SEPTEMBER 2015 Surgery Sisters

Molly50

I am home!!

cchix49

I have double mastectomy Sept. 14th. Feel like I can do anything after 6 TCHP. Wow, that was rough. Still not over it yet.

jules72

Hello September sisters. I just had a unilateral mastectomy on Thursday, September 3rd with a tissue expander so I'm 3 days out. I head some nausea day 1 and a bit of pain but pretty much had full range of motion day 2 and have been doing very well. Just relaxing, laying low and loving being taken care of. I had a nipple sparing and my nipple is pretty dark but doc thinks it will be okay. Fingers crossed. He filled me to 250 ccs and I have to go to 450 total so I'm quite pleased so far! Blessings and warm wishes to you all

mye

Molly, good to hear that you are home!

Cchix, I agree TCHP is tough, I had my last on the 23 and the SE's lasted a long time after. I am so relieved it's over and happy that we have this pocket between chemo and surgery to recover and enjoy life a bit. I hope whatever SE's are still lingering for you from TCHP will subside soon. Btw are you having recon surgery at the same time of BMX?

Jules, thanks for sharing your surgery journey so far. That is great that you had full range of motion by day two!!

Lharry

my surgery is this Tuesday, Sept. 8 - BMX with tissue expanders. Reality is hitting me hard this weekend! I have been so busy prior to now, making purchases, getting my home in order, finishing up things at work before my medical leave, that it hasn't been weighing too heavy. Now, with nothing left on my plate to prepare for, I find myself obsessing, feeling depressed and just wanting to be alone with my thoughts.

I found myself yesterday, thinking about no longer having my breasts (so to speak). Having those God awful scars on my chest. No longer feeling any sensations from my nipples. It all just totally sucks!

Yes, I know all will be fine. Everyone continually reminds me of that. But at this moment and this weekend, I'm having my own personal pity party. My plan is to feel very different on Tuesday morning. I'm going to go to the hospital with personal strength. I will get there!

ra1950

Hi all. I had my lumpectomy on 9-2. Prior to surgery I had lymphoscintogrphy procedure that found no sentinel nodes. Evidently my memory was correct that during my melanoma surgery on my left arm in 1972 they removed the majority of my lymph nodes.BS took more tissue than he thought and feels he got clean margins. My incision is about 3" and healing well.  have my follow up appt. 9-10 and hope he will have biopsy report. 

Back to the waiting game.

Molly50

Jules welcome! Seems like we are on similar journeys. Lharry I think pity parties are sometimes good for us. This is life changing experience. ra1950 it's good to hear from you. I hope your pathology has clear margins. I am doing better than I expected but it's so hard to look in the mirror. No nipple, sagging skin until my TE is filled. The PS filled me on the table with 120 cc.

39andhip

Lharry - I'll be going in on Tuesday also! I had my mastectomy last Tuesday and am going in for recon this coming Tuesday. I had so long to contemplate the mastectomy that I think I got all my mourning out ahead of time and was able to go in with the attitude of 'let's just get this done.' Yes, it sucks! Pity parties are a natural part of the process. Wishing you strength on Tuesday.

MarieTherese

September 11- lumpectomy, SNL and possible more nodes if positive-

DX 8/7/15, IDC, Right, 1.1 cm, grade 2, ER+/PR+/HER2- (FISH)

MarieTherese

readytorock

I'll be getting my ovaries out on September 21st. Excited to not have to get my OS shot every 28 days!

upstater15

Thanks for the positive thoughts everyone...lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy on 9/4 went well. surgeon thinks there are good signs, but the wait for the pathology report will be torture. i know i'm not in it alone, though, so thanks for the support. Good luck to everyone else on here...for those going in for lumpectomy, the post-op discomfort wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. I did nearly faint during the seed localization procedure they did the day before (did anyone else have that? radioactive seed inserted into mass the day before surgery to ensure removal of correct tissue??).

cchix49

@mye

Thanks for the reply. I can't remember if I replied to you ( imagine that😮) so I will in case I didn't. I talked to my nurse and she reassured me it was quite common for me to feel so cruddy. I am expecting too much too fast. She said I would still be feeling se's at surgery time. My biggest dread is the pain and soreness. But I have a drug store at home...a 💊 for whatever ails you.😏 Quite a change for someone who hardly ever took a Tylenol. I have opted for a BMX. Doc was not too happy saying there was no reason to remove a healthy breast but he would if I was adamant. I think that is best for me. I have also chose no recon. I do not want any more surgeries and am not bothered to get rid of the girls. One tried to get rid of me!

Nice to meet you. Wish it were different circumstances. I am here if you ever want to talk. This is the best supportive group I have found. Take care. HUGS

Stephmoen

have any of you heard that torodol reduces reoccurance rates if used during surgery..I have done some research and read that i opioids such as morphine can cause cancer to spread wondering if any of you are requesting certain anesthetics and pain drugs there is a thread on it on this site

ksusan

Steph, for this reason I used lorazepam for pain. I had tramadol on hand as well but didn't need it.

Molly50

Anesthetic technique and cancer recurrence after surgery Steph, here's an article about that subject

I didn't learn about this until the day before my umx but luckily for me my anesthesiologist is also a pain management doctor and he used a pain/ nerve blocker instead of morphine or other opiods and it worked great. The port was left in until I was discharged. I barely needed the Norco prescribed for me

Stephmoen

I wonder if this has the same effects and risks as those who recieved chemo first since hopefully all the cancer cells are dead prior to surgery..still upsets me that after my tchp #5 when my port became infected I was administered morphine several times before emergency surgery to have it removed I had no idea it could cause cancer to spread hopefully it was gone by then..I'm still confused after reading the articles what do I request to be used at surgery?

Molly50

Ask for a thoracic epidural with non opioid pain control. That's what a friend who is a nurse anesthetist recommended based on the study I linked.

Stephmoen

ok thanks Molly now I will tell this to te anesthesiologist before surgery??..totally bummed I recieved morphine a couple months ago I feel as if it's too late and I already caused the cancer to spread..sigh

MelanieBC

My mom will have her radical modified masectomy on Friday, September 11. She is super nervous.

At this point she will not be doing a reconstruction.

Molly50

I wouldn't worry about it, Steph. It is not a given it will cause it to spread. Different studies have different results. You might want to discuss with your surgeon ahead of time.

Hi Melanie, best wishes for your mom on the 11th.

upstater15

@Stephmoen: this paper is interesting, but it is not itself a research study (it is a summary of other studies, none of which were designed to specifically test the effects of intra-operative opioids on cancer progression), and it is in a not particularly reputable journal. Even more important is this line " However, these findings must be interpreted cautiously as there is no evidence that simple changes in the practice of anesthesia can have a positive impact on postsurgical survival of cancer patients." Don't worry about the fact that you were given morphine--the pain relief it provided was probably more important than the possibility that it promoted cell growth. Agree with Molly50 to discuss with doctor...

MarieTherese

Hello September Sisters

I am getting really nervous. Surgery is on Friday and I just want it over with. I m cleaning and organizing like crazy and thinking that life will never again be normal. What freaks me out is that I wont know until I wake up if nodes will be removed. It depends on the SNL done when I am under.

I am also worrying about the dye. Is it hard to tolerate?

MT

RearviewMirror

Hello September Surgery Sisters.

I was diagnosed three weeks ago multicentric IDC in both breasts. All less than 1 cm. Lumpectomies on Thursday --praying and hoping for clean nodes.

This website has been a tremendous source of comfort and information. Wishing each and everyone of us the best possible outcome so we can put these last few weeks in the RearViewMirror.

Molly50

MarieTherese, I didn't find the injection to be bad but the doctor used lidocaine first and I had isotope instead of blue dye. Rear view mirror, Welcome. Sorry you need to be here. If you put your diagnosis and treatment in your profile and set it to public then it's easier for others to know how to answer questions.

Blessings and prayers for all having surgery this week!!

MarieTherese

thanks for responding Molly 50. Wishing you a speedy recovery!

Rearview mirror- wishing you all the best too. I am right after you and am also praying for clean nodes

Take good care

MT

Petula

hello, I would like to join. Will be having surgery 9/25/15. Need all the support I can get.

Thank you,

Petula

MarieTherese

petula

I am right there with you. The waiting is just torture.

Take good care

MT

Petula

Thank you MT. I pray for us all😇😇

Molly50

Welcome Petula. What surgery are you scheduled for?

Petula

I am having a lumpectomy/SNB but now am questioning that decision. Will definitely have RT but will not know about Chemo until after the surgery. I'm so embarrassed to admit this but I am a smoker and I have to quit ASAP! Both the BS & RO told me I had to stop. Thought I could go cold turkey and set my quit date for yesterday. Had 2 cigs left and smoked them and then got the pack in the car and smoked those as well!

Went to the drugstore and bought the nicotine gum - reset start date to today. Had my first piece of gum - Horrible - and am now trying not to head into 'my smoking lounge' in the garage. I keep saying out loud "Today with Gods help I am a non-smoker". The risk of BC recurrence/lung cancer/Mets and early mortality is exponentially higher if a person smokes. Radiation & smoking are a deadly combo, (done lots of research), and yesterday it finally hit me emotionally that I could die.

So now I am an emotional mess and questioning everything.

Thank you so much for reaching out. I pray for us all😇😇😇😇😇