am glad that my breasts don't fall down when the bra comes off.

Brx10466

Hi Cookiegirl, (NY?)

does the NY mean native NYer? Me too! My surgery is next week. I am opting for the lumpectomy and reconstruction/reduction at the same time.

How bad is the recovery? I have 2 tumors on left breast, 1 is .7cm and the other is .2cm. they are close enough that my surgeon believes he can get both with lumpectomy and get wide margins. My tumors are ER+ PR+ and the HER2 and FISH came back "good" -don't remember the result name but was told it is good. Now I am having second thoughts about the reduction although I would welcome the comfort having these large heavy hanging breasts smaller. I lost my wonderful husband on April 2nd, he was diagnosed with a rare cancer and gone from us in 7 weeks. I am grieving for this wonderful man who was and always be the love of my life. I hate putting my kids and grandchildren through this breast cancer journey now.

Please give me some good thoughts. My thought was to get it all done at once and get it over with.

Pat.

justmaximom15

Welcome to the board Brx10466 but I'm so sorry that you have to be here and very sorry for the loss of your dear husband.

I think recovery differs with everyone depending on many factors. Mine was relatively easy. I had surgery on a Monday morning and took the entire week off work (administrative). I was however doing some stuff from home by Tuesday afternoon. I had family at the house helping out but I was easily able to mostly care for myself.

My best advice is to stay ahead of the pain. There's no reason to be a martyr and not take your pain pills that you've been prescribed. Take care of yourself!

PoppyK

Hi Brx, Welcome to the board! I suggest you join the Surgery July 2015 thread which is really active. There aren't very many people doing the lx/bilateral reduction, but there are a few. You will get a lot of support and answers to so many questions there.

My PS told me to allow 1 week of recovery for every 1 hour of surgery. For me, that was about right. I know my experience is not common, but I had several problems and it took me a while to recover. This shocked me because I have no underlying health conditions and expected it to be easier, faster, especially since I was an active 49 year old! My advice is to plan for the best, but don't be surprised it you hit a bump in your recovery.

Put things you need to reach often, like bathroom items (toothbrushes, tp, etc) kitchen items where you can reach them easily... such as waist height. Take it easy because too much movement can prolong your recovery.

Remember, I am at the longer, more difficult end of the recovery experience spectrum. My recovery was long, but not particularly painful. Your experience will vary! ;-)

queenmomcat

(shyly waves hello) Still at the early stages of my travels through cancer treatment, but after "let's get clean margins" surgery (#2), I'm now considering alternatives. I don't know yet whether there'll be a surgery #3 (mastectomy), which would obviously change the game, but wondering: if I walk away with only two partials, would reduction of the unscathed breast work well in conjunction with restructuring the "lumpied" one? It's that or go through life uneven/try to expand my left breast. DD originally, so there's a bit to work with?

PoppyK

Hi Queenmomcat, I see you on the July 2015 surgery thread. I would say it depends on how much you have left after your 2 lx. A good PS can rearrange the tissue on your lx side to reshape your breast, then reduce and lift the good girl to match.

For me, having smaller breasts as I get older hasn't been a bad thing. My back feels much better and my breasts are now higher, but normal looking.

queenmomcat

Hi, Poppy! I'd say I have at least a C cup's worth on the lumpied side, at the moment (DD to start with), just not in a terribly breast-like shape at the moment. Obviously, the official assessment must come from a plastic surgeon, but can they kind of scoosh things in toward the middle?

I wouldn't say no if I came out the other side of this [bleep] with a breast reduction....and a prognosis of "likely to survive for her natural lifespan". I've had backaches since I was in my twenties. And it helps my husband's being marvelous about it; he's the one who suggested hopefully "Maybe you can have a tattoo?"

movingsoccermom

Queenmomcat, sometimes the right bra can scoosh things to the middle. I have a couple like that I hope to be able to wear again. I am hoping for some rearrangemet too, after healing from Rads. Hope your healing goes well!

queenmomcat

MovingSoccer: the bras I had before surgery do work well, thankfully! You're right that breast tissue's squashable like that, and the being able to look at least mostly normal in street clothes (I tend to wear floppy tshirts anyway) is a godsend. Plus not having to rush out and buy bras just for recovering from cancer treatment.

I hope I didn't/don't sound too speshul snowflake/princess in my hopes for a more permanent plastic-surgery scooshing! But I'm having problems OUT of a bra--in a nightgown, in the shower, and when I"m cleared for it, in the Y pool doing laps in my swimsuit. Me and pretty much every woman who's ever gone through breast cancer treatment!

PoppyK

Queenmom, No one should ever think looking somewhat normal and being able to buy a bra is unreasonable. So ask about what can be done! I would think that matching C cups would definitely be worth looking into.

Cancer is a horrible, sneaky disease. I just wanted to not think about cancer every single morning when I went to get dressed.

If anyone is thinking about reduction/reconstruction, consult with a PS before your lx. If it's too late for that, consult prior to rads because rads can make the tissue difficult to work with and harder to heal. The PS will also know if surgery can be performed on you after rads. Everyone is different.

Since I consulted with a PS prior to my Lx, my surgery was done all at once. The PS drew the lines for the incisions and those were the incisions used to remove my cancer.

Another thing that occurred to me: I was pretty swollen after surgery. Once the swelling went down, my breasts were less fake looking, but didn't sag without a bra. Rads did make the bad girl a little smaller.

movingsoccermom

I think wanting to look as close as possible to normal is what we all want, so consider me a princess too! I will be seeking PS next year, as in my current health plan it wasn't an option prior to surgery or rads. Boy do I hear the bra thing. I am still trying to find something soft and supportive, but have gone online, since after 3 stores I am too tired and frustrated to check any more stores. Too recently done with rads to have tried swimming, but am dreading a return to tennis, since my racquet hand/arm is the bc side and keeping up with DS was already difficult. Stupid disease. I can say that I felt OK in a night tee about a month after surgery. Still waiting for the new normal post RT. Hang in there.