March 2014 Surgery

Frostecat

Footballnut, so happy for you that is GREAT news!

KLJ

Special K I need to proof my posts! Yes I meant steristrips. Didn't realize the kindle auto corrected for me! Kinda funny though!

LovebeingNana

Hello March friends! It has been quite a week. On Sunday afternoon I started having a lot of swelling above my suture one and below my collar bone. It was the size of a cantaloupe and it hurt so bad. I called my PS and he said he thought I was bleeding. I tried to talk him into it just being a muscle spasm but he wasn't having it. He told me to meet him at the emergency room and an hour later I was back in surgery. He removed 250 cc's of blood and placed 2 new drains. I stayed over night and then got to go home. I was so discouraged and felt like I was starting over again on that side. Plus I was so exhausted from anesthesia again. This morning I went back to the PS and he removed the 2 drains from the side they did not re-operate on so I am so glad to be down to just 2 drains!!!! I still have a good bit of muscle pain but it is tolerable. Best wishes to everyone!!

VintageGal1111

LoveBeingNana

 that must have been discouraging having to go back to the hospital...but you're all set now! Hope everything stays ok.

That happened to me just as I was waiting to be discharged after my BMX. I was scared & bummed to go back into the OR again (in 24 hrs time) but was glad it didn't happen after I got home!

Juliecc

Lovebeingnana, I'm so sorry that happened to you.  I hope the rest of your healing goes smoothly.

Footballnut, Yay!!!!  Such wonderful news!  

MakeLemonade

Footballnut - very happy for you!

MakeLemonade

LovebeingNana- glad it all worked out

bobogirl

Oooooooh!  This is the news I have been waiting for!!!!!

mnmbeck

Footballnut.....I realized after hearing your good news that I have been sort of holding my breath for you all day.  What a RELIEF!  I am so glad you went in to get that good news instead of sweating it out any longer.  Now...why in the world would they not tell you that on the phone?  That should be your question for your next appt.  To call and say they have results, but not say anything else?  That is torture for anybody!!!  Celebrating with you tonight!!

KLJ

Lovebeingnana, glad it all turned out ok.

Footballing, glad you took matters into your own hands and got your answers.

Here's to a good weekend for everyone!

SpecialK

Many doctor's offices have a policy about giving results in person.  Even if you identify yourself on the phone they have no guarantee that they are actually speaking to the patient - it has to do with HIPAA, each state's laws, and individual physician policies.  I have had many episodes of skin cancer, more than 25 in the last 20 years.  I have had the last half dozen handled at the U of S. Florida Dept. of Dermatology.  They notify me of each biopsy result by certified letter.  This is their policy because at some point a patient did not get the message, or it was not the patient on the phone, and they did not return for treatment.

klj - Lol on the autocorrect!  I was trying to figure out what got corrected to statistics!

love - glad you got things handled, sorry it involved another surgery - hopefully you are good to go now!

football - yay!

MakeLemonade

More waiting for me .... pathology back from my surgery on Monday.  

7 out of 8 nodes positive, so will need radiation in armpit as well as the breast.

Had a main tumor and two satellite tumors which we knew about.  Clear margins on the main tumor and upper satellite tumors.  Lower one is not so clear ... there is a microscopic spot that is near the margin.  He took a fair amount of tissue (one of benefits of being well endowed <g>) and they didn't find any other areas, so that corresponds with the MRI and ultrasounds that I had.

Surgeon needs to speak with the pathologist and is going to send my case to the tumor board to see if they feel he should go back in.  

In the mean time, I get my drain out on Monday ... will be very thankful for that!  

This is like stop and go traffic on Friday afternoon before a holiday weekend.  You drive a few feet, then sit and wait.  Drive a few feet, then sit and wait.   

Frostecat

Positive thoughts for you Makelemonade. Sometimes the waiting is the hardest part.

sandra4611

Complications suck! Keep fighting Sisters.

linda505

Great news footballnut - so happy for you - I know - as we all do how stressful the waiting is.  

stfne

lovebeingnana glad you are ok now.

Footballnut i love that you got up and went there! So happy it was good news

Makelonade, love the analogy! So true!

My scars are dark, hard and have scabby areas too.  I wish I could just wear a t shirt like you Julie. My expanders are very odd looking and I am so lumpy.  

Juliecc

Makelemonade, I'm sorry to see you had positive nodes.  Hang in there.  It must be hard to not know what will happen next for your treatment.

Stfne, my incisions are bumpy and puckery but it wasn't noticeable in a loose black tshirt.  They seem to be a little smoother than before.  It seems impossible that they will one day be pink or white, though!  It's been hot on some days in California!  I appreciate the cooler days when I can throw on a hoodie.  Right now I have my air conditioner on with a heating pad on my chest on the lowest setting.  It's barely warm and it is soothing.  

Next week is my last week off before returning to work.  On Tuesday I meet with an oncologist.  I don't think she'll have my Oncotype DX test results back by then, though, because it wasn't ordered until 3/19.  I'm wondering if she'll write the Rx for Tamoxifen.  On thursday I meet with the PS for possibly my first fill!  I had 200 cc added on each side during the surgery so I have cute little breast mounds already (although one is a tad lower than the other and one seems to be closer to my armpit).  Friday I will be taking my boyfriend to get a vasectomy.  He was totally on board with that since I got my Mirena IUD removed before surgery.  We'll relax over the weekend with our sore areas.  :-)

KLJ

I heard something today that can apply to all of us.

Instead of thinking of it as two steps forward, one step back think of it as practicing our dance steps...cha cha cha!

I love it!

Sandrac3

Hi everyone. I have a questions for  those that have had surgery with drains  might be able to answer. I had 2 drains on each side. 2 of the 4 were removed 3/25, one each side. Everything looked good at that appointment. Wednesday I developed an allergic reaction to my antibiotic went to see the BS and they gave me a new prescription. Since then the drain on my left side, cancer side, is leaking. Is that OK?  Should I be concerned?  I covered it with gauze. Is that enough?

Any tips are welcome and appreciated. 

Sandra

sandra4611

Is it leaking around the tube where it goes into your skin, but nothing in the tube itself? Does the leak look like the fluid that collects in the drain?

Sandrac3

Yes looks like the fluid draining into the bulb and it is coming from where tube exits my body not the tube it self.

SpecialK

sandrac - the tubing on the inside of you above the exit at the skin may be blocked and what would normally flow into the drain may be leaking out the drain tubing exit instead. I would attempt to really compress the bulb and see if you can coax some flow, but if that does not work you need to contact your doc.

Sandrac3

I'll try packing it good tonight. Thank you SpecialK. 

SpecialK

If you see redness, run a fever, or an increase in fluid, call your doc ASAP.

sandra4611

Make sure you compress the bulb as much as you can. Roll it from the bottom to the top near the hole where tubing goes. Keep it rolled while you put the tube back in. When you let it go, the suction should start the drain working again unless there is a blockage or a problem of some kind. I agree with SpecialK,. Watch it carefully and take your temp. You might want to leave a message on your doctor's answering service in the morning, letting him/her know what happened and what you are doing.   

Sandrac3

Will do!! Thank you SpecialK and Sandra4611. 

VintageGal1111

Aha yes I like the dance steps! That sure is how it goes huh?!

Lakegirl1

Sandrac3... How is it going this  morning???  Any changes?  

Footballnut

good morning all! Quick question for all:  I am at the stage in my healing where I only have steri strips over my incision. The lumpiness is starting however all looks good. Having said that the itch factor has increased. My hone care nurse suggested using a vitamin e cream with no scent

Any suggestions to help ease the itch?

Many thanks and all the best to everyone!!

PS. I love the dance step analogy as well!!!!

sandra4611

As a ballroom dance instructor, let me say to forget the cha-cha. It goes up, then back, then up, then back...you never get anywhere. It's better to do a fox trot. Two steps forward, one to the side, two more steps forward, another one to the side. You progress, but slowly.  What does the fox say? Heal, heal, heal-heal.

Football, could you be reacting to the steri strips? After my stereotactic biopsy, I had two steri strips. A week later when I went back, the skin was super red and itchy under the steri strips. Fortunately they took them off and I used Bacitracin for a few days. There is also over the counter ointment with an itch-stopping ingredient. I've never tried it but if you are miserable, check with your doc to see if it is ok.