June 2010 Mastectomy

jsmiley60

I guess I'm the first one to sign up for June!!!

June 1 - 1Marmalade1 - LMX - DONE!
June 2 - Reneemac RMX &TE, almagetty RMX & TE, lucylou BMX, Reneew53 BMX & TE -DONE!
June 3 - stacey2275 left mastectomy w/ te - DONE!
June 4 - ihatescreennames BMX & TE - DONE!
June 7 - Gettinpastthis BMX - DONE!
June 8 - MRDRN BMX with DIEP - DONE!
June 11 - helenap MX, jsmiley60 BMX & TE - DONE!
June 15 - Chellebelle's mom - DONE!
June 17 - wifemomx2 - BMX with TE - DONE!

June 18 - StaceyA BMX & TE - DONE!

June 21 - stlcardsfan BMX, recon and ooph - DONE!

              lizzymac - DONE!

              Brazos - BMX, no recon - DONE!

      
June 22 - MistyJ BMX with TE, Circe BMX- DONE!
June 23 - jillyg RMX and TE both sides - DONE!
June 24 - webstermom BMX with recon, joystars Mx DONE!
June 28 - jblcsw10 - BMX & speech529 - RMX w implant - DONE!
June 30 - Laurie08 BMX & TE - DONE!
July 22 - orchidgal - BMX, TEs & SNBs

reneemac

I was scheduled for May 19th, but it's now June 2. I'll be having a right breast mastectomy with immediate reconstruction with a tissue expander. I am anxious to be on the "recovery" side of things and hope that it is not re-scheduled again!

stlcardsfan

I am in June as well.

Completed Chemo first, now on every 3 week Hercerptin.

June 21 - BMX immed recon implant expanders, and possibly ooph at same time. BRCA 2+, lucky me. 

jsmiley60

What's "ooph"?

ihatescreennames

I've been lurking on the May thread, as I thought I'd end up there, but I found out today that I'm scheduled for surgery June 4th.  I'll be having a bilateral mastectomy, axillary dissection on right side, and tissue expanders.  I only have cancer on the right side, but decided to do the left as well.

I finished neo-adjuvant chemo April 23rd.  I had dd AC for four cycles, then 12 weeks of Taxol and Herceptin.  I'll continue with Herceptin every 3 weeks for the remainder of the year.  After surgery, I'll have radiation as well.

 Jeanne/jsmiley60:  An ooph (oophorectomy) is removal of the ovaries.

1marmalade1

I guess I'll be the first one to take the leap - my surgery is at 8 a.m. June 1st. - Left modified radical mastectomy.  Chemo was completed  first - 2 rounds AC, 4 rounds Taxotere/Herceptin.  Rads to follow, possibly July 12.  Herceptin until end of Jan. 2011.

I am truly grateful to all the ladies that have gone through this before us, and shared their experiences.  I am sure we will do the same for those who follow.

Good wishes to all!

jmac2010

I'm scheduled for bmx with TE on June 29th. R side is multi focal DCIS and left is prophylactic. I'm still reeling from this diagnosis.  I was trying to get all of my doctor's appts finished before we adopted a baby, but now the birthmother kept her so everything has gone from bad to worse.

helenap

I am signed up for June 11th and it is comng fast.. trying to figure out what I need to know for recovery and making life easier at home.. doing the simple mast I hope.... and trying to avoid any future surgery... they say it is only 1-2 percent re-occurence but then again 1 in 8 get breast cancer and we find ourselves in that group so I am not feeling lucky...

so good wishes to all

Laurie08

I am scheduled for a BMX with TE's on June 30th.  I am so glad that I found this post and can connect with all of you.  Because of a strong family history I have opted to have the bilateral and remove the "healthy" breast as well.  Like everyone else, I am anxious and just want to put this behind me.  I have never had surgery in my life (except 2 c sections) and the whole thing makes me nervous.  Once I am out of surgery I think I will feel a whole lot better, because than I can control my healing. 

jsmiley60

Thanks all for sharing! Jmac I'm sorry for all you are going through in addition to breast cancer. And Helenap we are having surgery the same day, so I'll be thinking of you before I go under! I'm getting more scared and nervous and GROUCHY as the day approaches. I'm trying to make myself journal to work through some of the feelings, but it is hard. When I talk to my friends and tell them how I feel, I just want them to listen and tell me they will be there for me, but they all try to fix it and tell me what to do.........well can you ask so and so to stay with you after or move stuff around so you can reach it.........well yeah I've thought of all that........just wanting them to listen. I know they are just trying to help.........

almagetty

Hello ladies:

 This is my first post, though I've been lurking since March.  I'm scheduled for a Uni Mx, right breast with immediate reconstruction/tissue expander placement  on June 2.  I had a lumpectomy on March 26 and a re-excision for one unclear margin on April 9.  The margin at re-excision was close, so here I am. 

 Jeanne, I can so relate to your feelings right now.  I am so grouchy right now and I feel really bad about that, but I can't help it.  I'm also find that I'm tired of talking to friends and family about it all.  I know they mean well and want to help, but I've been over it all so many times already... 

 reneemac:  I, too, am so ready to be on the recovery side. 

 I'm sorry that we're all here having to go through this, but I'm thankful for the support and the company. 

MRDRN

Hi Ladies,

I am June 8th, Double Mx with immediate Diep.  BRCA 1 positive.   Thanks in advance for sharing your journey.

MRDRN

stlcardsfan

Well it is official - ooph will be same day as bmx. So, I will have 3 surgeons working on me and probably a ton of assistants going in an out as my surgery will be at a teaching hospital. When I had my port put in, there must of been at least 4 or 5 people who came in my room to introduce themselves and say that they would be assisting Dr so an so with the surgery.

Hopefully I will have some hair on my head by the time I go in for surgery. 

Welcome to all who have hopped on this thread. We can do this! 

Laurie08

jsmiley I am with you as well with the grouchy thing.  How about people say- you must be psyched!  Free boob job (?)  Really?!  I have cancer and I should be psyched?  Then there are the- no worries you'll be fine.  I am worried....I believe I am supposed to be.  Stcardsfan- Sorry to hear you have to go trhough with the ooph....they told me I would need the same, genetic testing came back clean though...I am praying for all of you.

almagetty

The ""free boob job" thing gets me every time.  Honestly ... I never wanted a boob job.  I was perfectly happy as is.  And the no worries thing ... yeah, right, whatever.  Then there's the ones who tell me how lucky I am to be Stage 0, which I can accept on some level.  But when they tag on "If you have to choose a cancer, this is the best one!" ... Hmmm, given the choice, I truly would choose none of the above.  Is there really a "best cancer"? People just say the darndest things. I guess it's hard to know what to say.

 Anyway, I'm praying that everyone here receives courage and strength for the road ahead. 

reneemac

8 more days......

ReneeW54

I'll be having double mastectomy June 2nd.  Glad it's finally going to happen. I was scheduled a couple of times before, but was always rescheduled. Will have tissue expanders when I wake up.

I'm lucky my sister-in-law is coming to help me after surgery.  I hate it that I need her to do it, but expect the drains will be to much for hubby to deal with.  That night will be in hospital and then home next morning. 

I too will be happy to be on the other side of this surgery. 

almagetty

reneemac:  It looks like you and I will be having pretty identical procedures on June 2.  RMX with TE.  Will you also have SNB? My SNB was done at the time of my first lumpectomy on March 26.

ReneeW53: You're set to go on June 2, also. I'm glad you'll have some help.  My mom is coming to stay with us for as long as I need her.  It was wonderful to have her here when I had my lumpectomy, mostly for the company.

8 days to go.  Oh, boy.  

Laurie08

June 2nd is coming up fast- I keep thinking of you ladies,- reneemac, Reneew53 and almagetty.  Are you getting more anxious and nervous?  Sometimes I am frustrated that I have to wait until the end of June to "get this over with".  Other times I am relieved that it is a ways off- I am so nervous for the actual surgery.  How are you ladies coping?  All I seem to worry about lately is my son who is 2 1/2 and how this will effect him....oh who am I kidding?  I am worried about everything!

almagetty

Laurie:  I am getting more anxious and scared by the day.  Scratch that ... make it by the hour. I'm trying to keep my mind occupied with other things, but that doesn't work for long.  I've had to wait for this surgery for over a month since I decided on the PS and type of reconstruction I would go with.  For the first few weeks of the wait, it was almost like a mental vacation from all of this.  I was able to put it at the back of my mind and it was such a relief.  But now that the actual surgery date is looming on the horizon, I'm pretty scared.  

I am anxious to get past the surgery, terrified about the darned tissue expander, and at the same time I'm grieving the loss of my breast.  So many mixed emotions are running inside of me right now.  But to my family, I'm just being grumpy.  I hate that, but I can't seem to help it. 

I try to cope by reading other ladies' experiences with similar surgeries.  I've been lurking quite a bit in the May thread.  I've also read ahead in the Tissue Expander thread and the Implant thread. Sometimes reading on those threads helps.  Other times, it makes me more anxious.

Yikes! I sound like a mess! I hate this disease!!

reneemac

Almagetty, I will be having the SNB. This is the reason that my surgery was postponed from May 19 - the hospital where I am having the surgery was low on the chemical needed for that surgery. I'll tell you - I am not as nervous about the surgery as I am about getting a phone call on Friday that it's been postponed again... I had disability approved and now put off/denied. I've made plans for after surgery that now are having to be put off and re-arranged. I am supposed to go in for pre-op tests but don't want to if it's going to be postponed again. The majority of my work has been shifted to another office, so I sit here with "busy" work and hope and pray that it is not put off again!

It's been so helpful to read other people's experiences. I know that mine will be unique to me, but I am so anxious for the surgery to be over and be on the recovery side of things. I feel like I am in limbo.

almagetty

Reneemac: I'm sorry that your surgery was postponed. This whole thing is so nerve-wracking. If it helps you to know this, the SNB shot was not painful for me in the very least. The pre-op nurse had freaked me out by telling me how much it would hurt. The doctor who administered it told me it would be felt for about 10 seconds and then it would go away, and that's exactly what happened.  What I did feel wasn't a pain, just more of a sensation.  

When I decided on May 3 which PS to go with, I was told by the BS's office that it would take approximately 3 weeks for the two surgeons to coordinate their schedules.  Lo and behold, the BS office called me that very same afternoon that my surgery was scheduled for May 7.   I was the one who asked them to re-schedule.  It was just too soon for me.  And, we had been planning to take a long weekend away for Mother's Day, just me, my husband and my two daughters (age 20 & 16).  We were holding tickets to see my very favorite musician in the world on May 8 in a nearby city and were going to be staying at the beach for 3 days around it.  Call me crazy, but I really needed the break.  So, the next date available was June 2.  I didn't expect it to be so far away, but truly it was only 2 weeks after the tentative schedule that the BS had given me to begin with.

I don't think I'm nervous about the surgery itself, either. I think I'm more worried about the recovery and the expansion.

Like you said, each of us will have a journey that is unique, but I also find great comfort (mostly) in reading the stories of others that have already traveled this path.  I was just reading in the January thread. They are a wonderful, really upbeat group. It's awesome to read about their completing their exchanges and nipple surgeries.  Soon, we'll be there, too.

Now, to get past this next little bit ... 

Laurie08

almagetty- thank you for letting us know that the SNB didn't hurt.  My surgeon has warned me that it is quite painful.  I too just want the surgery to be over.

I too have been lurking n the January thread, and those ladies are incredible!  They all have such positive feedback, it has helped reassure me that things will be ok.  One woman suggested that I go to a private, very secure web site that a woman named Timtam does.  She is on breastcancer.org.  Basically it is a large group of woman, all effected by BC, most from here who share their journey, questions etc with each other along with photo's before, during, after etc.  I have found that site very helpful.  If anyone is interested I can tell you how to get in touch with Timtam. 

The other thing that seems to help me is reading.  I read ALOT.  It's the only thing that gets me to sleep.  You ladies are right, our journeys are going to be unique, we are all nervous about different parts of this process, and all of the process.  But we will get there!  In a few months we may be inspiration for future ladies who lurk on our thread, the way we do January.

Laurie08

reneemac- I will cross all my fingers and toes for you that your surgery is not rescheduled.

almagetty

Laurie:  I've read a little bit about the TimTam site and I definitely want to be able to check it out.  I thought we had to have a higher post count on here before we would be able to go over there.  If that isn't the case, please do tell me how to get in touch with Timtam.

I found a thread over at the Reconstruction area called something like "I Love My New Breasts". It's also super uplifting and positive.  Uplifting and positive is what I'm looking for right now.

I hope we can be an inspiration to those who come behind us. 

Laurie08

At the top of the web site is a search engine for members list.  Tab on that and type in Timtam.  Her picture is of Godzilla. PM her and just let her know that you heard she has a site and would appreciate sharing in the info etc.  It is what I did, they had different questions and threads from the bcorg site that I found helpful, not to mention the photo's.  She has to verify you and it is a very private site so it might take a day or two to gain access, but I have found it well worth it.  Let me know when you get in and what you think. 

I had been trying to figure out why more women didn't keep their areola's and found different topics discussing it, I haden't had any luck with info on this site...

reneemac

I called the surgery scheduler today to let him know that I was going to do the pre-op tests tomorrow, and should I go ahead, since I was told not to do the pre-op tests until 7 days or less from the surgery date. He said that he has no indication that the surgery will be postponed, but also said that he could get word the day before that it would need to be re-scheduled! That didn't make me very happy, but it is what it is, I suppose.

Laurie08

reneemac- So you are supposed to just hold your breath and hope that they don't reschedule it?  That is CRAP- sorry but what the heck?  Why is it up in the air at this point?  Can you call your Dr and verify things are all set to give yourself peace of mind?

jsmiley60

Yeah I'm pretty scared about my surgery and just plain overwhelmed and grouchy still! I need to cry and grieve more........I'm a full time student so trying to get all my school stuff done by end of the quarter, June 10, plus get my house organized and clean. UGH!!  I had chemo from Oct til April so my house is disorganized and a mess......I have so much to do! (People did come clean)

I feel bad for those of you who have small children; Iknow that's gotta be hard to know you won't be able to pick them up and such after your surgery!

Went to hospital today for pre-admission testing and the nurse who took care of me had a masectomy and implants last October. She was a real encouragement. Then a woman called from a church to get my address because someone that attends there wants to anonymously send me a donation (YAY GOD!) Anyway I started telling her about my breast cancer and she had a mastectomy with implants 12 years ago........how weird is that! Very encouraging!

 It will really be okay ladies!! We can do this!!!!

ReneeW54

I was diagosed in March, so I've had a while to get used to the idea of it all.  In a way I'm glad it's taken this long to get to the surgery.  I seemed to need the time to come to terms with losing my breasts, accepting the cancer, mentally preparing for the surgery etc.

At first I had a so called good attitude re it all, if you don't count breaking into tears at the drop of a hat, my attitude has since gone to crap, OK so I'm "grumpy."  LOL It's a roller coaster ride mentally. I think I just want the surgery done already.

My family wants it done with, and they probably are not going to have the patience it's going to take for me to get through all of this. It's going to be tough on all of our families and friends.  Hey, sometimes I don't have any patience with them.  I guess we will get through this one way or another.  I think forgiveness may be needed a lot in my near future.

1marmalade1

ReneeW53:  I know exactly how you feel!  I am having a left MX June 1 - I was diagnosed in Nov., finished chemo beginning of April.  I think I've handled it rather well - until now.  My sense of humour has gotten me this far, but with only a few days left, I find myself having several mini-meltdowns.  I am really trying hard not to let my family see me cave in to my fear and sadness.  I am not having re-con, so there really isn't anything to look forward to once the surgery is over!  I will be having rads in the summer, so I don't even have going up to the cottage to look forward to.  Another bummer.