May 2016 Surgeries

NattyB

Thanks for the pep talk Raven - If I feel like I can sit up for a long period of time, I may try it but I'm kinda doubting it plus I'll still be all drainey and I'm not sure I want to sit in a crowded place and risk picking up some freak bacteria that will infect my new foobs. But - if it's meant to happen, I'll give it a go. It was the hardest part of this whole thing when I was trying to get scheduled - harder than the road ahead, cried waaaaaaaay too much about that but I'm better now. I know I will be naming two of my drains Bossie and Flossie since those are like obvious cow udder names but the other two... not sure, my tumor is Trixie and I'm not sure about my port's name yet. Oh and my PS is super strict about the no showering - jerk face (even though I really do like him). I do plan on sitting in the tub up to my waist just because.... ewwww. You sound like a super mom - that's so great that you were able to do all that stuff for your son's production...wow!

raven4mi

Well, awesome. Just got an e-mail from my son's middle school that a student and/or teacher has been diagnosed with Pertussis (whooping cough.) The e-mails says that students who live with "anyone with a weakened immune system should contact their physician. These students should begin preventive antibiotics regardless of symptoms or vaccination status. Please discuss this recommendation with your physician." Would we be considered having weakened immune systems post-op? Not sure what to do!

grandma3X

Raven - great idea about the drawstring bags! I have a Michael's near by so I might just stop in after work!

TennisPink - so glad you are doing well and that the weather is cooperating in your healing process!

GreyKat - the immediate relief I felt after surgery was wonderful - my anxiety was completely gone. I remember the first few days as being all "fuzzy and warm" inside. I hadn't slept in the 2 months since my diagnosis leading up to the surgery, and just to be able to sleep for 8 hours straight was heavenly. I hope you have the same experience.

Sending healing thoughts to Wildflower and GeorgiaRedskin today!

GreyKat

NattyB - So so sorry you're going to (probably) miss your son's graduation. I hope you feel well enough to go and sit for an hour or two but hopefully he'll understand. And less time with your mother-in-law made me laugh. Silver lining indeed!

Raven - I would not mess around with pertussis floating about. People end up coughing so hard they can break their own ribs. I don't think any of us need any more chest-area pain or coughing fits that last for weeks. And certainly not the children!

So glad you all are reporting the anxiety disappears once the Dreaded Event is over. I keep telling myself you can only lose your breasts once, right? So this is horrible, but then it's done, and there's no turning back, so I'll just have to adapt and move on. I got a letter today of surgeon's notes (copy of) where it restated my PS's goal of "looking the same in clothes" which is NOT my goal but he won't commit to a better appearance than "in clothes", with a bra. Since I'm having nipple-sparing bilateral, it's a blank slate with all parts attached still, and I don't see why he can't give me a more confidant "look the same or close enough" instead of what feels like "deformed but hidden by clothes so who cares". I am so upset I am calling his office last minute before my surgery, because *&^$# I can still cancel this thing.

sensitivehrt

11 1/2 hours till surgery for me.  I think I've got everything set.  If not, I'm thankful that my mom and sister will be talking turns helping me out.  Good luck to Maine1965 who has exchange surgery tomorrow.

GreyKat

SensitiveHrt & Maine1965 - good luck to you both and a smooth recovery. Will be thinking of you tomorrow.

Ausbear

Hi guys, just checking in. Surgery went well, and I'm home recovering. I will post with more detail soon big air hugs to all who have done their surgery x

Valstim52

Hey Hydranne,so glad you are doing well. And to all the others thanks for posting. Mine is in 18 days, and counting.

grandma3X

Hydranne and Ausbear- Good to see you are doing well!

I remembered last night to email my BS to ask for a prescription for Ativan. I had it last time to calm my nerves before the sentinel node injection. I may not need it this time but good to have just in case!

Sending healing thoughts (glad these are working!) to sensitiveheart and Maine1965!

raven4mi

SensitiveHrt & Maine1965 - thinking of you.

Ausbear and Hydranne - glad you could both check in. Hope you're both continuing to do well!

raven4mi

The drains have officially been christened: Flotsam and Jetsam. It just seems oh so appropriate. LOL!

GreyKat

It is so good to hear from you ladies on the other side! I had my last contact with the nurses via phone before surgery Monday morning and my emotions are all over the freakin' place. (Fine anxious crabby fine happy am I starting to cry? fine crabby fine stupid surgeon happy tears again? *headache*) So, so good to get some calm perspective!

Raven - I LOVE those names. I think that's a great idea. I'm supposed to get 2-4 drains Monday, so I'm thinking of starting with Frankie & Johnny (it was a song) or Bonnie & Clyde, which would amuse me more. I can use all the humor I can get!

For the politically-minded, there's Tippecanoe & Tyler Too. =D

Angtee15

I had named my boobs Frankincense and Myrrh one holiday season so I am all over naming the drains! Tippecanoe and Tyler too is hysterical! Greykat let me know if you are trademarking those:)

Healing thoughts and good vibes to everyone recuperating from surgeries this week. My anxiety is starting to kick in now. Ugh.

Valstim52

I love naming the drains.

NattyB

Nice job with the names! Greycat - I have had those same feelings and my emotions have been all over the place. I'm annoyed that out of the blue I will get teary when I was doing nothing to bring it on. Ugh. The anticipation is getting to me I think. Hoping this week's surgeries have all gone well for everyone:

JoJo_1964

Hi. Thank you for sharing your *surgery* stories, worries & questions. You women are all so brave! I am having surgery for lumpectomy with sentinel node biopsy in 4 days (May 10) for IDC. I am in shock this is happening to me & more in shock how many of us this is happening to! As I get closer to surgery, I'm finding those roller coaster emotions hitting me.

monicammoriah

So glad to hear that surgeries are going well and that recoveries have been easier than expected. I had a good friend take his life this week, so I haven't been able to send individual shot outs. But know that I've been thinking of all of you and sending good vibes your way.

I'm really missing sleep right about now. I don't have the most restful sleep, but I never sit awake for hours. I'm not looking forward to this surgery, but it will be nice to get some rest.

Raven- I completely undersand the nipple frustration. I don't think I qualify for a nipple-sparing, and since its been weeks since I've gotten rest, I don't even remember why. I think it had something to do with the size of my breasts, but I could be making up facts at this point. I've really struggled with how I'm going to see myself after this surgery. And I think it's tough because at this point I've only been diagnosed with DCIS. So losing a breast or two seems like s lot for something that some folks don't even want to call cancer. I'm so scared about letting my husband see me post-surgery, even though he's saying all of the right things. And don't even get me started on people who say "but you'll get a perfect pair of girls." I know they mean well, but I happen to like my existing girls just fine. Sigh. Sorry for the rant.

Midwest-so happy to hear that you're recovering well! How long were you in the hospital?

Nattyb- I love the thought of drawing on nipples with a sharpie! I nearly choked to death on my wine when I read that (and yeah- I know it's a risk factor, but since the locally grown/organic produce didn't seem to keep this stuff at bay, I figure I'll enjoy my wine 😉). Sorry to hear about your son's graduation. My baby is a junior, and I'm having a very hard time keeping up with everything that's going on. She had AP tests this week, and I don't think I've cooked a meal in a month. The poor child swears she's going to fail due to malnourishment.

WifeMomTeacher- so sorry to hear about your MRI- hoping that you have a date soon.

Georgia- love the positive spin (I too hate bras, but as of late, I've shunned the establishment and decided not to wear them at all. Probably caused my cancer.)

Angie- love the baby sprouts! Looking forward to hearing about your georgeou new locks.

Greykat-keep the faith girl. I love your sense of humor. And I do believe that your future self will thank you. We can do this. Even though it sucks. And even though we are losing a part of us. And even though some people don't understand, know that we do.

Hydranne and Tennispink-so glad to hear that you're doing well. Tennispink- I'm having a reduction too- would love to hear how your doing with your arms. the reduction has been thrown on me in the past week or so, as I originally thought we would do if with the recon. I was looking forward to have one working arm, but my PS assured me that I'll be fine.

Sensitivhrt Ausvear, and Maine1965- sending good wishes and happy recovery thoughts!

JoJo- sending calm thoughts your way.

Just wanted to check in with y'all. (Texans, right?!) I'm off to a memorial to remember one of the nicest people I've ever known. Life can be so tricky sometimes. I hope I haven't been too sarcastic. And I hope didn't offend anyone. It's been a hard week. And a hard three months. But you ladies all know how tough this can be. So thanks for giving me a forum in which to rant, rave, and be completely inspired. Thank you.

GreyKat

You all are too kind. Glad I could crack a few people up. I've never heard anyone say anything nice about suffering through drains, so Raven's naming them is giving me something to work on. I can't take full credit for Tippecanoe & Tyler Too - a couple years ago after I got on my husband to try and clean up his language he decided to use old political slogans as swear words. It. Is. Hilarious.

MonicaM - I am so sorry to hear about your friend. And I think I can understand your grief about losing your breasts over something that seems so small, but really isn't, but there just ought to be a better way somehow. I'm losing mine and I'm not even sick. Not one bit. Perfectly healthy, and I don't mean that obnoxiously on here in any way, because I have so much respect for you women here. I have a killer mutant cancer gene that has wiped out almost all the women in the family for as many generations as we know of (and killed the men with other cancers), and this is the best thing they can offer me - cut them off while I'm young and healthy and tell me that's the most effective thing that can be done. Or else I'll be dead in 10-15 years with a cancer that doesn't respond to any treatment. Just like everyone else. End of story. Except there's more - I have to have a complete hysterectomy, and deal with super early menopause, and all the horrible risks that go along with that. Oh, and you know, no kids. And even then we've 8 other primary cancers in the close family tree that are related to this gene and still might pop up at any time. I am pretty much doomed, as they say.

It seems so small, and so wrong, and so stupid, and surely there has to be better science somehow, but there just isn't yet, and I've had to explain that to every person I know. So you're losing something big and personal to prevent further harm. And so am I. Even though it isn't fair. And I want to punch every person who tells me that "oh, well, hey, you get to pick out a nice perky new set!" like this is getting a new car for Christmas or something so simple. This is only the beginning of years of surgery I don't want to have and a life I didn't want to live with no chance to now do things I'd planned on doing. This is all really hard. I have a lot of trouble accepting that this is going to be my life now - tied to oncologists until the day I die, having repeated surgeries until one day I get too sick or can't stand it any longer.

I'm going to go before I start feeling sorry for myself. I just wanted to say I understand the frustration of having your body hijacked by something that seems so small.

raven4mi

GreyKat, sending you big pre-op hugs. We all understand the pre-surgery nerves oh-so-well. Hang in there girl.

JoJo_1964, good luck with the lumpectomy. And I daresay we all understand your shock. I still kind of can't believe this is happening to me and I keep thinking I'm going to wake up from a bad dream.

Monicammoriah, I'm so sorry for the loss of your friend. And, please, RANT AWAY. You've come to the right place as many of us know exactly how you feel. My diagnosis was also DCIS and I went down that road of "but it's not really even considered cancer in some circles" for a hot minute and then snapped myself out of it. Once the decision has been made you'll drive yourself nuts by second-guessing it.

Glad everyone's having fun naming their drains now, although I can't take credit for the idea – it was NattyB who gave me the idea and I just ran with it. I'll eventually give my new "girls" names, too, after the exchange surgery and I'm at my new "normal" (or my new seriously "abnormal" - whichever way you want to look at it! Ha!)

wildflower7

hello ladies!

My surgery was 2 days ago and today is the first day I'm able to sit up with my laptop. Everything went well! I had a nipple-sparing bmx with tissue expanders. The sentinel node biopsy came back negative (yay!), but we still have to wait for the pathology report.

I will say that this experience hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. They put in 2 peripheral nerve blocks in my back and I have 2 drains. having all of these tubes hanging out of me has been the most uncomfortable part. The pain is tough, but I've been taking Percocet every 4 hours and it helps tremendously. If I could give any advice, it would be to stay ahead of the pain. While I was in the hospital, I was calling the nurse every 4 hours to give me the meds.

I am so happy to have this cancer out of me and as uncomfortable as I am now, I know that each day will get easier. good luck to all of you ladies having surgery soon. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to contact me.

raven4mi

wildflower7, sounds like things are going well! Glad you feel up to posting. I hope things stay comfortable and manageable for you; looking forward to more updates. Take care!

Valstim52

I really appreciate all the updates. Takes some of my anxiety away knowing that you guys are making it through.

Angtee15

Monica--I'm so sorry to hear about your friend. I know you've gotten a lot of virtual hugs from this board already but please accept one from me as well. I hope the Memorial was able to give you some peace with your friend's passing.

Ladies we are already up to week 2 of surgeries! I hope everyone is able to get some rest and the moms have a great Mother's Day tomorrow.

drum roll please.....

GreyKat - May 9th
robinlori - May 9th
JoJo_1964 - May 10th
WifeMomTeacher - May 12th
Kluga5 - May 11th
Angtee15 -May 11th
tsoebbin -May 11th
raven4mi - May 11th
blessedby3miracles - May 12th
Bonniebleu - May 12th

Today I had this recliner lift chair thing delivered (renting it for the month) after reading how nice recliners were to sleep in after a mastectomy. For some reason, "Chairy" from Pee Wee Herman's Playhouse popped into my head when I saw it lol:

sensitivehrt

Checking in. My surgery went well. 3 sentinel nodes taken and all clear! Sore but taking my pain pills.

suz2016

had a mastectomy just 3 days ago, May 4.

Sentinel node is negative (I criednoike a baby over that news) and started reconstruction at the time of mastectomy.

I'm shocked that it wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be. and I'm amazed at how great my breast looks after. We did a skin sparing mastectomy, and they even saved some of the areola.

I had a small 4mm x 5mm tumor close to the nipple so we couldn't save that.

as far as I know since the node is clear and I went with the mastectomy I won't need radiation or chemo. I still worry about the other breast.

my situation was unusual since I already had implants. the plastic surgeon said that made it a lot easier since the pocket already exists, etc.

I can't wait to get the drains out! I have an expander and will get a permanent implant in a few months.

bottom liNE is they have come so far with this procedure and those of us going through this now have so many more options and a much better cure rate.

suz2016

Funny how different they all are. I had a mastectomy on Wednesday and took a shower today (saturday). I felt so much better!

LRGO2016

Hey Ladies in waiting;

I'm piping in here because I was moved from the April surgeries to May 4th due to a virus and cough. My surgery was last Wed and I went home from the hospital the next day! With proper pain management, in my case Norco, every 4 hours, I'm doing great. I'm eating, sleeping, using the restroom, walking for short periods and can tend to minimal personal things like scratching my nose, texting on my phone and catching up on this website.

I'm already seening a decline in output from the drains and the incisions look really clean and clear. So no infection so far. No fever, no nausea. Just pain that took some experimenting to get under control. My doctors and I appear to have found the right combo of meds and timing to be comfortable. Don't be afraid to call your doctor's repeatedly if your pain is too much. They won't know you are hurting if you don't tell them.

I REALLY recommend renting a power lift chair while your arms are out of commission. It is difficult leaning forward to get out of a chair. I find it easy to get up without moving my arms with the help of this power recliner.

Good luck and fast healing, LRGO 2016

sas-schatzi

Hope you find this information helpful. In 2014 and 2015, there were several threads that looked at 1. specific drugs i.e. ketorolac, opiods, propofol, and other NSAIDS, and 2. surgical anesthesia interventions i.e. paravertebral blocks that may affect breast cancer recurrence either local or metastatic. All the information is Evidence Based Research with links. The intent of this post is to provide you with a link to information that you can study and in turn take to your surgeon and anesthesiologist for discussion pre-op, if you feel it has value in your breast cancer care.

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/73/topics/843381?page=1#post_4691613

A great starting point is this presentation by Dr. Vikas Sukhatme who is academic dean at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center at Harvard. Published on Jan 21, 2016. Presented by Dr. Vikas P. Sukhatme on December 8, 2015 at MIT in Cambridge, MA.

"A Simple, One-Time, Inexpensive and Non-Toxic Intervention to Improve Cancer Survival"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H8zVrYEW8vE&feature=youtu.be

LRGO2016

grey cat,

So sorry you are faced with this road. You And I are a pair. I had to have a hysterectomy and oophorectomy just 6 years after getting married when i was 42. No children, surgical menopause and all the side effects that come with it. My family (both sides) is riddled with various cancers; breast, ovarian, prostate, stomach. I'm BRCA1+. So I have a 90% certainty of getting BC before i can retire. As of May 4th and my bilateral mastectomy, I now have less than a 10% risk of BC. Yes it really sucks that this is our only option, but boy do I feel lucky that I found out and at least have an option. Like you I was angry, sad, frustrated to have to face this. I was terrified of the surgery and my choice.

I'm strangly now at peace with this. I'm no longer living in terror of finding a lump and if my biopsied tissue comes back healthy, i will no longer have to fear the need to go through chemo and radiation. You and all of us are more than our breasts, or other reproductive organs. I chose to rebuild my breasts with implants. If I'm not happy with the appearance when we are done, I'll consider some beautiful and artistic tatoos. I'm my newest experiment. This is a journey and the end is good health, avoiding cancer, and being alive!

3 days post op, I'm starting to feel much better and I hope your surgery is as easy as mine was.

GreyKat

LRGO2016 - I appreciate your point of view. I would feel much differently about this if I were your age, but I am younger and still unsettled in life. I think I could handle the idea of menopause in my 40s; if I were in my 60s I'd probably skip reconstruction because I have so many problems with sacrificing muscle and the idea of implants. But I am closer to 25 than I am to 40, and that makes a world of difference in how hard this has hit me. It has genuinely and irrevocably screwed over my life plans. Heck, most of the women in my family don't make it to 45, so really, tick tock tick tock. Biological clocks have a whole new meaning around here now. A lifetime of surgeries and intensive monitoring is one I am still on the fence about in terms of quality of life, because to me that isn't a life worth living, because it isn't free. Most people don't understand that, but they're also always older than me.

I must also add that I was never afraid of getting cancer, not at all. The family medical history was largely a secret, if you can believe that, so I never had reason to think I had anything to worry about. This literally all fell on me in one horrifying message from a distant family member I haven't seen since childhood. From 0-60, all in five seconds, from having life ahead of me to seeing it stripped away. That is the magnitude of shock I've had, and it's been seven months, and I'm having surgery in a day, and I still cannot accept this. It's too horrifying and my brain does not work that way. At least you've had a life to retire from, you know?