how big was the area of tissue taken out?

oceangirl654

I am just wondering if my lumpectomy was much bigger than normal. I am having fluid in my breast again, two months out. It makes me feel very ill. What did your pathology report say for the dimensions of the tissue? Mine was 9.5 x 6.5 x 2. Wearing a sports bra stopped the fluid but it made my nipple permanently squished (so sad about this) so now I'm too scared to wear one. Thanks for telling me your tissue dimensions from surgery. Take care and big hugs to all of you!

Meadow

Oceangirl, I am bumping this to the top of active threads, I did not have a lumpectomy but hopefully someone who did will chime in soon.

tgtg

Oceangirl--FYI, my path report said the excised tissue measured 6.1 x 5.4 x 3.7 cm and weighed 56 grams. As for the nipple, mine is also somewhat flattened, and the surgeon said that is the new post-surgical normal. I had fluid for quite a while (surgeon aspirated 60 cc at 4 weeks and another 40 at 5 weeks) and rad treatments didn't start until week 10 as a result; but the fluid did eventually get absorbed. And it didn't matter if I wore sports bras (which I did for about 8 weeks, since they have no mid-breast seams, or a regular one. We do heal, each at our own speed, and the surgery does become a thing of the past if we let it. Carry on!

oceangirl654

Hi Tgtg, What did the surgeon mean that that's the new normal? Did he mean it will just stay that way? Did you ever look into plastic surgery? I don't really want to do more surgery but on the other hand it would be nice if my nipple wasn't all scrunched up looking. It's making me self-conscious. I used to just walk around the house naked. Sux.

tgtg

Hi, Oceangirl-- He made the "new normal" observation at either my 6-month or 1-year check-up, in response to my question about it (I wanted him to confirm that this is a normal surgical outcome). Since my tumor was about 5 cm above my nipple at 11 o'clock, he had to excise enough anterior "supporting" tissue to get a good safe margin. With the size of your tumor, it's likely that you're also missing some supporting tissue. My nipple is still very responsive, and other than the fact that it doesn't look like the other one (especially after taking off a tightish bra), its slightly flatter appearance doesn't bother me (or my husband). So, no, the thought of plastic surgery never crossed my mind, even though I too often walk around naked upstairs. As far as I'm concerned, a slightly flat nipple is a small price to pay for a super, clean margin and besides I maintain that the less surgery that's done, the better off I'll be, especially at my age. tgtg

oceangirl654

Hi Tgtg, Thanks for explaining to me. That makes sense. I had a tumor that turned out not to be cancer removed during the surgery, and it was only 1cm from my nipple. The weird thing is that my breast looked completely like it did before for many weeks after surgery so I was incredibly happy, but then all of a sudden it changed which was a big disappointment. I wish I had had that tumor needle biopsied instead. The other two tumors were cancer, but they kind of already suspected that before the surgery. Anyway, what's done is done so I'll have to get used to my new normal I guess. The hard part too is this lump in my breast that is hard as a rock. It is scar tissue I guess. I've felt uncomfortable for two months now (since surgery) and I wonder how long that goes on. But I guess all in all things are ok. You just have to adjust to all the new crazy stuff that goes on in life. It's great your nipple is still responsive. Mine still has feeling too, but can't really move outward much like it used to I wish you all the best x

tgtg

Hi, Oceangirl--Glad the added info helped. As they say in real estate, "Location, location, location!" is important, no matter which tumors were in the critical location. My post-surgical swelling did "poof" things out a bit too, eventhrough rads, but that didn't last forever. As for the hard lump of scar tissue, I still have that too, even though my surgery was more than 2 years ago (Jan 2013). My surgeon is continuing to do all my follow-up checks; since I declined hormonal therapy and am not seeing an MO, he stepped in as my monitor, along with my wonderful rad onc, and they are both watching it very slowly disappear. The surgeon also ordered an MRI for my 2.5 year check-up this July, so that he can see exactly what's there. And the radiologists reading my mammos are also watching, measuring, and documenting it as well. But no one is alarmed about it, including me, since it is decreasing in size, As for the nipple, I don't remember when it started getting active, but I think the movement started after rads were over, in May 2013).

The bottom line for both of us is that we are really lucky to have had small tumors that could be dealt with easily and thoroughly, and that we aren't suffering like so many of our companions here at bco. So enjoy the ocean--that is such a distant thought for me as I look out at 10" of snow outside. By the way, which part of ocean are you at? If you're an east coast oceangirl, then you know what I am talking about! And enjoy life, as you heal, however slowly! TG

oceangirl654

Thanks for your nice message! I didn't see it until now. I am at the ocean on the east coast! But hopefully moving to the west coast soon. Best wishes to you!