Seeking feedbacks on 1-4 sentinel lymph node(s) loss

NATSGSG

Hello Amazonian Survivors out there, 

I've had 1 sentinel node taken out 3+ weeks ago.Luckily it was negative. Though my underarm is slowly heeling nicely, it just doesnt feel the same.  I am wondering if you could share your own experiences by sharing :

1/how many sentinel node were taken out?

2/how soon after surgery were you able to move your arm(s)?

3/ how has it affected you during the 1st month of recovery?

4/how  long did it take for you to fully  recover?

5/ how often do you exercise your arm(s) then and now? 

6/ does it still affect you since that date of surgery? 

7/ what would YOU do different then had you know what YOU know now? 

8/If you had ALND instead  could you preface it at the beginning and answer the same questuond but fron the ALND point if view please?

Looking forward to your participation in thiscategory. May God continue to bless, protect and give us courage and strength to us all in our respective journey ...

Anonymous

Hello NAT_SG, I am new to the site and just came across your post. I also had one sentinel lymph node removed at the time of my lumpectomy in Nov. 2014, which was also negative, thankfully. Here is some info about my experience:

- I started moving my arm the day after surgery, doing light exercises that the nurses showed me before I left the hospital (a couple sets per day of arm raises, and walking my fingers up the wall "like a spider"). I didn't do much more than these prescribed exercises until I finished my rads.

- Because I was nervous about how much I should exercise, and I was having some issues with range of motion, My surgeon gave me a prescription for physical therapy, which I started 3 months post-rads. I had 8 visits approved by my insurance. It helped me a lot to have a supervised exercise program for regaining the strength in my upper body. I try to do the exercises my PT gives me about 4-5 times per week at home (takes me 15-20 minutes). Even if you don't do PT, I would ask your surgeon's office for some recommended exercises.

- At 6 months post-surgery, I am still recovering, although things are much better than the first few months. I am very careful with how much I Iift on that side, I don't carry a heavy purse, I'm very careful with personal products that I use in the area, etc. Even with all my precautions, I still occasionally get a little soreness and swelling. Nothing alarming, though.

- I don't know that I would do anything differently...it was a scary time and lots of decisions to be made quickly. I just do the best I can, moving forward.

Hope this helps some. My very best wishes to you in your healing process.

grammakathy

I had one sentinel node removed in October 2013, and two additional nodes were removed from within the breast itself (single mastectomy). Luckily, there was no cancer in the nodes. Following the surgery I had a lot of swelling in my underarm, and a deep gouge in my left underarm from the sentinel node removal. I did gentle arm movements for a month, but continued to walk around the block two to three times a day. I didn't feel like myself for about six weeks and blamed it on the anesthesia. Four months later I had a second mastectomy, along with placement of tissue expanders under my chest muscles. Part of my decision for that was the fact that sentinel node removal wouldn't be done because there was no cancer there. A contributing factor was that with reconstruction, I wanted to do both sides at once.

Following my original surgery, I had cords that stretched through my underarm area and bothered me. Gradually they eased up, and I only noticed they had disappeared when I was getting ready for the second surgery. The second mastectomy/TE placement was a snap, and the exchange surgery was just as easy.

I was very methodical in my decision process, only making a decision when I had enough information. Because of this, the process was twelve months from discover of cancer to completing the reconstruction. It was the right way for me, but maybe not for others.

You will make the right decisions for you -- and are seeking information that will guide you. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!

NATSGSG

@kiki13 and @grammakathy: thanks for sharing your experience here...hope the both of you are recovering better now. I started zumba exercises twice a week last week. It was fantastic...and also discovered how lacking in stamina I am....now set myself a goal. As soon as I regain my stamina, I will get my zumba instructor certification...hope you too will have some goals to set too. We will heal, without a doubt.

After the shocking discovery that I have Stage 2 Grade 3 Invasive Breast Cancer, my sister sent me a video of an exercise that a Taiwanese neurosurgeon who was diagnosed with stage 3 intestinal cancer who did this exercise who somehow managed to get rid of his tumor . He was told he had about 5 years, and he gave much thought as to whether he should go for surgery. He said his tumor was the size of an apple. So, he started doing this "Swinging Arm and Double Bent Knee" Exercise. After about a year of this exercise for which he does 1000 sets each day, his tumor had reduced in size. Subsequently, he refused to go for surgery, and was warned by his doctor that he was putting his life in danger。 He decided to take the gamble. After about two years of this exercise, his tumor disappeared. While pleased, he believed that he still have cancer cells in his body. So he has continued doing this exercise to keep his body in check from cancerous cells.

The 2nd case in this video is a little boy with skin condition with unhealed skins on his lowers legs and buttocks that was both itchy and painful, and wouldn't go away. His mother took him to differents but to no avail. Finally, she came across this exercise, and have her son do this exercise 30 minutes/day Instead. He does it just before he goes to bed. After about a year, he skin condition disappeared. The mother herself also had shoulder ache which she claimed disappeared after two months of this exercise. 

According to an experience Qi Gong & Tai Chi master, this exercise supposedly causes the flow of Qi along different points within out body to flow and unblock any block Qi (energy)

The 3rd case is of a lady who have an extremely serious eczema and skin outbreaks with pus (you'll see it in the video) She went to many doctors who weren't able to help her. Her condition was so bad that she quarantined herself at home. When she was introduced to this exercise, after about a year, her skin condition improved. After 2 years, her skin recovered completely. She said she even lost weight.. I am amazed by this myself.

The 3rd case is an elderly lady with joint pain. She did these same exercises, and after about a year, the joints in her knees gradually lessen, and after two years, they were gone.

Whether this exercise truly works or not, I cannot guarantee. However, my take of this is that they can do no harm, as this method consists only of exercises. I am still going for my surgery and treatment, but will continue to do these exercises every morning for 30 minutes, and to gradually increase the time depending on my stamina. I will try to do it for at least a year to see its degree of efficacy. If you decide to do these exercises as well, please share your results here in this forum.

As explained in the video, there are 2 ways of doing it:

1) Swing your arms back and forth twice. Swing front to back is consider 1 count. On the 3rd count, bend your knees once. Then go back to this count. 2X + 1 knee bend = 1 set.  You can start by doing it for about 15 minutes and increase it gradually.

2) The 2nd method is swinging your arms back and forth 4X. On the 5th swing when your arms are moving back, you  bend and lightly bounce your knees twice. That's considered 1 set.

Note 1： When you bend your knees, you should still be able to see your toes, and your back is straight, which means your butt must jut out. If you do not see your toes when bending, you are doing it wrong, and can hurt your back. That's why you should start gently and pay attention to the posture during the bend. As you get used to it, it will become natural and you can doing more and more each day. 

Note 2: You can do it in the early morning, or just before sleeping. Personally, I'd prefer to do it early morning.

So, here's the youtube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pahtCOQeKHo

Good luck. May this exercise help us improve our physical self. For those of you who are interested and would like to try it, let's compare notes every month or 2-3 months and see if it works.

"Shuai" in the video means to swing your arms.

Have a terrific summer!

NATSGSG

Here's a fantastic link that talks about our lymphatic system and every you want to know about the preciousness of our lymph nodes.

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FY901