July 2017 Surgery

Anonymous

July 2017 Surgery

kae_md99

Hi all, so i think the first new topic i made does not have the complete date. so i am making a new one. i will be having BMX on jully 14,2017.any other sisters out there having surgery on july,2017?thanks!

SBKH

Yup - I'm having a unilateral mastectomy July 6th.

kae_md99

hi thereSBKH hopefully more will join!

beaner81

Hi All,

I'm joining this group, having a MX on left side, post TCHP chemo on July 25th. I had a RMX 9 years ago..

Thanks for getting the group started!

Candyapple17

I meet with my MO on 06/14 to make final surgery decisions - still waiting on biopsy results from left side but will hopefully have them at that appt. Surgery is likely in July....but geesh at this rate - every time I go to the doctor something changes..

SuzyFL

I am scheduled for surgery July 6th, as of right now it will be a lumpectomy.

3sistersmom

Going in for lumpectomy in either late June or early July... waiting for date! Feeling positive about it. Caught early. Should be okay. Agonized whether to do bilateral mastectomy or lumpectomy. Depending on genetic findings,etc., may go back and do bilateral in the future. Really didn't want to be out of commission all summer but yet don't want to worry about second cancer in healthy breast.

3sistersmom

Going in for lumpectomy in either late June or early July... waiting for date! Feeling positive about it. Caught early. Should be okay. Agonized whether to do bilateral mastectomy or lumpectomy. Depending on genetic findings,etc., may go back and do bilateral in the future. Really didn't want to be out of commission all summer but yet don't want to worry about second cancer in healthy breast.

KayaRose

Hi Everyone,

I'm scheduled for a mastectomy of my right breast on July 17th. I was diagnosed with ILC in my left breast in Sept of 2014. At that time, my doctors decided to remove only the cancerous breast. I had a very aggressive cancer that was already in my lymph nodes and they didn't want anything to interfere with treatment (like a possible post-surgical infection in the non-cancerous breast). I wanted both breasts removed all along but deferred to my doctor's opinion.

Anyway, this past January I had a mammogram, ultra sound and MRI and all the docs, including the radiologist, agreed it's time to remove the breast. The tissue is so dense that it's hard to spot a problem. The MRI showed areas of enhancement but not considered to be cancer. So, I'm about to undergo my second mastectomy. The good news is that I won't be having any lymph nodes removed this time. I already have one arm that can't be used for blood draws, blood pressure readings, etc., and the docs want to preserve my good arm, if possible. If anything shows up in the pathology, however, then they will have to go back in and take some lymph nodes.

For those of you going through your first surgery, it's not a fun experience but definitely not as horrible as I had imagined. I think the drains were my biggest complaint. It's very weird having these tubes coming out from your insides, LOL. As far as pain, it was tolerable - just take it easy and don't try to do too much, too soon. Most of my pain came from the underarm area where I had the ALND. I had to go to physical therapy in order to raise my arm above my head which was required to do radiation therapy.

Wishing everyone the best.

Kaya

kae_md99

Hi Kaya! welcome and thanks for sharing your experience

purplestargazer

I believe I will be part of your group too. Just dx'd on Monday so I don't know exactly what and when yet.

newlydiagnosed42

Lumpectomy 7/7/17. I feel like it's going to be a never ending wait before then

toughcookie_21

Hi all, I'm scheduled for a BMX with reconstruction on July 18. I met with the plastic surgeon yesterday after canceling a lumpectomy that was originally scheduled for next week. I found out last week that I carry the BRCA2 gene mutation and decided to have the BMX. I hope this this the last big change of surgical plans, but I still don't know the chemo plan. Good luck to all having surgery in july

shelabela

I'm scheduled for a bi-laterel mastectomy July 19th. Add me to this group. Anyone else getting scared?

kae_md99

shelabela,i am getting scared now! i will have mine july 14, 5 days before you.will you'll have reconstruction? i wasnt going to but what the heck,might as well do itt.

shelabela

Kae,

I still need rads so it sounds like I will get TE for awhile. My PS wants to do that DIEP reconstruction. I need to research more for that.

smt1590

After 3 lumpectomies (all with Phyllodes tumors) over the past 5 years I'm having a BMX July 19th. Once you get the date, the waiting is the worst part.

aussierockchick

hi im having a right side silicon implant on 4th july. Its not a holiday here in oz. Will be great to get this expander out and feel closer to the end of this journey. Im really excited as well as scared and nervous. All rolled into one.

Candyapple17

Welp...more waiting. Surgery scheduled for August 1st so looks like I'll be part of the August group

shelabela

What do you ladies plan to take with you to the hospital to wear home?

kae_md99

shelabela ,i have been thinking about that too. they say shirts should have buttons at the front

jkbrca2

July 10 2017 I'm havinga preventative bilateral oophorectomy with total hysterectomy. I'm BRCA2 positive.

I had a preventative bilateral mastectomy July 2015 without reconstruction. That wasn't as bad as I thought it could be. Now I'm a bit terrified of surgical menopause without HRT. This is the surgery I've put off.

For those having a mastectomy, I recommend the button down blouse or shirt for hospital departure. It would have been very difficult to raise arms to even get into an oversized T or tank that day after surgery or for the first 2 weeks for that matter. Shorts or yoga pants with an elastic waistband are good to wear out. It would be hard to pull up and zipper or snap pants. Make someone else carry your bag out. You'll not be allowed to carry heavy things, reach, or stretch right away..

KayaRose

shelabela, I bought couple of extra large (I'm normally a medium) button down soft shirts at Goodwill. I knew I wouldn't need them after treatment was over and didn't want to spend too much on them. They also came in handy during radiation treatments. I would rub cream all over after each treatment and didn't have to worry about ruining any good clothing. Soft is the important word when looking for something to wear. Also a good tip for the drains after surgery is to wear a lightweight (cause of summer) hoodie with pockets. It was easy to get on and off with the zipper and the drains fit well into the pockets.

And, yes, I'm getting nervous, too. Even though I've been through it once already, it's still a scary thing.

shelabela

Awesome, Thanks for the tips. I have a few weeks to go shopping for some button down shirts. I will also look for some light weight hoodies. What about for when we get home? Do you plan to have someone with you all the time for a few days?

Jumpship

I am headed in on July 21 for a revision ( moving the implants higher) and fat grafting. Maybe trading saline for silicone. Not sure. Trying to look normal and not pin up perfect because the rest of the body isn't! Worried what fat grating feels like and what post-op will be like. This PS expects drains which I didn't have at the exchange

KayaRose

shelabela: I did have my husband home with me after the first surgery. I definitely needed help for a few days. However, my first surgery was a radical mastectomy with ALND. Also, I had just finished chemo treatments and had not really recovered. I see you just finished chemo, too. Our bodies have been through a lot! Give yourself lots of time to heal up and take whatever help you can get. I had 14 lymph nodes removed and the area under the arm was very sore. I knew going in that I had cancer in a lymph node. Hopefully, you won't.

Jumpship, Can't give any advice since I didn't have and don't plan on having any reconstruction. Just wanted to wish you well. Drains are more of an inconvenience than anything. They didn't hurt or bother me - just got in the way.

shelabela

Kayarose,

I will have both breast removed and the plan is put TE in till after Rads. I will have to have some lymph nodes removed. I had 6-8 that were cancerous when I started this journey. I plan to have my husband with me most of the time but I do not want him to miss much work since I won't be paid when I am off. My sister who is not working has offered to come up and help me everyday if I think I need the help. I may take her up on that. If anything she can cook for us since my hubby does not cook! AT ALL!

What is ALND?

Thanks

RedJo40

Having MX on left breast with lymph nodes July 18. I'm more nervous for this than my hysterectomy due to endometrial cancer. That surgery was followed up with 28 days of radiation and 18 weeks of chemo. I was relieved not to have radiation again. Just anxious for surgery and reconstruction. So much information!

KayaRose

ALND is axillary lymph node dissection. Rather than taking just the sentinel node to see if it is cancerous, they take a group of nodes and test them all. The nodes are in clusters so the total number of nodes taken just depends on how many are in the cluster the surgeon removes. Since you already know you have node involvement,I'm surprised they are doing a sentinel node biopsy rather than ALND. But that's good because the more nodes you have removed, the higher the risk of lymphedema developing. I've been lucky and haven't had much of a problem. I saw a physical therapist who was certified in treating lymphedema. She took my arm measurements before and after surgery to see if there was any change in size. I also had massage therapy from her after the surgery as well as physical therapy to help get me ready for my radiation treatments. I get swelling on my side once in a while but my arm seems ok. i was told not to have blood or blood pressure taken from the arm as it could trigger a swelling episode. There's several threads on this site dealing with the topic.

Definitely take your sister up on her offer. You just won't have enough arm movement in the first few days to do much for yourself.

shelabela

I might have to look at my notes. I may have the wrong info down for that. I've had a biopsy done. 2 actually. They said they would be removing nodes and testing them at time of surgery until they got clear ones. What ever that means. I have so much info to read through