Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

mustlovepoodles

Thanks, ChiSandy. Now we don't need to watch "The Ten Commandments" again, LOL

PontiacPeggy

Sandy, I agree. Loved the abridged version of Passover

HUGS!

stellamaris

Thanks Molly - I am really hoping my MO is right and the AIs are the silver bullet. I will turn 66 in May, but it is 66 going on 50. I have a lot of 'kick' left in the old heels . At least I got 22 year old foobs and a tummy tuck for my troubles. lol

bobbin2

Thanks Everyone! Pontiac Peggy, thanks for the heads up on the DX settings. I see the PS 4/21 and the MO 4/22. Hopefully I will have more info then but it's great to hear from women in the same situation.

HappyHammer

Thanks, Sandy- love the "abridged" version!

On another note....will finish treatments other than the AI first week of May as my last Herceptin infusion is then. Anyone know how long the port will stay in- am in need of a colonoscopy screen so was wondering if the port removal could be this summer as well or if there is reason to keep it in? Anyone?

PontiacPeggy

Bobbin, I didn't see my MO or RO until after surgery. You're getting all your ducks in a row ahead of time. That's good. Let us know what you find out.

HUGS!

ChiSandy

Same as Peggy here--saw my MO a week post-op and my RO six weeks post-op. Glad you get one-stop shopping!

Brutersmom

Hi Bobbin. I didn't notice much change after surgery. Radiation did cause me to shrink. Unfortunately a lot. 4 sizes. My lump was directly under the nipple but I was able to keep mine. Very little scar. Unfortunately gravity plays a bit of a role for me and I have an indentation on top. I have looked into breast augmentation but so far I have not found a local physician willing to consider anything. Part of it is because of the location and damage from radiation.

Kokomo26

Jill and MLP, you both look so beautiful and strong...way to go!

Moondust, so sorry you have to go through all this...good luck with your second opinion. (If you remember, I get my score next Monday so now very curious wondering what they will tell me).

Stellamaris, so sorry you have experienced mixed messages also. Like Molly said, trust the Al will do its job and this will fade into a distant memory.

Kokomo26

Bobbin2, welcome ......good luck with your future appts with BS and MO.

HappyHammer

Huh, met with the MO same week as surgeon right after stereotactic biopsy. In 4 weeks last May, I had screening mammo, diagnostic mammo, US, stereo biopsy, meeting with MO/"teaching session", port placement, PET scan and first chemo infusion. At mid May, I was so overwhelmed...decided we needed a full fam beach retreat over Mem Day) to get some sand and salt therapy before starting the whole chemo thing- and we did. Best decision ever as I was able to get centered before starting treatment. It was was a crazy month! Looking back, chemo and rads, while hard- it were doable" as friend Peggy says- and, now, am almost at the end of active treatment almost a year out from first dx. A lot of it is just a blur and for that, I am glad. We can chose to be bitter or we can chose to be stronger- I choose to be stronger and am reinforced by you strong women on this site!

Grazy

Out of town all day and home to a slew of posts! So great to see the pics of MLP and Jill getting their last chemo - you both looked gorgeous!

Not loving the bits about breast shrinkage after radiation as I'm already feeling lopsided after the lumpectomy (that was the smaller breast to begin with). Oh boy. It's going to be 8th grade all over again stuffing my bra with tissues.

Peachy2

Amen to this, HH: "A lot of it is just a blur and for that, I am glad. We can chose to be bitter or we can chose to be stronger- I choose to be stronger and am reinforced by you strong women on this site!" We were diagnosed around the same time, and though our treatment plans were completely different, I think we have arrived at the same place almost a year later.

PontiacPeggy

If anything I think my bad breast is a bit larger than the right one now. Mostly because the lump was on the bottom and somehow the BS pushed up the top of the breast (no ski slope there as on the right side-well not as much of one) making it appear fuller. I did have a rather large lump removed 5 x 3 x 2.5cm and I'm a small A cup. But it's all worked out for me.

HUGS!!!

ChiSandy

Grazy, before bc when Louise was smaller than Thelma, I used the insert pad from a drugstore Genie bra (the bra itself couldn’t even fit one breast) to pad “her.” Now that she’s the bigger one, the pad goes into the left cup. If once the seroma fully resorbs my R boob gets smaller, then I will shift the pad once again. Much more natural-looking than tissues, and it stays inside the bra better. High-end bra shops (and now, I think even Target) sell some sturdier pads. There are also partial forms called “wedges” that breast cancer supply companies & stores sell (and if necessary you can get one custom-made). By law, if we request it, all insurance (incl. Medicare) must provide mastectomy (even lumpectomy, which is a partial-mastectomy) patients with one prosthesis every other year and two bras a year.

614

Dear Karen:  I would make an appointment with your RO and ask his opinion of why you are having pains and what to do about them.  Good luck and feel better.

Dear Grazy:  Thanks for making me laugh.

Dear Bobbin:  I had a breast reduction and a breast lift which was medically necessary because so much tissue had to be removed for my double lx.  I would have been deformed if I did not have this surgery.  I recovered immediately and I felt fine right away.  I am a 36D.  My breasts look gorgeous.  Make an appointment with your plastic surgeon and an appointment with your breast surgeon.  They work in tandem.  Good luck.

Dear Moondust and StellaMaris:  Both of your stories upset me very much.  I am angry at both of your doctors.  I would rant too if I were in your shoes.  Moondust - I hope that your 2nd opinion works out and that your RO is correct.  I hope that you will be able to have chemo.  Good luck.  StellaMaris - AI's should work for your ILC.  I am taking AI's for my pleomorhic ILC and LCIS.  Hugs and prayers to both of you.

Dear Sandy:  I loved your post.  It made me laugh so hard.  For me - Friday night will be the long "official" seder and Saturday will be the short, abreviated one where we will not have to wait to eat.  Happy Pesach.

Funny story.  When my son was around 10 years old, he was in Hebrew school.  My mother asked him how to say a particular word in Hebrew.  He answered very confidently, "Shar A'donnoi".  He said it with the correct accent and intonation.  We were sure that he actually knew the answer to her question and we believed him.  It wasn't until the end of the seder that we realized that he was reading the wine bottle (but making it sound like a Hebrew word):  Chardonnay. lol (My son has always been very quick witted and funny.  He is also a theatre major in his art high school.)

Dear LTF and MLP:  You are both so beautiful.  I am glad that you are finally finished with chemo. 

Hello to everyone else and feel well.

Katzpjays

MLP - Congrats on your last chemo! You look strong, beautiful and ready to move on. So happy you have finished this stage of your journey

HappyHammer

Peachy

TennisPink

I am relatively new here...and have decided on a lumpectomy because they said my outcome will be almost exactly the same as mastectomy & I feel good about my choice. My surgery is scheduled for May 4th. I was diagnosed on March 1st, so it's been a long wait to finally get a surgery date!! My biggest hope is that my lymph nodes are as good as they look on the MRI

Bobbin-- I have a big area to get out for the lumpectomy so the plastic surgeon and the breast surgeon will be doing the procedure and I asked for a bilateral reduction. I am a D cup and would prefer to come out of this smaller, so if you decide to do the reduction, you are not alone!! my surgeon was totally in favor of it (even though I was embarrassed to ask at first!)

Katzpjays

MLP - Congrats on your last chemo! You look strong, beautiful and ready to move on. So happy you have finished this stage of your journey

Molly50

Peachy, I love the story about your son. Sandy, love the short version of Seder. I called my BS office and spoke to her assistant. She's going to talk to PS about surgery and have the scheduler call me. I need it to be late June or early July so I can see my oldest graduate from college and be healed for our 25th wedding anniversary.

Moondust

Jill and MLP, you are both my inspiration for being beautiful during chemo! Congrats for getting through your last treatment.

Thank you everyone for being so supportive about my situation with my "cancer team". I calmed down a lot today and tried to look on the bright side. I'll be getting a second opinion at a major academic center for breast cancer and feel very good about that. I also got a call to schedule my dexascan before starting on the AI, and I'll be having that on Thursday. Good thing I thought to ask about it

Stella, thank you for sharing your story about your "team". It doesn't make me feel good that you didn't have such a good team either, but I know you understand how disappointed I feel. I hope the AIs work okay for both of us. We are both young 60 somethings and have a lot of life left to live!

Heathet, I hope you came through your surgery with flying colors!

I'm going to keep it short tonight so I can get to bed earlier.

PontiacPeggy

TennisPink, Welcome! We're so glad you found us. Good for you for speaking up and getting your reduction done at the same time! Please help us help you by filling out your profile with everything you know and making it PUBLIC, then it appears after every post. We find it difficult to remember each member's particulars and to share our relevant experiences with you. We have a strong MA contingent so there may be someone from here near you or has used your cancer center.

HUGS!

PontiacPeggy

Moondust, I'm glad things look a bit better now. Excellent that you are scheduled for a Dexascan. When I consider how I feel at 70 and my parents and grandparents, I am so much younger than they were. I think it matters that they lived through the depression and WWII. It's not only being physically younger but most of us have young attitudes and outlooks. We DO have a lot of life left to live!

HUGS!

LovesToFly

thanks for sharing the awesome seder sandy!!!

Grazy

Just read your bra-filler advice, ChiSandy - thank you. I guess I've pretty much been doing what I can - I've been stealing the molded foam forms from my daughter's sports bra and sticking them in - I gather that's similar to what you meant with the Genie bra. The foam is quite thin, but the structure of it poofs things out enough. I'll have to sew one into my bathing suits this summer too I guess. I'm sure I'm the only one who notices the asymmetry while clothed, but my husband and kids do agree I have two different profiles without the extra padding, haha! If this is my biggest problem at the moment, I think I'm doing just fine. Have a great day!

TennisPink

Thanks, PontiacPeggy -- I didn't realize I had my settings still on private! All set now & will fill in the rest (stage, nodes, etc.) after the surgery.

I am wondering....were most of you 100% that you wanted lumpectomy when you were offered breast conserving surgery, or were some of you conflicted? It took me a few weeks to finally say "YES" to the lumpectomy and feel good that it was right for me. I had a hard time believing that it was going to be ok only because so many women my age (early 40s) with young children were getting bilateral mastectomies and I worried I was missing some piece of information that they all had, and I wasn't in the loop. Most of those women told me they simply needed the extra peace of mind, and I totally respect that. Everyone needs to feel good and for many the mastectomy would provide that. It was hard for me to not be swayed by other's decisions and to finally make my own personal choice. My BS and I had a long talk about it...so lumpectomy and breast reduction on May 4th.

Anyhow, surgery is in 2 weeks....I am so scared. I don't know what any type of surgery is like. I have never been in the hospital before this (unless you count childbirth which was a joyous hospital visit!) I often tell myself that I have more good news with my diagnosis than bad news, so I am trying to stay in that place and not freak out about what could happen (sometimes I fall off the cliff a little). Plus, reading all of your posts in the 'lumpectomy lounge', I see that most of you are doing well and are sharing good, positive things and have a great outlook.

Thanks for listening...

brandford37

Hello guys I pick up my Pathology Report yesterday sergeon took out 4 lyph nodes and one came back positive the tumor is 3cm the margins clear... not I have to do Chemo and Radiation I'm worried that the cancer spreading can some one explain to me please..

Grazy

Hi TennisPink and welcome! There was zero discussion with my breast surgeon regarding lumpectomy vs mastectomy - in my case, the latter just wasn't necessary and I didn't even consider it. I didn't have a breast reduction so I can't speak to that, but I will say that the surgery itself was surprisingly easy. The day was long with a trip to Radiology to have the wire inserted (wait), trip to Nuclear medicine for the injection of the radiactive tracer (two hour wait), another wait for my turn in the OR - my surgery was 45 minutes total. I was in recovery for two hours and then sent home with an icepak and a prescription for Tylenol3. So just a tedious process. I took it easy for a few days, did my exercises as instructed, went for a short walk each day, etc. All in all, it was not horrible at all. The sentinel node biopsy caused the most discomfort - very tender at the site and the nerve pain bothered me off and on (still does on occasion as they continue to regenerate). Pre-surgery, I read an article on breastcancer.org regarding what to expect with a lumpectomy and found it quite helpful - you might want to check that out.

PontiacPeggy

TennisPink, You're welcome. My experience was different from Grazy's. Everything was done at the surgery center. I was given a heated gown when I arrived (heavenly). A Valium was offered and I took it. Then upstairs to radiology for wire locator placement which was very doable with lots of Lidocaine. Then back down to the center. Eventually the surgeon came in and injected the dye herself - again with lots of Lidocaine. No pain from that. I WALKED down to the operating room which was empowering. In recovery I was offered a pain pill (no clue what) and took it. My kids filled the pain med prescription but I never used it. I took regular or extra strength Tylenol - at night - iced my incisions. You will likely find it helpful to have button or zip front tops for surgery and pull-on pants. I was at the center about 7AM and home by around 2. I felt good right away but took it easy. My surgeon recommended 2 weeks of resting and not over-doing and no lifting of anything heavier than a gallon of milk (which you really don't want to do!). My sentinel node site was a royal pain. Did it hurt? No. But it was extremely annoying. Tops that had smaller armholes seem to irritate it. Bras irritated it. This went on for about a year. Not all the time. Most of us seem to find this incision annoying rather than the lumpy site.

When I went to see my BS the first time, I also assumed that I would have a mastectomy. She said it wasn't necessary, that a lumpectomy would do just as well and research seems to bear that out. BTW, you'll feel better once you have your surgery because you are finally doing something to get rid of the BC. Waiting is awful. You'll do well.

HUGS!