Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Ringelle, I'm enjoying this discussion, too. That's interesting about those faux-nursing bras. I can imagine that they were expensive. Are you wearing anything right now or are you still very tender and sensitive? When you are a bit more healed you might consider the camis at Walmart. I don't know what size you are (i.e. dress size) but these are probably junior sizes and run very snug. I'm generally a medium and I buy larges (supposedly size 11-13) and could easily take an XL.

    HUGS!

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  • Keys-Plez
    Keys-Plez Member Posts: 304
    edited August 2015

    Outrunning.....High Impact Immobilization. Sounds like a new weapon.

    The enemy's advancement was stopped by "high impact immobilization" rounds.

    What a hoot!!!

    BTW....I hook in the back, my sister hooks in the front and twists. We're both C/D sized. I don't know what Mama does. Don't want to know what Mama does.

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Keys-Plez, now that IS interesting that you and your sister put on your bras differently. That shoots my 2nd or 3rd theory that it's a learned behavior (doesn't that sound ponderous?).

    My HS class is having a 70th birthday party reunion today and tomorrow and if I can, I'll have to ask some of my classmates what they do and why (if they know). That ought to liven things up!

    HUGS!!!

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  • Outrunning
    Outrunning Member Posts: 178
    edited August 2015

    Keys-Plez you made me laugh out loud. I'm so happy my question about what bra to buy (and if I need to at all) has turned into a fun discussion.


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  • bjclaywell
    bjclaywell Member Posts: 49
    edited August 2015

    Morning ladies! Just got back from my appointment with the BS to get my pathology report! All great news - Stage 1, Grade II, clear margins, clear lymph node!!! He said that due to my age, I'm a perfect candidate for Bracci (braccy?) radiation, and he wants me to go that route if possible. I made the appointment with the radiologist for Monday morning. Will also be seeing the oncologist sometime soon but haven't reached her yet. She's also my mom's oncologist, and was my hematologist back when I was having trouble staying pregnant some 13+ years ago (wow, has it been that long?). I also got the following info:

    ER - favorable - percent positivity 98.13%

    PR - favorable - percent positivity 98.03%

    Ki-67 - Unfavorable - percent positivity 39.34%

    HER2 - Negative - membrane score 1+

    I know what the ER, PR and HER2 scores are and what they mean, but I don't know what the Ki-67 is. I'll have to look that up.

    Molly - I'm sorry your surgery got put off, but clearly it was for the best in that particular circumstances. I'm sorry for the added stress and anxiety though. :(

    Everyone else - I hook my bras in back, and I'm a C cup. My mom is a C cup too and hooks hers in front and twists them around. My daughter hooks hers in front and turns them around, but she's just barely an A cup...she's also only 12. :)

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  • plumster1
    plumster1 Member Posts: 270
    edited August 2015
    Bj- congrats on clear margins and lymph nodes!!!! My understanding of Ki67 is that it represents how quickly the tumor proliferates. It is a part of your overall tumor profile. I am sure when you see your MO, he/she will go over it with you. :) so happy to hear your good news.
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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Great news, BJClaywell! Let us know what you and the RO decide on your rads! Is an Oncotype test being done? According to an article here on BCO, your Ki-67 would likely be used with it to determine the need for chemo. See Ki-67 Test Meaning

    Theory number 231: Maybe the choice of hooking in front or back depends on how easy it is for you to reach up behind your back?

    HUGS!!!

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  • BT828
    BT828 Member Posts: 38
    edited August 2015

    Such good news BJ, congrats!

    I think you nailed it with theory #231 Peggy. I hook mine in the front & twist around. D cup & bad shoulders. Loving the conversation, too funny!!

    Have a great day everyone!

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  • bjclaywell
    bjclaywell Member Posts: 49
    edited August 2015

    So the BS said they may want to do an Oncotype test, but maybe not. I guess that is up to the oncologist and/or radiologist. Apparently my radiologist and oncologist are besties. LOL The BS felt my chances of having to do chemo were very slim.

    I read about the Ki-67 a bit, and it was interesting because my initial biopsy report from May showed a very slow growth in cells (I think it was my Allred score?) but now this one seemed to show a quicker growth rate? I'm a little confused, but honestly, my mind is going 5 million miles a minute right now, and I'm still full of adrenaline from the lymph node thing that I'm not focusing well.
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  • queenmomcat
    queenmomcat Member Posts: 3,039
    edited August 2015

    BJ: so with you on the "hundredandeleventy miles a minute" brain racing. Different answers. Different questions. But the same frantic gerbil brains.

    Peggy: I'm with theory 231, myself. Not so much that I can't reach up behind my back, but my coordination is crap. How do you all manage to hook your bra in the back without looking? I'd need a giant hook and eye fixture like what my back screen door has.

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  • Nash54
    Nash54 Member Posts: 837
    edited August 2015

    Bjclaywell....great news.  I did the brachy thing (internal rads 2xday for 5 days).  The contraption was weird but glad I got it done in a shorter time frame. 

    Outrunning...so sad about your mom.  Sorry this happened.  

    For the record...I'm a back hooker. Lol

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Queen, 55 years of practice! Every so often I do have an issue and can't seem to hook the dang thing but perseverance and brute force solve the problem!

    HUGS!

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  • Molly50
    Molly50 Member Posts: 3,773
    edited August 2015

    Outrunning, I am so sorry about your mom. How awful. (((hugs)))

    The bra conversation is quite interesting! I am wearing a front hook jog bra today because my seroma is finally absorbing so I am not in much pain now. It took me forever to get this thing hooked! I would hook one and the one below would unhook!

    Bjclaywell, congratulations on your good results. Hopefully that means no chemo for you. I am waiting on oncotypedx. They sent in for insurance approval because I got the authorization in the mail. Hopefully it won't be long before I have it.

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  • mustlovepoodles
    mustlovepoodles Member Posts: 2,825
    edited August 2015

    LOL, all this talk of bras is cracking me up. For the record, I fall in the twist & shout camp. And then I lean over and shake the girls into the cups, stand up and adjust, as needed.

    Speaking of bras, I have looked all over for good, sturdy, no underwire bras. I'm a generously endowed girl and it has been almost impossible. I've tried various versions of sports bras and front close bras--all were a no-go. Yesterday I finally found some Bali no-underwire bras that come in sizes Small-2XL. And they're so soft! I bought 4~! They are not particularly supportive, but it's better than my other options 1) underwire fortress or 2) free-birding. This is me doing the happy dance!

    So, today there were some difficulties...I have been doing pretty well, despite the enormous amount of swelling and bruising. I've been off the Percocet for a few days and barely even needed Tylenol. Then, yesterday, I began to feel a sort of heaviness in the breast. This increased during the evening to swelling, warmth, and generalized pain. There was one area that was particularly painful. I kept ice packs on continuously until bedtime. Well, I tossed and turned all night, until I finally got up and took a Percocet--blessed relief! But when I got up this morning I had more than a little drainage on my shirt.

    Well, I cleaned all that up and noted that there was one little open area in the wound, hardly the size of a pencil led. It was just damp enough that the fresh steri strips didn't want to hold. Still, it wasn't bad and I wasn't worried. Around 1pm I put a 2"x1" sturdy gauze dressing on so we could go out for lunch. Just before we left, 30 min later, I happened to check the dressing and Holy Cow! it was completely saturated with bloody fluid! I called my BS and she asked me to come in. I re-dressed the wound with a large pressure dressing and had DH take me down there. By the time I arrived (25min) I had saturated THAT dressing. Good grief~

    The BS took a look with the ultrasound and found a small hematoma in there. She told the PA to make an attempt to evacuate the little bit of fluid she could see. Thankfully, the suture line is numb, so the PA popped a large bore needle in there and started withdrawing blood...and pulling...and drawing...and changing the syringe...and pulling...etc. She took out 1-1/2 ounces of blood! And then she mashed on it for 15 min and got another ounce or so out. We were all surprised and when she got done it looked like there had been a hog killing in there.

    The PA bandaged me up with a large pressure dressing with advice that she wants it to keep draining (there is a substantial hole in it now) and return in 2 days for another look. Well, before I could even get home--45 min--blood had completely saturated the dressing, my bra, and my top. I had to stop by CVS to get bandage supplies and hope nobody fainted from the sight of blood or called the cops. I was going to go to church tonight but I think not~!

    So, now I am re-bandaged with really heavy-duty dressings and lots of tape. So far, so good. I was hoping that it would feel less painful now that she got all that blood out, but it's hurting a good bit. She did tell me to put a warm pack on it, so I think I will do that in a bit.

    On the plus side, my path report is back. It looked pretty good, no surprises. One margin on the DCIS (grade 3) is less than 1mm, so the BS is going to get with the pathologist to determine if she needs to go back in. Hopefully, she'll know something when I go back.

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  • bjclaywell
    bjclaywell Member Posts: 49
    edited August 2015

    MLP - oh my gosh - I'm so sorry this is happening...I hope that all begins to mend itself sooner rather than later. :( Also - I don't know if you have a Lane Bryant by you, but that is where I got these bras I'm wearing - they are soft and comfortable - but they do have soft cups. They are some sort of new thing they have, and they are ugly as sin - but comfy! The cups are made of a two-ply material so the inside fabric stays cool and dry if you are sweating or anything. Also, they were on sale last Saturday for half-price.

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  • octogirl
    octogirl Member Posts: 2,804
    edited August 2015

    oh yeah, definitely theory 231 for me. As I mentioned when we started down this path, I have restricted range of motion in my left arm from breaking it as a child (broke at the elbow, needed surgery, never got full range of motion back)...so I CAN"T hook in the back! (and the fact that I am double DD makes that even more the case, I guess). You now what they say about necessity being the mother of invention...(which is better than figuring out how one's mother did it, I agree....and anyway, I inherited my breast size from my father's side of the family. Mom probably more closely resembled Peggy's body shape...(you aren't a runner by any chance, are you Peggy?)

    Yay to Queenmomcat for sim being done and double yay to bj on the clear margins. and Hugs to all!

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  • octogirl
    octogirl Member Posts: 2,804
    edited August 2015

    mlp, sorry you are having to go through that! I had a similar looking wound in one incision, it turned out to be a suture stich that had popped...but no hematoma. It is now almost healed, but had to do a lot of packing with guaze and bandaging until it did. One thing: my bs gave me a rx for some heavy duty and very expensive bandages that are surgical grade, stick directly to the skin with the guaze area in middle, guaranteed sterilized, and altogether fancy, with a fancy price to match (a box of 5 is about $50, yes, you heard that right: a bit over $10 a bandage, plus tax. And it turns out my insurance doesn't cover them. you don't actually need to rx to buy them, generally available at a surgical supply store, but she gave me one in case it helped to get reimbursement.)

    Expensive, but they didn't irritate my skin at ALL, which the tape that held on regular store bought first aid type bandages/guaze did. My breast was super sensitive at that point and it sounds like yours are also. The brand name is DuoDerm. If your skin gets rashes or irritated, would be worth asking your bs about them or something similar. In any case, I hope it heals quickly and feel better soon!

    Hugs

    Octogirl


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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Poodles, I'm sorry you are going through all this but I sat here laughing at your descriptions! Your sense of humor is awesome. Hope you stop draining and start healing NOW. Glad you found bras that seem to work. You'd think that it would be simple to buy a bra but I haven't ever met one person who found it so. I have a helluva time too. Hope your margin is okay but you'll deal with it if it isn't. Argh!

    Octogirl, No, I'm not a runner. I have NEVER run (except bases when playing backyard baseball). Just blessed with a slender body and really fat waist (it has always been big compared to the rest of me). I chipped an elbow when I was 10. Luckily I didn't need surgery on it and I was able to get back my range of motion quite quickly after the cast came off. Sounds like your break was much more serious.

    I never stood a chance of being curvy. Mother was quite flat (back in the late 20s and early 30s women bound their breasts to make them flat) and both grandmothers were lacking. So while I'm not totally flat no one would mistake me for being curvaceous. (Except when I nursed the kids and then I didn't know what to do with all that shape!).

    HUGS dear friends!

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  • plumster1
    plumster1 Member Posts: 270
    edited August 2015
    Poodles- wow! What a story! I hope you heal quickly and are resting comfortably!
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  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited August 2015

    Poodles good wishes coming your way! Your sense of humor is awesome.

    PeggyI will definitely check out QVC. Would not have thought of that. Appreciate the other suggestions as well.

    Just saw Franki Vallie in concert -- it's true, "big girls don't cry" -- except when trying to find a bra that fits!!)

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  • Tresjoli2
    Tresjoli2 Member Posts: 868
    edited August 2015

    Horsegirl are you doing herceptin only?

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Reader, I think many of the Breezies bras on QVC are gorgeous but they just don't fit me when they do have A cup bras (which isn't very often). They seem to specialize in bustier ladies and apparently do it well. I hope you find something that you like and works! That concert must have been terrific. I think we can all agree about crying over bras. I must have a zillion - most of which aren't that comfortable but they are pretty!

    HUGS!

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  • bjclaywell
    bjclaywell Member Posts: 49
    edited August 2015

    Reader - wasn't that the BEST concert? I saw him last year here in Phoenix - he was absolutely amazing. It may very well have been the best concert I have ever been to in all of my life (and I've been to many). His voice was STILL so beautiful, and it's nice to go listen to someone who actually had to be able to sing and hit a note!!! The theater we saw him in was "in the round" and we were maybe 8 rows away (there are only like 32 rows total). But I would pay top dollar to hear him again. He sang forever too!!!

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  • Reader425
    Reader425 Member Posts: 653
    edited August 2015

    Bj, Totally the best! He's 82 and still on key. We saw him at Wolf Trap in DC, also in the round. I was going to clip a video I took but can't seem to attach it. Excellent!

    Peggy I thought bra issues were just a big girl problem but I guess it's a "girl" problem!

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited August 2015

    Reader, looks like a GIRL problem - right!

    HUGS!

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  • Sweetmamaj
    Sweetmamaj Member Posts: 190
    edited August 2015

    Hi All, sorry I've been absent for most of the week. Have been overwhelmed with many events, especially my dad's passing, and had not been on this board.

    But now on the eve of his service, I found myself perusing some of the most recent posts, and for some strange reason, I was cheered up and feltbetter than I've had in many days. I guess I could go deep and wonder if it's because your posts show me that life goes on, or maybe I'm simply in denial of tomorrow's event. But I suspect the endless discussions of bras, twists, bending, grandmothers, and 70th birthday reunion surveys that cracked me up, had something to do with it! And dear Poodles, I felt bad for laughing at something so painful, but you seemed so bright and optimistic in the face of an otherwise worrisome situation. Great description of the PA addressing your hematoma! I hope that your follow up goes well.

    Sounds like many good reports; I am so happy for those sisters, and want to give hugs to those who had not so great reports. Many hugs! This board is alive, it's...we're here with support and love and always hugs. Hell, I guess that's my answer as to why I'm writing at this late hour.

    Thank you all--many hugs xoxox. I'll be back and reading/posting again probably by the weekend.

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  • octogirl
    octogirl Member Posts: 2,804
    edited August 2015

    Sweetmamaj, you will be in our hearts and our pockets tomorrow!!

    Octogirl

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  • plumster1
    plumster1 Member Posts: 270
    edited August 2015
    Sweet mammalj- will be thinking of you tomorrow! Hugs!
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  • Sweetmamaj
    Sweetmamaj Member Posts: 190
    edited August 2015

    thanks octogirl :)

    Hope you're staying strong and positive in the face of upcoming tx. Embrace the positive effects of chemo, and hold strong through the negative SEs. You can do it. And we're here for you. xoxox.

    Thax also plumster!

    Ok, im really signing off now; it's verylate! Night all! Xoxo


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  • Molly50
    Molly50 Member Posts: 3,773
    edited August 2015

    Mlp, sorry for your hematoma but glad you got into the BS quickly. I agree with the others that your story was entertaining and descriptive!

    Sweetmamaj, you will be on my heart tomorrow. I am glad that the bra discussion cheered you up!!

    Peggy, thank you for always being upbeat, funny and full of great advice. I wish I knew you in person.

    Good night all!

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