?s before a Lumpectomy

Chris77

Thanks in advance to anyone reading this. I'm posting some ?s about my
girlfriends mother who has a malignant tumor on her breast. They're
going in this week to meet with doctors and chose someone to perform the
lumpectomy. I realize this list below is long, but if any of you would
be kind enough to chime in to any of these below it would be greatly
appreciated. So much information is out there on the web obviously, but
being able to ask ?s and learn specifically on this forum is a blessing
and an amazing tool. I'm simply attempting to help them gather the
necessary information and weed out the useless ?s from the more
important ones, since the physicians they deal with will most likely be
busy and thus I wanted to help them format a list of ?s that will count.


A bit of background information. My girlfriends mother (and
hopefully my future mother in law someday, is 61, and generally in good
health. (some high cholesterol but nothing else major) She noticed a
lump in her breast recently (her last checkup was 3 years ago) and went
in and they did a scan/biopsy and the results came in last week as to
the tumor being malignant unfortunately. The good news is that they said
its in the early stages and thus they're going to proceed with a
lumpectomy and probably radiation afterward.

Here are the
questions, please forgive my ignorance as I know nothing about breast
cancer (especially being a guy) and am in the beginning stages of
research so some of these ?s may seem silly.


1) Is it
beneficial to start the lumpectomy asap? What is the window of time to
make the decision in terms of time itself affecting the possible growth
of the tumor?
2) Can she still exercise (golf) or go to a sauna or could that negatively affect the tumor?
3) is light exercise beneficial ?
4) dietary restrictions?
5) general advice/tips before the procedure in terms of things she can do to get in optimal health beforehand.
6)
generally is it best for her to keep her overall activity levels low
(low movement, etc try to avoid stress) or does this have no outcome on
the progression of the tumor itself.
7) Clothing choices that are preferred when you have a malignant tumor or is this a non issue. (Bra s etc)
Is there a preferred sleeping position? (On back, side ? Don't sleep on stomach face down for example?
9)
Basically is there anything that's been known to accelerate or has the
possibility to accelerate the growth of the tumor before the scheduled
procedure.
10) how much does this procedure price range vary in Illinois compared to Wisconsin or Indiana?
11)
how basic or general is this procedure and how experienced should the
physician be at the minimum, are there physicians who specialize in
lumpectomy?
12) what are all of the various grants and other
financial programs out there to assist breast cancer patients , how long
does it take to find out if you re possibly approved once submitted and
if approved can you immediately utilize this? (Timeline ?)
13) are supplements OK before the procedure or are there certain vitamins that are discouraged or could even be detrimental?
14) how important is getting enough rest before and after the procedure?
15) are there any other general health related check ups or inquiries she should do before the procedure for peace of mind?
16)
what is the range of price points for the lumpectomy/possible aftercare
treatments and where does this discrepancy derive from?
(Physician/hospital/reputation/advanced equipment fees)

Again thanks to all and any responses to this long thread!

Moderators

Chris, many of these questions can only be answered by the medical team, based on the details of the surgery, the patient's health, and her decisions. The main Breastcancer.org site has a list of Questions to Ask Your Surgeon About Lumprctomy that may help.

Also on the main site, if you type the name of any unfamiliar term, test, treatment or medicine into the Search field, you'll find definitions and useful info.

•The Mods

Claire_in_Seattle

Hi.....as I don't think the link is all that useful, let me try to answer your questions.

1) Is it
beneficial to start the lumpectomy asap? What is the window of time to
make the decision in terms of time itself affecting the possible growth
of the tumor?  MY SURGEON SAID IT'S SOMETHING LIKE 6 MONTHS FOR MOST TUMORS TO GROW TO THE POINT IT WOULD MAKE ALL THAT MUCH DIFFERENCE.
2) Can she still exercise (golf) or go to a sauna or could that negatively affect the tumor? YES, IN FACT EXERCISE IS THE BEST THING SHE COULD DO FOR HERSELF.
3) is light exercise beneficial ? YES.
4) dietary restrictions? PROBABLY NOT AT THIS POINT.
5) general advice/tips before the procedure in terms of things she can do to get in optimal health beforehand.  GET AS FIT AS POSSIBLE.
6)
generally is it best for her to keep her overall activity levels low
(low movement, etc try to avoid stress) or does this have no outcome on
the progression of the tumor itself.  NONE, THE MORE FIT YOU ARE GOING IN, THE BETTER.
7) Clothing choices that are preferred when you have a malignant tumor or is this a non issue. (Bra s etc) NONE.
Is there a preferred sleeping position? (On back, side ? Don't sleep on stomach face down for example?
9)
Basically is there anything that's been known to accelerate or has the
possibility to accelerate the growth of the tumor before the scheduled
procedure. WHEREVER SHE SLEEPS BEST.  THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO GET REST.
10) how much does this procedure price range vary in Illinois compared to Wisconsin or Indiana? I CAN'T ANSWER THIS ONE.
11)
how basic or general is this procedure and how experienced should the
physician be at the minimum, are there physicians who specialize in
lumpectomy?  I THINK THE IMPORTANT THING IS TO GET A SURGEON EXPERIENCED IN BREAST SURGERY.
12) what are all of the various grants and other
financial programs out there to assist breast cancer patients , how long
does it take to find out if you re possibly approved once submitted and
if approved can you immediately utilize this? (Timeline ?) I DON'T KNOW.
13) are supplements OK before the procedure or are there certain vitamins that are discouraged or could even be detrimental? NORMAL VITAMINS ARE FINE, BUT NOT MAJOR SUPPLEMENTS, AS WHAT FEEDS THE BODY WILL ALSO FEED THE TUMOR.
14) how important is getting enough rest before and after the procedure?  YOU NEED SLEEP TO FUNCTION AND TO HEAL.
15) are there any other general health related check ups or inquiries she should do before the procedure for peace of mind?  BE CURRENT ON PHYSICALS AND IMMUNIZATIONS.  I WOULD MAKE SURE I GOT THE SHINGLES VACCINE, PLUS DTAP, PLUS A FLU SHOT.  YOU DON'T WANT ANY OF THESE.
16)
what is the range of price points for the lumpectomy/possible aftercare
treatments and where does this discrepancy derive from?  I CAN'T ANSWER THIS AS DEPENDS ON THE TUMOR AND FINAL DIAGNOSIS.  IT COULD BE MINIMAL, BUT IT COULD ALSO MEAN CHEMO/RADIATION.  MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN HOW MUCH THIS COSTS.  IT ALSO DEPENDS ON THE AMOUNT OF OTHER TREATMENTS SHE NEEDS.  THINGS LIKE PHYSICAL THERAPY COST MONEY.  THE ABSOLUTE RANGE IS FROM A FEW HUNDRED $ TO HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS.

YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT "STANDARD OF CARE" WOULD MOST LIKELY BE COVERED BY MEDICAL INSURANCE.  HOPEFULLY, SHE IS COVERED.  IF NOT, YOU SHOULD START RESEARCHING ALTERNATIVES IN THE HOSPITAL/STATE SHE LIVES IN.