Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited January 2016

    JerseyRenee, keep in mind that really the SNB incision doesn't particularly hurt. It's just in the way and extremely annoying. Everything irritates it. I found I was more PO'd at it than in pain. Don't dread it. Just know it is bothersome.

    BTW, I think the strength of this group is that we discuss EVERYTHING, ALL treatments. There are so many factors that go into the decision to have a lumpie. And it doesn't always come at the beginning our treatments. So, welcome everyone. If you want, we'll discuss anything (yes, including our sex lives!).

    HUGS!

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    Thank you PontiacPeggy! Next week just bear with me as my nerves will be getting worse!

    The only surgery I have ever had was wisdom teeth!

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    I was so worried about the SNB, and it wasn't bad at all. For the first couple weeks I had to be a little careful what I wore, not wearing anything that had seams or straps right at that spot. After that, I could wear pretty well whatever I wanted although I did notice a few things made me a tad achy after several hours, if I wasn't at home I would talk a piece of tissue in there, use a little bit of the Polysporin that has the pain relief stuff in it. Now, I am just over one month pass surgery, and it is perfectly fine. It is still numb, but I don't even notice it except when I try to shave. The incision itself doesn't give me any trouble at all. I did have some Sparky nerve pains around it for a few weeks, but those are mostly gone. Because it was my right arm and I am right-handed, I was forced to use my arm right away, it was hard for me not to because it's my instinct. I never really did the exercises because I was constantly reaching for high shelves, etc. I don't have any range of motion issues, and can do a handstand with that arm! Obviously, you may or may not have my experience, but I just wanted to share that it's not always that awful. Also, even though the sentinel node biopsy was not bad for me, it was worse than the lumpectomy. Except for having a bit of trouble getting the anesthesia out of my system, I seriously sailed through surgery and actually went back to work a week earlier than I had planned!

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  • 614
    614 Member Posts: 851
    edited January 2016


    I am sorry that I did not respond to more people.  When I responded above, I thought that I had read all of the posts.  It turns out that I missed 2 pages.  I forgot to go on to the next page since it gives you the option of responding at the bottom of each page.

    Dear JerseyRenee01: 

    GOOD LUCK!

    Dear Dixon:

    I hope that you do not have to have a sentinal lymph node biopsy under your sternum.  I will say prayers for you that this surgery will not be necessary.

    Dear Melclarity:

    I love this thread too!

    For all of you wondering about your hair:

    I did not have chemo but it seems to me that many people who I have met who had chemo end up with curly hair when their hair grows back.  I have also heard that your hair will be softer and feel great.  Regardless, I hope that all of you get the hair that you want when it grows back.

     

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    Melclarity, I think we have a lot in common. Planning and learning is definitely best for me, and planning for the worst ( maybe not the absolute worst, but planning for things to not always be easy) too. I know people say positive attitude is cute, but I don't think the two are mutually exclusive. I plan for the tiugh stuff, but I am positive I can get through it! That way I'm not dreading it too much, and if it's better than I'm anticipating, bonus! I ended up having that experience with surgery, I really anticipated a lot of pain and discomfort and trouble with movement. I knew I'd get through it, but I didn't really have a lot of problems at all, and that was a sweet bonus!


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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited January 2016

    JerseyRenee, I totally understand! I was lucky. I had my sons coming in from the west coast to take care of DH when I had my surgery and that trumped everything. I hadn't seen them in a couple years. And caring for DH, didn't leave me much time or energy to worry about the surgery. I was just trying to keep putting one foot in front of the other and manage DH. You'll manage just fine!

    HUGS!

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    LovesToFly:

    Thank you! That does bring me some comfort!!!! Can I ask where exactly is the SNB done? Is it in the armpit?

    Thank you 614!!!




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  • Melclarity
    Melclarity Member Posts: 388
    edited January 2016

    Lovestofly - I too expected the worst with a Lumpie, the nodes were worse, in fact I have to say the lumpie was OK compared to how I suffered from the Anaesthesia OMG I was vomiting for 24hrs, apparently my recovery team overdosed me on Lyrica and morphine holy crap!!! I did find it interesting that being someone so well organised and so well planned, the universe through me a curve ball and I wasnt good through Chemo and I honestly thought I would be, BUT once I realised well this is how I will be I went with it and all my plans went out the window LOL. uuuugh!! I think you are going to do amazing though!!!


    So Jerseyrenee - You will be amazed how you come through it, you will be aok!!!

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    Melclarity if you don't have a Fitbit, I would seriously recommend It's very motivating. Either way, I'm sure you can get fit again!!

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    thank you!! I hope so but if I end up not tolerating it well, there are worse things thana really shitty four months, right? Either way I will get through it, and hopefully this time next year or a few months before life will be normal or almost normal) again!



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  • 614
    614 Member Posts: 851
    edited January 2016

    I also like to learn and to know all of the details.  I researched quite a bit and I also read everything that I could find as soon as I was diagnosed.  However, google is not always one's friend so one must be quite selective with research.  I also advocated for myself and got positive results from my efforts.  Otherwise, I would have had to wait one extra month for my initial MRI and that would have pushed my tx back one month. That was unacceptable to me for both health reasons and for work reasons.

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  • Melclarity
    Melclarity Member Posts: 388
    edited January 2016

    Loves to fly - I havent heard of a fitbit LOL, I must look into it!!! Ive started eating better, trying soooo hard to cut sugar out but love sweets awwww!!! I dont drink alcohol really, and couldnt through Chemo, wasnt well enough and plus everything tasted the same LOL.

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    Melclarity, I find that the app myfitnesspal it really helps me to eat well, not only for weight loss, but also just generally for health and makes me more accountable. I plan to keep using it right through my chemotherapy. I certainly won't be dieting, but I still want to be making healthy food choices for the most part.

    614,

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  • 614
    614 Member Posts: 851
    edited January 2016

    I have to go and make dinner for my kids.  I will be out of the loop soon because this thread is so active.  By the time that I will be able to get back on to this site, I will probably be many pages behind!  I really enjoy all of you.  It would be outstanding if we could all meet.

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    I need a trip to Australia to get a HUG from Melclarity!

    She is truly the sweetest!! :)

    just when I am feeling down, a friend from miles & miles away can lift me up!!! :)


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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    614:

    That would be awesome! I think we need to contact Ellen!!! I think she can make this happen!!!

    Enjoy your dinner! I try & keep up on here too but it is hard! Ha

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited January 2016

    JerseyRenee, mine is just below or at the bottom of my armpit - just where my sexy underwire bras hit. Also tight armholes on tops like that spot too.

    HUGS!

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    PontiacPeggy:

    When I can, I have been wearing no bra & big sweatshirts!



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  • Jclc83
    Jclc83 Member Posts: 246
    edited January 2016

    snl is under the arm. My tumor was @10 o'clock so my BS used the same incision to remove my nodes.

    • I'm confused though..are you going to start eating healthy after your BC diagnosis? is that putting the cart after the horse? I guess it helps make one feel more in control And I think it's a good idea but I ate very healthy before my diagnosis, just saying . Do you think diet has something to do with breast cancer
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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited January 2016

    JerseyRenee, sweatshirts and no bra are perfect. However, you really will want some support for awhile. A bouncing boob, even a small one like mine, that has had surgery is not heavenly. A Genie bra (which you step into) works nicely. By the time I started my rads, braless and sweatshirted - that was me.

    HUGS!

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    Jclc83:

    I was just having this conversation with my friend! Saying I am healthy, maybe not the greatest on getting the "proper" vitamins &nutrients I need daily but overall I am healthy.

    Cancer doesnt discriminate for sure!

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    PontiacPeggy:

    i am going to go out & get some sports bras this week. I have little A's too!

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  • Jclc83
    Jclc83 Member Posts: 246
    edited January 2016

    I'm all for eating healthy, it tastes better

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  • PontiacPeggy
    PontiacPeggy Member Posts: 6,778
    edited January 2016

    JerseyRenee, I've never found a sports bra that was comfy. I'm sure you'll have better luck. Front closure or step-in are best whatever you get. Have fun shopping for them.

    HUGS!

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    jerseyRenee I got sports bras at Walmart. They were thin cotton with thin straps so I could step in. I am an F cup, so they obviously did not provide nearly enough for support for me to actually do sports in (hahaha-my running bras cost $65!) but they were perfect for after surgery, very comfortable and held my breasts just enough that there was no pulling on the incisions and I didn't feel too awful going out in public, as long as I wore a loose top or cardigan. For smaller breasts, they would be perfect! I got some similar ones at the gap, they were also good but twice the price of the Walmart ones, which I actually liked a little bit more. I am saving them all for radiation, when I have heard that I will once again want to wear a very soft comfortable bra without wires.

    I boiled a pot of rice tonight, and called it dinner, they can put whatever they want on it!


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  • Melclarity
    Melclarity Member Posts: 388
    edited January 2016

    omg yes!!! Can someone contact Ellen and get us altogether hpw wonderful

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    LovesToFly:

    that was funny!!! I needed that laugh!!

    I will check Walmart! Thanks!

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  • LovesToFly
    LovesToFly Member Posts: 1,133
    edited January 2016

    Peggy at some point I would like to discuss sex. I had a really hard time with that before my surgery, because it was just hard to feel sexy when I felt like there was cancer inside one of my sexual parts. We did it a few times but it was hard to get into. Since the surgery it has been a bit better, I am scarred but the scars don't turn me off as much as knowing there was a cancer lump in there did. I am curious what it will be like during chemotherapy. If I will have trouble? We don't have to have a rocking hot sex life, and I know my husband wouldn't complain if we didn't do it at all, but it is important to me, both for pleasure and connection. I'm hoping that we will be able to keep it up at least on occasion!


    With regards to eating, I have been a healthy eater for a very long time. I used to be quite overweight and ate horribly, however I have been vegetarian since a teenager and vegan for a few months. Never been a heavy drinker, have not smoked in years, I'm careful with my sugar and fat, and I eat a ton of fruits and vegetables. I am also very active and fit. So, cancer clearly doesn't choose, because I probably would've been the last one. Besides my healthy lifestyle, I am quite young, and I've already been tested for the BRC a gene mutation and do not have it, nor do I have a strong family history of bc or related cancers. Oh well, I still like having a healthy lifestyle, it's important to me and I think it makes me stronger healthier and more energetic, even if it did not help me avoid cancer.

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  • JerseyRenee01
    JerseyRenee01 Member Posts: 221
    edited January 2016

    LovesToFly:

    Still laughing over boiling the pot of rice!!


    Melclarity:

    After I get through this, Ellen is my mission!!!


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  • mustlovepoodles
    mustlovepoodles Member Posts: 2,825
    edited January 2016

    LovestoFly, I have driven myself to every chemo except the first one. DH took me to that one because we didn't know how I'd react. For me, chemo days are rather anti-climactic. I go sit in a chair for 4 hours while they give me fluids and stuff for nausea, then hang my two chemo drugs. I take my work computer and work from my chair, and then I go home. I don't usually start having symptoms until around the third day after chemo. Then the fatigue hits, I start getting diarrhea, and my mouth gets wonky so nothing tastes right. For about a week I feel low, but I have only missed 4 days of work since starting chemo in Oct. I have fever 3 times after chemo--ended up in the hospital for a few days after the first chemo, but only went to the ER for one other fever.

    Best of luck to you. I hope your experience with chemo is as easy as mine has been.

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