Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

mustlovepoodles

luvdsny wrote: Just a follow up, I met with my breast surgeon on Tuesday (she was amazing and patient). I am scheduled with excisional surgery on Monday. I am being told if suspicious cells are seen a full lumpectomy will be preformed while I am sedated. I feel calm about the procedure but more worried about the sedation. The doctor even slipped and said the medication being used is what was used on Michael Jackson. Goodness my thought was, "really he died as a result of that medication". Yikes! I know it was my mind playing with me. I am scared and really looking forward to having this behind me. I pray for all of you going through this, it is difficult and emotional draining. Hugs! ,

Michael Jackson died because propofal was given to him IN HIS BEDROOM by Dr. Moron. Propofal is a very safe drug when used in the proper setting (hospital). In fact, it's probably used more often than general anesthesia (think: endoscopies, biopsies, kidney/bladder procedures, prostate procedures.) So, unless your doctor plans to do your lumpectomy in the back bedroom, in which case you probably SHOULD be worried, I think you'll be okay.

Heck, when I had my thumb joint replaced they used a combination of local anesthesia, nerve block, propofal, and Fentanyl. No general anesthesia at all. The best part about propofal, beside the obvious not needing general, is that it only works while it's running. As soon as they stop the drug, you start waking up. Most people begin to waken within 1-2 min, although they may not be aware of it. My GI doctor uses it for colonoscopies--he calls it the Cadillac of anesthesia, LOL. ZZZzzzzz...

ChiSandy

I also had “Milk of Amnesia” for my combination colonoscopy/upper endoscopy--they stopped it when it was time for me to cough up the endoscope. Good stuff in the right setting! For my thumb tendon-release they gave me IV Versed first and heavy-duty Lidocaine as a local. I was completely awake and listening to the surgeon & nurse discussing what their families had planned for the weekend. Surreal. When I had a subsequent upper endoscopy, I only remember getting Versed and a topical, because I was awake during the whole shebang and it was less than comfortable.

keepwalking

Shirley - It must be so frustrating and worrying to have questions running through your mind and to feel so vulnerable. I hope you get some good sleep and let your mind and emotions rest. Exhaustion certainly doesn't help, so be kind to yourself and let others help you as much as possible. You are in my thoughts. HUGS!

6doggies - Congratulations on one year anniversary! Wishing you all the best for the next!

Jclc83 - Welcome to your new "home"! We are a great support for each other and share good times as well as the rough times.

luvdsny - Will be thinking of you for Monday's surgery. I am sure you will do fine. I had a (benign, it turns out) lump removed from my "good" breast many years ago under local anesthetic and it was very easy and the recovery was quick. I hope that will be the case with you, and that they will not see any suspicious cells!

Jclc83

Omg ladies thanks for the warm welcome! I can't tell you how great it feels.

Darn steroids lol. It's 3 :15 a.m. I am having my third round of TC ( out of six) today. The only thing I'm worried about is that I have to drive myself today. Look out everyone!!!

For me, surgery was the easy part. I had propofol too with no ill effects. It's strange to have to go back in for another surgery just for margins. I mean, margins are super important but that should be done with the initial surgery. One surgery is enough!

I do wonder from time to time if I should have had a MX instead, do you?

Nash54

Thanks Molly50....I so enjoy seeing everyone else's face thought I'd share mine.

Jclc83....I am so glad LX was an option for me....less is best in my opinion.

PontiacPeggy

Nash, Pretty Lady!

HUGS!

Molly50

Jclc83, if I didn't already welcome you then... WELCOME!! Sorry you need more surgery.

Jclc83

Thanks Molly! I don't need more surgery now. I just wonder sometimes that's all lo

Catfurr

Hi all!! 10 days post surgery and I'm itchy! Getting the steri strips off today, hoping it helps. Some new swelling in the SNB site and general aching in my chest, mostly in the center. Not sure if it's surgery related or because my EF dropped to 50. Wasn't able to start the Herceptin only tx, being referred to oncology cardiologist. Will redo echo in 4 weeks and maybe start if numbers come up. MO doesn't seem concerned, but of course, I am😳 Other than fatigue and some random pain, extreme sensitivity under my arm, I'm doing ok! Tried sleeping in my bed last 2 nights, but going back to my recliner tonight. Just can't get comfortable in bed😒Big hugs to those who are heading into surgery and very gentle hugs to you if you are recovering

PontiacPeggy

Catfurr, what fun being itchy! Have you tried Benadryl? Dang on the swelling at the SNB. I can understand why you're concerned with your EF being low. Aren't you glad you have a recliner so you have someplace comfy to sleep? Hopefully you'll be able to sleep in bed soon. Keep healing! Hopefully you'll be back on your treatment schedule soon!

HUGS!

brithael

Hopefully, I will hear about my pathology today. I know the "team" meets on Thurs., so maybe I'll get a call this afternoon. Obviously hoping for clear margins and a low number of positive lymph nodes. Already know I've got one. Otherwise, doing OK.

ChiSandy - I knew you'd get the "needles and pinzah" comment.

luvdsny

You girls are the best!! Just reading your comments is making me feel better already. Thanks and big hugs.

Catfurr

Thanks Peggy! Can't do Benadryl, causes very high heart rate. Ah, this too shall pass👍

Brithael-hoping for great pathogy report for you!

Jclc83-Welcome! This is a great place to be, well, not really, but you know what I mean. I'd rather be cruising animal rescue sites insteads

PontiacPeggy

Catfurr, I thought that just decongestants were a problem not Benadryl as a plain, old antihistamine. Darn. That would be such an easy fix for your itchiness.

HUGS!!

Jclc83

Thanks Catfurr! Don't mention animal rescue sites....I already have a house full. I am a sucker for animals...and a big animal activist.

Here I am in the hospital recliner getting chemo #3. My brother calls it the "spa." Not like any spa I've been to lol. After this I will be halfway done with chemo Yay!

PontiacPeggy

JcLc83, Yeah! Halfway done. Excellent. I suspect that that recliner is a "spa" no one wants to visit.

I am also a sucker for animals and have to restrain myself. I have one cat and one dog and that's all I can handle.

HUGS!

Outrunning

I am WAY behind. Thought I'd pop in to see how everyone is doing. Greetings to the new ladies.

I finished radiation on Monday. YAY

Last week was rough. I was exhausted, I had a work deadline (although supposedly working half-time I only took off 1 day total), and I was getting sick. It was hard to tell which part of feeling awful was from the rads, which from the cold, or if cold was facilitated by rads. But it doesn't really matter. Finished the magazine on Friday night so that was a relief.

I took Monday off entirely and had lunch with a dear friend who happened to be in town. That was my finished-rads celebration. I took Tuesday off sick with my daughter because the cold had just gotten both of us.

Now I get a couple weeks "off" and then start the tamoxifen adventure, and find out what my new norm is going to be. Time to go find that board I guess. I'm going to do a SE study, so in a way I don't want to know what could happen SE wise, so I'm not hypochondriac-like in my reporting. But it would be good to here from others who are find on it. I got an unhelpful report of a friend of a friend who did horrible on it. (Thanks. rolls-eyes)

Meanwhile, between nerves healing and radiation my breast is all weird and tingly most of the time. I guess that is better than itchy. My nipple is really sensitive too. Not sure if my kids always run into my breast this much and I just don't notice when it doesn't hurt. Or if their efforts to avoid it actually result in them being on it more than usual.
I was thinking what my breast feel like is what it felt like right before milk let down when I was nursing. So weird. (I had my kids late. My daughter is only 6 so just a little over 5 years since I was nursing.)

That's all I've got.

Now I've got to triage my desk and email in-box for all the things I've been ignoring for the past month. This could be ugly.

PontiacPeggy

Outrunning, Hooray for finishing up rads still mostly well. Bad about the cold. Must have been a lovely break seeing your friend. That's great that you are in a study of Tamoxifen SEs. Let's hope you don't have any, of course. And I suspect most women have no trouble - just keep that in mind when reading the posts on it (run into the same thing with Arimidex - those with no or mild SEs don't post very often; those needing help with awful SEs post most often). Lovely to have such helpful people in your life, isn't it? I've been blessed that most of my friends on Arimidex have done well on it (not all, of course) and I tend to not look for trouble.

I think you never forget that feeling when nursing of just before or during milk letdown. It's been 42 years since I nursed a baby and the sensations are still very strong.

Enjoy your "vacation"!

HUGS!

mustlovepoodles

Congratulations, outrunning, for finishing up radiation! I hope the Tamoxifen goes well, without many SEs. My youngest child is 20, but I still remember that feeling of my milk letting down--not quite painful, but not all that pleasurable either. Hopefully, this will be temporary tenderness only.

Molly50

Hugs to you outrunning!

Nash54

Congrats Outrunning!!!!

Musosgirl

I had a discussion today with two fellow lumpies at chemo and they were talking about lymphodema risks and restricted movement and all the other fun stuff I have to worry about. And I already knew about not taking blood pressure or having blood drawn from that side, but that got me thinking about my decision to do a reduction? Will that affect both sides or just the cancer side? Is it solely based on lymphnode removal? And if it's both sides, how do they take blood pressure or draw blood?

ChiSandy

Outrunning, congrats on finishing rads--for me 14 down, 2 to go. And commiseration & sympathy over the cold--I’m fighting one off now. (But because we’d had lots of rain & fallen leaves and now it’s very windy, it could also be mold allergy; unfortunately, they stopped reporting daily pollen & mold counts three weeks ago). DH had a nasty one that turned to bacterial sinusitis--it’s gone now but replaced with another that’s becoming bronchitis!

Catfurr, I too have never heard of antihistamines raising either BP or heart rate unless they’re combined with decongestants. Benadryl is available OTC in topical cream form, so very little is absorbed systemically. Ask your doctor.

Musos, I’ve also always wondered what they’re supposed to do about taking BP or drawing blood if you’ve had breast surgery on both sides.

Molly50

I believe it is only the lymph node side you have to worry about. Blood draws and BP can be done on feet/legs as well. If you want more detail check out the lymphedema forum.

Nash54

Shirley...how are you doing today?    3 more to go right?   Will they do rads over the weekend?  

Waterstreet

Nash 54 -Two to go and then I am done. No more appts until mid January that I know of after tomorrow. I talk to the RO tomorrow after the last treatment when he will remove the savi device.The RO today was moving it around asking was it sore, I said yes very then a bunch of puss and bright red blood came out we had to wait for that to stop to do the teatment. I kept telling them there was still drainage they said to stick it out till we take it out then we will deal with it. I'll be glad to walk out of there tomorrow. Tomorrow night I am going to take a pain pill and sleep. I am turning my phone off. Sunday I am going to ask the kids if we can all go out. I will pay. I go to my PCP Dec. 2nd for the red sore at the bottom of my breast if RO doesn't check it tomorrow.

So I will celebrate my last treatment sleeping. I have to come up with three side dishes for Thanksgiving and go shopping for the stuff. My DIL is doing an orange turkey she gets a bag of oranges and keeps pouring the juice over the turkey the whole time she cooks it, sounds tasty. I am going to catch an hour or two nap before I wake up totally again. Take care. I will check the site when I wake up.You are all in my prayers.

Congratulations to those who finished treatments and welcome to the new ones in the group.

PontiacPeggy

Shirley, hopefully the RO can take care of all that gunk in with your SAVI stuff and make you feel a whole lot better! For your 3 side dishes, I think this year you ought to take the easy way out and do things that require no work or that you can purchase. I'm sure everyone will understand. You've had plenty to cope with and deserve a break. Orange turkey DOES sound good. Let us know. Sleep good and long.

HUGS!!!

mustlovepoodles

Shirley, I agree with Peggy. You need to figure out the easiest way to make those sides. Do you have a Costco nearby? If not, there are plenty of grocery stores and restaurants that will gladly make your sides this year.

I have to tell you this funny story: One year I asked my sister to bring a couple sides--didn't specify what, because I assumed that a grown, married woman/mother wouldn't need to be told what to bring. So my sister shows up with her family and a pack of hot dogs, buns, and chips. WTH? But I went with it, cooked the hot dogs, and you know what? That turned out to be a huge success. All the kids wanted hot dogs and chips for Thanksgiving! I learned from that experience not to over-think this stuff. Some years you just need to go with what's easy.

PontiacPeggy

Poodles, that is hysterical. I would never have thought of bringing hot dogs to Thanksgiving dinner but obviously it was the right thing for your family. Perhaps Thanksgiving dinner is more an adult feast than a kid-friendly one?

HUGS!

MJS1266

Musosgirl, You only have to worry about Lymphedema on the side where the lymph nodes were removed and had radiation. I had a reduction and they do blood draws and BP etc, on the non-bc side. If getting breast surgery in general increased your risk of LE, there would be a lot more cases of LE in women with boob enhancements.