Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

PontiacPeggy

Molly, sounds like you are sighing with relief. I'm glad you won't have to do chemo, as I'm sure you are. Wonderful that you like your MO. I assume you'll be sticking with him now for your treatment.

I've been taking anastrozole for a year now and have had no problems with it. I'm 70 and have some of the stiffness of age that I had prior to starting it. Nothing that moving doesn't help. And I found that Claritin seems to help those little aches and pains - however it doesn't help my allergies so I don't take it. But it's another tidbit to file away in case it's needed.

Anyway, now you can sail through rads and start feeling better!

HUGS!!!

Molly50

Peggy, I wish I could stay with this MO but he's outside my network.

PontiacPeggy

Oh, that's so sad. At least he gave you the information you needed so you could make a decision you can live with. That's what matters.

HUGS!

Nash54

Molly glad you feel good about your 2nd opinion and no chemo!!!   I was told the same thing about 3-5% benefit and not worth the risks.  I've been on Femara with no side effects so far.  Hoping you'll do well on your HT. 

Reader425

Hi Shirley when I used the word echo, I meant I agree with (or "echo") the practical tips that Peggy provided.

A good Monday night to all!

Waterstreet

Amazon or Barns and Noble have he newest version and I am going B &N to pick up a copy I reserved tomorrow. Thanks.

Waterstreet

Sorry I'm not up on all the abreviations. Thank you, I will know what is meant the next time I see it. this is a wonderful group and I am so glad I found all of you.

KittyL

Waterstreet will be thinking of you. My Lx #1 w/SNB was pretty easy, even the Nuclear Scan dye shots weren't as painful as I feared (course the Percocet & my cousin's hand in mine didn't hurt either). CureDiva has some sweet post-surg bras that aren't butt-ugly. After I hit 2 women for old-fashioned snaps because my front-open hook&eye bras kept coming open,, my birth mom suggested narrowing the hooks slightly with pliers. Duh. Worked great. Now I get to return the snaps with the embarrassed story that sometimes I'm a nitwit.

Outrunning I get the biggest kick out of you. We are so alike, I'm updating phone list and surgery day schedule for my Posse. Now I need to jump on the "to do" list for DH, who, it turns out, will be home till 12/4 w/a couple of side trips. Have affirmed w/each other that it's a weird long-distance marriage most of the year (UT him/MI me) but we truly do love each other. He's sort of a "combative" conversationalist, and I get frazzled, but I play the BC card & gently retreat to my quiet room. Works.

Glad the surgery will be at the O/P Smith Surgery Center, not as much pre-op prep (they have excellent non-infection score) and I can re-use the jokes I told in Recovery last week, it'll be a different crowd. That's a relief; was trying to find new material. I quit the Norco 5s two days ago, and yesterday had to take T3 for the hip firing up again. Going to ask PCP for referral to chronic pain clinic for consult; I can't get the hip replaced yet and another silver lining from the BC (yes, there are many!) is that I realized I'm not taking enough meds for hip pain relief. Was weird to take good meds for the Lx/SNB (asked BS for meds to cover breast,back,hip) and discovering a whole room of my brain spends all its time trying to ignore hip pain; a vacuum when the meds had me covered. Not self-aware sometimes. The breast is SO dismayed at the 2nd assault, still some very sore places and that one nerve that goes up behind breast and out armpit that fires up. Also think it's going to take longer to heal, double-whammy on already-traumatized tissue. Oh well, I can do this! 2 of my 3-woman Posse will be there so I'm covered!

If you need joke material: Two old women talking. One says to other, "Boy, the sermon this week was so long, my bottom went to sleep." The other replies, "Yes, I thought I heard it snore a couple of times." da dum dum.

PontiacPeggy

Waterstreet, I think you'll be very glad you did. It should help explain a lot of the terms that are thrown around, many treatment options, and just very interesting. Skip parts that don't apply to you, if you want.

Kitty, good luck today! Loved the joke. Glad things are going fairly well with DH, I know you had some reservations. It has to be hard.

HUGS!!!

KittyL

Torigirl Sorry, have awful time keeping up w/all the posts. Note re sentinel node biopsy. Found out my initial (sigh) lx had to be done at the main medical center because of sentinel node marking i.e. Nuclear Medicine. My "do over" for clear margins can be done at the O/P Surgery Center. Often, sentinel node radioactive dye injection, and ultrasound wire tumor locator, are done in the same time frame, hence the Valium and Percocet I was offered (and cheerfully took, even though I didn't need wire.) They first get you comfortable on the very narrow sliding tray that goes into the nuclear scan machine. Your breast has been already absorbing the numbing licocaine cream under saran wrap (like refrigerator left-overs). I had both the Dr. and a nuclear Med tech present, also allowed 1 support person. After I told him he was a hunk (which I lied & blamed on the meds), he started injecting little bits of dye, started at upper inside of circle around the areola, the inside hemisphere didn't sting as much as the outside. It really Did feel like tiny little sweat bee stings and went away almost immediately. The only ones that really burned were upper outside quadrant & by the time I said "ow ow ow ow" really fast it was gone. I was Petrified about this procedure and want to reassure Anybody that it really is Very bearable. They then want you to massage your breast for 5 minutes (weird to do in front of people, and I'd start talking & forget & then the guy would say Massage! blush). Then they slide you in the machine & start taking pictures. Painless & you don't have to hold as motionless as for an MRI. They watch on a little screen to see whether the dye has reached proper lymph nodes. My cousin watched for me & said it looked very boring, just little white dots on a black background. Not nearly as interesting as a mammogram. And of course, the surgeon is most interested in locating them with his geiger counter & the blue dye. I had a blochy blue circle about 3" radius around the center of breast the day of surgery, like a circus bulls eye; it subsequently turned to Tidy Bowl blue pee. (Note: I was afraid it would stain bra, Not. It's all internal.)

PontiacPeggy

My experience with the dye injection was very different. My BS injected lidocaine and then the dye. I did not feel the dye shot at all. This was just a few minutes before my surgery. Whatever they did using the dye was done while I was knocked out so can't comment on that. Another case of where each person's experience is different!

HUGS!

Keys-Plez

KittyL....I once read, "Every day that you wake up, you are a survivor". Wear your bracelet and shirt, girl! Also, I love your sense of humor. You and I are birds of a feather. You sense of humor will help you through this thing.

When I get sad, my BFF knows just what to do. At first, he gets down there and wallers around in there with me, then we laugh our way back to the top. By the time we're done, we're telling some of the most inappropriate bc jokes you can think of and laughing our a$es off. Like, I might have to buy 2 different cup sized bras and cut the opposite sides out of each and wear them together. LMAO.

mustlovepoodles

Well, this turns out to be the last visit with the breast surgeon, at least for a while. My seroma is still there, but much smaller, and the opening that she stitched closed seems to be healing shut--she took out the stitches today. Told me to come back after my 3rd chemo to discuss PBMX.

The only fly in the ointment is that she has declined to put in the port. Not that I blame her, with all the complications I've had. I wouldn't want to do it either, if I were her. So that set off a bit of a mad scramble this afternoon to notify the MO, who is referring me to a vascular surgeon. I'm going out of town on a business trip Fri, return home next Wed. At the moment, chemo is slated to start Oct 20. So that leaves me only 2 days next week to get the port put in--Thurs or Fri. Or the MO can just push the chemo out another week. I'm waiting to hear from the vascular surgeon's office now.

One bit of relief was hearing that there is no rush on the BMX. The NP explained that they already took out the tumor, so we can take our time (within reason) on the PBMX. That's great to hear, because I have some stuff going on next spring--a Caribbean cruise and a very big business trip to the west coast. Hopefully, I can plan to do the BMX after that's all done. Anyway, it's not something that I need to worry about right now. Whew! One more thing off my plate.

I unfortunately was not able to get my hair cut & styled with the pink & purple low lights today--the stylist got sick. I don't think I will be able to get in to see her prior to starting chemo, so foo!. I have an appt with a wig fitter on Thurs. I have mixed feelings about that, but since my insurance carrier has said that they will cover the wig at 100%, I'm going to go for it! Just wish I could get my hair done nicely before it all falls out. (right now it's longish, thin, and rather fluffy, but not in a good way--I desperately need a style!)

6doggies

Hi Ladies, I know that all of you will understand this so here it goes. I work at a car dealership and General Motors sent us 2 big pink ribbon decals, for Breast Cancer Awareness month, of course, to put on the showroom windows, last evening we put the ribbons on the windows, with the Manager's permission, it is to show that General Motors supports BC and if you come in, we will take your picture in a big frame that you write the name of the person who has had or has BC and General Motors will donate money. After I left last night, they took them down, I asked who took them down and the one Manager said that they looked horrible. I am very angry about that, maybe I shouldn't be, but during my entire BC ordeal, they never asked me one time how I was doing, but I had one of the Manager's say to me, after he found out that I would be working during Chemo, that they get stuck taking care of me and they keep asking when I'm going to take my wig off so they can see my hair, very irritating. I guess now I just feel like one, they don't care and two, they totally dismiss how horrible BC is. The really sad part is, that we have 2 female sales people and they are the exact same way as the guys.

PontiacPeggy

Poodles, Wow. You h ave been extremely busy. I'm sure it is nice to know you don't have to rush to do the BMX. Sorry you aren't getting your pretty colored hair. Too bad you haven't been able to get the port in. At least your wig is covered. Your mind must be spinning.

HUGS!

PontiacPeggy

6Doggies, If GM sent the decals, doesn't that mean that GM really does want the dealership to leave them up? I'd be insulted too the way management has been acting. Very discouraging. I've no suggestions but know that WE support you!

HUGS!

mustlovepoodles

Keys-Plez says, "KittyL....I once read, "Every day that you wake up, you are a survivor". Wear your bracelet and shirt, girl! Also, I love your sense of humor. You and I are birds of a feather. You sense of humor will help you through this thing.

When I get sad, my BFF knows just what to do. At first, he gets down there and wallers around in there with me, then we laugh our way back to the top. By the time we're done, we're telling some of the most inappropriate bc jokes you can think of and laughing our a$es off. Like, I might have to buy 2 different cup sized bras and cut the opposite sides out of each and wear them together. LMAO."

Keys, you and I are of the same mind. I say, if you can't find something to laugh about, then you probably aren't trying too hard. Oh, sure, breast cancer is scary and the treatments are serious, and I'm not trying to minimize the real fear there. There are good reasons to cry. But I can't cry all the time. I've been through some pretty bad crises in my life and humor, sick black humor and inappropriate humor is what gets me through the hard times. I think your idea for your new bra lines up pretty well here.

bluedog

6doggies, so sorry there is no support for you at work, only hostility. Makes me want to cry on your behalf.

6doggies

Hi Peggy, thank you so much!! Yes, if GM sends us anything, it is to go up and stay until the end of the month.

Keys-Plez

6doggies...Tell them show me yours, I'll show you mine. Ask them to take off their wig. (I'm assuming they have perfect hair). Then when they give you that shocked look. Just say, "Oh. I thought that was a wig/toupee." And walk away. Try not to let them see you laughing.

Waterstreet

Thanx for letting me know. I found out today I am getting the blue dye too. Instead of the wire I am getting the Radiation Seed implanted into the turmor the day before surgery.

Waterstreet

I got the book and can't put it down. Ive already red three chapters. thanx again.

Molly50

(((mlp))) I am sorry you have to do chemo but am glad you can schedule your BMX at you convenience. 6doggies, I am sorry your management and co-workers are not supportive. I wish everyone could have the support that I have at work! Shirley, when is your surgery?

Waterstreet

I bought a post op bra at CureDiva. Its already been shipped.

PontiacPeggy

Waterstreet, I inhaled the book in one weekend after I was diagnosed. Worth every penny IMHO.

HUGS!

Waterstreet

Peggy,

You are right, just can't put it down.

Waterstreet

Hey, I just found the cute dress I bought when I got down to size 12 last Spring. 50's style and has curvature but really shows off the boobs.

I can do like they did in the 50's right? Fill that cup with toilet paper or tissue.

I think its a Grand Idea.

KittyL

Keys-Plez LMAO. Absolutely. Found out my 2nd surgery is back at the Smith Family Breast Health Center instead of Munson Main. I can re-use my jokes for post-op Recovery, new crowd! Hey, life is a bunch of joke fodder!!!

Waterstreet If you ordered a front-opening hook&eye bra like I did from CureDiva and it keeps coming open, as mine did, take a pair of pliers and very gently tighten down the hooks a little. Works like a charm! And about stuffing the cup, I well remember those rocket-nose bras; if you held your school books too tight, it caved in the empty tip & you had to sneak your finger down your blouse and pop it out again. Good luck with the t.p. --------or maybe you can "put a sock in it"!!! guffaw guffaw

Waterstreet

KittyL

I ordered the velcro wrap. I have never liked a lot of the hook and eye bras. It has pockets for the drains if needed and little pouches too.They called it a post op bra.

Can anyone help me with this next issue?

I need a to do list to have the house in order for coming home after surgery. My last surgery I was not really prepared only that time a lot of my stomach muscles had been cut during the surgery and it was a slow recovery. This one scares me more but that was my 4th abdominal surgery. Age has crept up and slowed me down some. I still have a few issues to finish that I was working on when I found out about the cancer and don't know how they will affect the cancer surgery.

I had a procedure done last Friday to fix my bladder and uterine prolapse. Now the next is a kidney problem I inherited from my father, I don't want to end up on dialysis as he did and there is no one left to tell me just what he had wrong. Its been a long wait to get in to see this kidney doc and I see him on the 14th. So can any of you tell me how to choose a plan of action with several health issues going on? I don't know which is most important. They are all aware of the other issues. I guess we have to get all the cards on the table and play it by ear. I don't know if they will stall the breast surgery to get the kidney function up to parr or just go ahead and get the cancer thing over with and then continue with the kidney problem.. All my doctors are in the same network but each time I go it seems one doesn't know what the other one is doing. They have all my information right there and they can see more than I can. My guess is we will handle the cancer first. I had forgotten about this appointment till they called to remind me of the date and time. The procedure last Friday was a fix untill I have the cancer surgery then they will do a hysterectomy after I get done with the treatments. I see the Radiation oncologist on the 16th. and he is ready to get the show on the road for the radiation therapy after the surgery. He called yesterday to tell me to plan on a three hour ordeal on the 16th. He said they are doing a complete physical exam, drawing blood for testing, and getting a full family history and then he is doing the permanent dye tatoos for the surgery and we will do a simulation on the radiation therapy equipment. He said they are scheduling a CT scan w/contrast. Now that I have put all this down in writing it kind of looks like they have a plan. I was just made aware of this appointment Monday and he called yesterday.Is this the norm for the breast cancer surgery?

PontiacPeggy

Waterstreet, I found that my lx was rather easy in comparison to the surgery I had on my ureter (kidney). I wasn't uncomfortable and the recovery was uneventful except a slight infection caught early. You do have a lot of surgeries lined up. I'm sorry that they are all needed at the same time.

I didn't find my radiology planning session an ordeal nor were rads. The tattoos are a breeze. I had 33 sessions of rads occurring when my DH was very very ill following surgery and in the hospital on the same grounds as the radiation unit. I was exhausted. I didn't notice the radiation making me more fatigued.

You seem to need a coordinator to get all your docs talking to each other and prioritizing your care and surgeries. Is there a NP available. Ask if someone can perform this service within the practice. It is one of the flaws of today's medicine. Perhaps your PCP can do this for you.

HUGS!!!