Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

JerseyRenee01

Brutersmom:

I only started with Md Anderson as I had names. Since being in NJ the majority of recommendations were this BS at MD Anderson. I had no personal problem with her. Having names eased my comfort.

Just for peace of mind had to get that 2nd opinion. It just kind of hard now crossing the bridge on a clean slate & not knowing much about names at Penn.

Jclc83

MD Anderson had a good reputation.

LoveMyVizsla

hello!

I'm having a lumpectomy, about 4cm worth, next week. How long did the pain and limited range of motion last post-surgery? I'm debating on whether to put up a Christmas tree and then not be able to put everything away. My husband thinks a tree would cheer me up, but I can see a disaster if he is the one that ends up putting it all away.

Thanks for any input!

Jclc83

Good luck with your surgery Viszla. I say go ahead put up your tree. I healed pretty fast after my lumpectomy. Besides you can always tell your husband what to do lol.

PontiacPeggy

Viszla, Welcome! I'll second that. Get your tree up now. I can only tell you my experience and I had very little pain and took plain Tylenol at night because I thought I "might" be uncomfortable. I had good range of motion almost immediately. I wasn't real interested in keep my arm stretched above my head for very long. Another consideration is where your incision will be. Mine was at 6 o'clock and ran up to just under the nipple. And yes, go right ahead and supervise DH taking down the tree. You won't be "infirm." But please, please, please, rest a lot. Your body needs that. It's major surgery and a shock to the system. By New Year's you will likely be fine - you didn't want to take it down earlier did you?

Let us know if we can help answer any questions - you probably already know that we are comforting, caring and information and a very safe place for you to be.

Where in Washington are you? I'm moving to Spokane early this summer to live near #2 son (isn't he lucky????).

HUGS!

Shopgal2

Hi ladies, I have not posted on this forum since starting treatment but I wanted to say to JerseyRenee I am being treated at Thomas Jefferson Kimmel Cancer center in philly and love my bs and treatment team. They were my 2nd opinion and chose them because they treated me as an individual not a case. I have triple negative bc and was overwhelmed with my diagnosis. No harm in getting a 3rd opinion, and I didn't have my lumpy until 6/29 and my cancer was found on a 4/21 mamo.

BCO has helped me get thru treatment and I have learned more here that I didn't know before bc.

JerseyRenee01

shopgal2:

Thanks for taking the time to write! You know I was just texting a friend about this. We both have DCIS & met on here. We just said being treated as individual was what we wanted. I did feel l got that at Penn which is prob why he wasnt as aggressive with his treatment for "ME".

I went in there yesterday with BMX as my choice & left with now 2nd guessing that choice. The nurse practitioner spent an hour with me & was so sweet & caring. He then spent additional hour with me. No rush at all.

Shopgal2

JerseyRenee my dad had open heart at penn & they were great. I thought about going to penn but had a connection to Jeff. If you want/need pm me and I can give you the name of my bs and mo.

JerseyRenee01

shopgal2:

Glad to hear your Dad went to Penn! Hope all went well!

I did see a Jefferson PS, Dr Copit. He had rights to Cooper.

I think a 3rd opinion would completely turn me upside down being overwhelmed.

Thank you!!

JerseyRenee01

Lovemyviszla:

I agree! Put the tree up! It may cheer you up a little!! 🎄

Here is one of mine I just put up.

{{hugs}}

LoveMyVizsla

Ooo, very nice JerseyRenee!

My lumps are clustered at 6:30 with malignancy in a non mass enhancement area between them. Because of the NME, the surgeon isn't sure she will get clear margins. She hasn't ruled out a re-excision or even mastectomy. The good thing about that would be no radiation.

Anyway, I am between Seattle and Canada, PontiacPeggy.

Shopgal2, I'm triple negative too.

JerseyRenee01

Thank you Lovemyvizsla!! 🎄

PontiacPeggy

Renee, love your tree! Wow. I'm putting up a small ceramic one that has lights (in) on it. Not the year for many decorations since I'm trying to declutter (what a forlorn hope) and downsize before I move.

Viszla, Dang. You're on the wrong side of the state! But at least I'll know someone if I get over that way. I keep hoping there are ladies here from Spokane/Coeur d'Alene Idaho area so I'll have ready made friends when I move. My son groans at the thought of being my sole social outlet

HUGS!

Shopgal2

Love sorry for your diagnosis, it sucks big time. The TN board is also a great place to hang. I had to have a reexcision due to 2 positive margins (darn sneaky tn cells). When they did my reexcision I had an area of dcis near that margin but far enough from the edge. Good news for us gals is chemo does work and is doable. Tough but can be done. ThankfullyI finish next week.

PontiacPeggy

ShopGal2, way to go on finishing up chemo next week. You should be feeling good for the holidays - that will be great.

HUGS!

Shopgal2

thanks Peggy. Even though I haven't posted here I have read right along since dx in May.

PontiacPeggy

ShopGal, I think a lot of us feel this is "home." I post on the Arimidex forum, but this is where I feel I belong. I can see why you would be on the TN forum since I'm sure that presents special challenges. Just glad you chimed in.

HUGS!

queenmomcat

JerseyRenee: [sighs wistfully] I love all the appurtenances of Christmas, but it's only me, my husband and now an(other) Incredibly Active Male Cat. Christmas Trees like that are not destined t last long in our house.

Brutersmom

Viszla I had a lumpectomy with a re incision and sentinel node biopsy. My only comment is to agree with the others. Put up the tree.

JerseyRenee01

queenmomcat:

Ha!!! Oh trust me having 2 cats myself & 1 that is bad I know exactly what you mean! She gets in the trees until the decorations go up. Crazy cats!

PontiacPeggy:

Thank you!

queenmomcat

It isn't so much BEFORE the ornaments go up as AFTER, as I recall from family history. OK. Well, any time.

PontiacPeggy

One very bad kitty is another reason why I won't have a tree with hanging stuff on it. Just me, the bad kitty and barky dog. I go to my brother's for Christmas. So no entertaining. I'll do a bit more decorating. #2 son has a cat that climbs the tree and is really really bad (even without a tree as an attraction). Mine really can't jump so that limits her arena (She's short-sighted and just can't judge the distances - I put boxes for her to use to get up on things).

HUGS!

LoveMyVizsla

Here is my girl under the tree a few years ago, before her face got grey. She never bothered the tree or gifts under it.

PontiacPeggy

AW that's sweet. I can't imagine my rat terrier mix bothering the tree UNLESS it was in the way when she tears to jump up on the couch and onto the back so she can bark like crazy at whatever she thinks needs barking at. Then it would be toast.

HUGS!

Molly50

Awww, pretty trees and sweet pups! You all made my night. Viszla and shopgal please make yourself at home. The more the merrier and you probably already figured we are a merry bunch.

keepwalking

JerseyRenee - I went into the first meeting with the BS convinced that I wanted a MX. I had read about the chances for needing a re-excision, and also the requirement to have RT after Lx, so I just wanted the whole thing out and not to have to bother with all those extra worries/treatments. But, thankfully, my BS talked with me a long time, made me feel confident and positive, and convinced me that more than an Lx was not necessary, at least as far as he could predict. I went with it and am very glad that I did.

I really liked my BS from the start, and one of the things that sold me on him was that he said to take my time to decide, to consult others if I wanted, and that there was no pressure to go with him or to do things faster than I felt comfortable with.

The results are great. He took a large amount of tissue and then went ahead and took an additional 1 cm from each of the edges, just to be sure. It turned out that I had a rather large area of DCIS surrounding the tumor which had not been seen on any of the mammograms/ultrasounds or biopsies (and I had 3 separate biopsies!). With the extra bits that he took he got it all and I didn't need a re-excision. It turned out that for a tumor of 1.8 cm, the cumulative area excised was larger than a tennis ball. But, even though I wear a C cup, the difference between this breast and the unaffected one is hardly noticeable.

I also found that the advantage now of having my breast so much outweighs the original fear of needing more surgeries. The surgery experience was not as bad as I had feared and I would rather have done it again than to do an unnecessary MX from the start. I also have very dense, fibrocystic breasts (which probably contributed to needing 2 extra biopsies to check out suspicious areas). I have considered that this may be my fate - to have suspicious areas on follow-up mammography that may mean biopsies, but I am okay with that right now.

These are just my thoughts, and everyone is unique and has different situations and comfort levels - and sometimes it ends up that you don't have a choice after the pathology results are in. I pray that you are able to come to a decision that both you and your husband are confident in

HUGS!.

ChiSandy

Viszla, my tumor was at the 10 o’clock position on the right side--1.3cm, and they took out a chunk roughly the dimensions of a Double Stuf Oreo--got clean margins. I never had limited ROM, though my bs’ nurse warned me not to try doing any reaching, not even “wall-walking” with my fingers lest I develop axillary webbing & cording. So I didn’t do any arm exercises, used a “reacher” tool in the kitchen to get stuff and my left hand to pull down the liftgate of my car. Your mileage may vary, so put up the tree while you still can. But don’t assume you’ll be stiff & sore--I only needed regular strength Tylenol and ice packs.

From the moment I heard the guesstimated size of the tumor (and saw it on the first ultrasound), mastectomy (much less bilateral prophy.) never entered my mind. The radiologist who did my biopsy described it as “tiny” and actually said “You’ll be able to keep your breast."

keepwalking

I'm a happy camper! I just spoke with the oncologist and the Oncotype results are in. He didn't tell me the score, but that I DON'T need chemotherapy!! I will get the specifics on Wed when I meet with him to set me up for radiation and also to start Tamoxifen. (It seems to be standard practice here to do these concurrently.) Yay!

Jclc83

That's awesome KeepWalking !

JerseyRenee01

Lovemyvizsla:

That is adorable!!

Keepwalking:

Thank you for your time in writing that! That is awesome news!