Excisional Biopsy for Flat Epithelial Aytipia - Tomorrow

Deerwendy

Hi Everyone,

I have put this note off for some reason and now my surgery is tomorrow, I'm scared and am trying to reason the necessity of it all.

Can you please help me with what to expect from the surgery and recovery? The variable for me is that I am on blood thinners for hypercoagulability and have had to take Lovenox for the last seven days which is no fun, but the surgeon is being cautious since I have a higher bleeding risk and have a hematoma from the stereotactic biopsy over a month ago. I realize that most will not have the same issue, but I would like to know how your surgery and recovery went anyway.

Also, because of the blood clotting disorder, I cannot take Tamoxifen due to it being hormones, so the oncologist let me know that I will just have to be extra diligent with MRIs and mammograms.

Maybe I am being OCD with research, but from my understanding FEA is not cancer and may never become cancer, and there is mixed feeling on if surgery is even necessary. Does anyone have experience speaking with your doctor about this, and if so, what was the decision?

I guess I am just everywhere right now and need reassurance that I am doing the right thing and not going through an unnecessary surgery that can be avoided.

Please share your experiences with me

Jeri64

Hi Deerwendy, I'm scheduled for an excisional biopsy for FEA on Friday. My biopsy came back benign but because I had DCIS 8 years ago in my other breast, my BS wants to remove whatever abnormal cells that are left along with a small area around that. He said he wants to make sure there's no cancer hiding anywhere. He told me if it wasn't for my history, he would've had me have more frequent mammos & kept a close eye on it. I'm thinking this biopsy is somewhat like a lumpectomy which I had for the DCIS. Recovery wasn't bad at all. I can't even remember having any pain. They just don't want you lifting anything heavy, etc. I'm sorry you're going through this. I don't know what the right thing to do is in your case, but I feel like I have to have it done or I'll just worry about it! Glad you posted. I'm sure you'll get a lot of feedback here. Everyone is so incredible on this site!

Deerwendy

Thank you, jeri64 for sharing your experience with me. I can understand why your doctor is being proactive with surgery due to your prior history of DCIS, but his suggestion of monitoring if you didn’t have a history appears to follow with most research.

I am going to go through with the surgery because my breast surgeon, oncologist, and surgery radiologist Athena the breast center all recommended the surgery and neither of them are affiliated with the other, so it was like a second and third opinion.

I am terrified about the entire procedure since I tend to become extremely nauseous with general anesthesia and do horrible with pain, not to mention that for some reason I take longer to heal than most individuals. It’s so frustrating because I just want to be “normal “ and heal like everyone else. I think sometimes doctors don’t understand or accept that it’s just the way I was created.

Good luck on your surgery, I’ll be thinking about you on Friday. Please share how it goes :

Jeri64

Deerwendy, Make sure you tell the anesthesiologist that you get nauseous. I do too & they put a patch behind my ear & I feel fine when I wake up!! Honestly, try not to worry about pain because I really don't think you will have a lot. I'm praying for you. Please let me know how it goes. Hugs.

Jeri64

Deerwendy, wondering how you are? Had my surgery Fri & all went well. Very little pain. Let me know how you’re doing. I’ve been thinking about yoy

Deerwendy

Jeri64,

Thank you for thinking of me. I was thinking of you yesterday and hoping you were doing well.

The surgery went really well from a patient satisfaction point of view. Everyone at the hospital was kind and compassionate with me, and the anesthesiologist did everything he could to prevent me from being nauseous; it worked!

I’m not sure how much was removed or where the incision is because I still have the wrap on (which is a very nice looking wrap!). I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow to discuss going back on my blood thinner, so she will remove the wrap and then I’ll be able to see what is going on.

The surgeon spoke with my husband after surgery and she said it went well and that she removed a couple of the cysts that were in the way, which is great for me since the cysts were bothersome.

I have been taking my pain medication to help with the pain since I feel like someone hit me in the chest with a baseball bat. Maybe the lesions were close to the chest wall and that’s why I’m sore, I’m not sure. I also having a burning sensation around my breast from time to time and pain under my arm. So, it’s a mixed bag of feelings throughout the day.

As far as being anxious about the results, I’m not at all anxious, I still believe that everything is fine.

How are you doing? How did your procedure go

Jeri64

Glad to hear it went well! All went good for me too. A little sore but not bad. I should get the results Wednesday. Hope you continue to feel better! Keep me posted please

Deerwendy

Jeri64,

How was your follow-up appointment? How are you feeling?

My results were B9 and the surgeon recommended Tamoxifen but the oncologist said I cannot take it due to having a blood clotting disorder, so the benefits don’t out way the risk. I am on the six month plan for a mammogram. As for recovery, I had a rough week, but seem to be on the mend. I think after this coming week I should be pretty close to normal. I still have pain and swelling that isn’t much fun.

Hope you had good news as well!