Anyone from Montreal, Qc?

Hi Terri,

Good luck tomorow!  The beginning of the finished product of the new you. Not sure how long the recovery is but I hope it is speedy and uneventful!

Tomorrow is also a big day for me.  Apparently the path results are in so that should clear things up a little.  No nodes!!  Crossing my fingers.

Yo

Hi my560, yoyo44, kerkle, olivieri and all women in greater Montreal! I am myself a patient of Dr Karl Schwarz and I describe my own breast reconstruction experience and all kind of stories I lived myself in a new web site that includes a great number of practical and pertinent suggestions and resources for patients with breast cancer in our own area. I created this NON PROFIT web site to bring help to other women experiencing breast cancer and it is open to free discussion and suggestions through an integrated blog: www.corneliadum.com

Cornelia Dum 

Terri:  Good luck tomorrow !! I am sure everything goes well. You are almost at the finish line !!! I am still pondering my options although I am feeling in a bit of a time crunch.  I need to decide soon because if I don't have the BMX then I would require radiation. I am very scared about having MX. I worry that I won't be happy with the results and am concerned about how it feels to have foreign objects in my body.  I know this sounds like a crazy questions but do you feel them more and also I read the implants are cold is that true do you feel like you have 2 ice packs stuck to you ?? I would love to hear more about it from someone you has gone thru the experience like you. Maybe I should start with just one side and see how it feels before having the other side done .... So many hard decisions we have to make .....

Cornelia: I will also be using Dr. Schwarz, how was your experience, are you satisfied ?

Yoyo44: Hope you are reconvering well so far !!

 Marie

I'm leaving for the hospital in a few minutes and just wanted to check in. Cornelia, thanks for the website, I'll have a look at it when I get back today. Kerkle and Marie, thanks for the prayers...

Keep your fingers crossed for me...big day today!

Hugs,

Terri

Hi Marie, I am describind all my expérience with dr. Scwartz on the site, look on Reconstruction mammaire, on the left side on the first page, and i am also talking about all the doctors ( only the good ons) who took care of me. I just finished with my permanent implants tree monts ago and everything is fain, i am very happy with the result, makes me feel more sexy...I advice you to go with two of them in the same time, and yes you will feel the expender and the implant but you will get used to: my situation was pretty bad with a lot of pain but there is no 2 persons wich will react the same way when it comes to expenders. I spok to a lot women and for everybody was different.Yes Dr, S is fantastic, say hi to him from me and good luck to you. I would like to tell you more but I am francophone and its pretty hard for me to go into the details in English and in writing!! If you can speak any French there is no problem, or i give you my phone number if you want.

have a look: www.corneliadum.com

Cornelia

Yo, I'm so sorry to hear that you're going to need more chemo. What a bummer! That darn ILC is so sneaky. Although an interesting case can be trying, at least you have everyone's attention and are not just lumped into one category. You have the knowledge and experience of many Dr's looking at your case and they will do what's best for YOU. Does this mean that your exchange surgery will be delayed as well? Or will they do the exchange to implants and then do radiation afterwards? I can't tell you how badly I feel for you, this damn disease just keeps throwing us a surprise whenever you least expect it. I'm really sorry you have to go through this and if there's anything I can do please let me know. I just wish 2009 was over and done with, it's been a heck of a year for all of us! I'm sorry I don't know much about chemo and the difference btwn AC and FEC. I'm going to read up on it so that I can understand what you're going through better. Although our cancer has taken us on different paths, please know that you're not alone and we are all here for you when you need someone to talk to or just vent through frustration. 

Kerkle: My surgery went well and although I was in pain yesterday, I'm much better today. The new boobs look OK so far, I'm still a bit swollen so they are wider than I would like and hopefully once the swelling goes down I won't look so "stacked"...lol I have a small bandage on each breast covering the incisions so I can pretty much tell what they look like. I'm told that they will change shape once they "drop and fluff" in a couple of months so I'm not going to get too excited about their appearance for now. I'm just glad to get those TE's out. They were really starting to cause me back pain.

Only a few days until Xmas and I don't have any shopping done! I'd like to cancel the whole thing and fast forward to New Year's Eve !

Hugs to all,

Terri

Kerkle: I didn't ask him about the surgical bra since I woke up with just the bandages I guess he doesn't use them. I know that in the exchange forum most if not all have some form of surgical bra or compression garment on after surgery. Right now I've put on a sports bra that I had but I'm not sure I'm supposed to. My foobs look like 2 flat hamburger buns and they are quite wide. I sure hope once the swelling goes down that they're not so wide. To answer your question, I think the procedure took about 1 hour. I was in the recovery room for about another 3.5 hours before they let me leave. To tell you the truth, I was so tired I would have stayed there all night. I got to the hospital at 7:30 am and wasn't operated on until about 11am. I'm seeing Dr D on the 23rd when I get these bandages off. I'll ask him about the bra then...I guess we do things differently in Canada, not necessarily worse, just different.

Off to take another pain med before bed...it's going to be an early night!

Hugs to all,

T 

Hi Terri,

How are you doing? How are the new foobs? I read about your tape rash, I hope it is better. Were you able to get some answers as to what to do with it - probably so quiet at the hospital this time of year. I say Benadryl cream - it works great for allergic bug bites. Put it in the fridge so it is cool when u apply - feels better. I m curious to know whether u decided to wear a bra or not. I think I read that you are not wearing one.

Happy Holidays to you and a very Happy New Year!

Kerry

Kerry: The new foobs are great! Soooo much softer than the TE's. The tape rash has gone after applying Polysporin 3 times a day for about 1 week. The itch was driving me crazy but everything is better now. I see Dr D on the 13th supposedly to snip the end knots that were tied at surgery but all but 1 have melted already. I guess it'll be a short visit.  I did ask him about the bra, and he said I didn't need to wear one. Maybe just a camisole if needed under clothes. I have been wearing a sports bra 24/7 for the last week or so though. I like the feeling of being a bit tight and keeping everything in place. Eventually, I will start wearing bra's again, very comfortable, no wire ones - the days of underwire are gone for me...thank God!

Marie, I wish you all the best of luck with your BMX on Thursday. Everything will be fine, you'll see. I know how you're feeling, the cold feet and all. But for me, once it was done, I was just so happy to have the cancer out and you'll probably feel the same way. Right now you're nervous and worried and that's normal. But you'll see, you're in good hands and recovery from the surgery is not that bad...promise. I'll be praying for you and that you have a pain-free recovery. Please let us know how you are doing when you feel up to it.

Terri

Hi Ladies,

Sorry, as I said elsewhere, I have been busy with my son while school was out.  I am starting chemo again Jan 14, looks like FEC but won't be certain until then.  Will get more details about the treatment etc. 

Marie, I just saw this that you go for surgery Jan 7th.  Good luck if you see it before but otherwise you have my best wishes for a speedy recovery.  I hope your decision brings you peace.  Are you having TE's too?  Let us know how you are doing and don't hesitate to PM.  I can give you my phone # if you want to talk.

Terri, I am in to see Dr. D at noon on the 13th.  What time are you in?  Maybe we could finally meet?!?  That would be nice.

Good night all!

Yo

Hi Terri,

Glad you are saved one trip but sorry about the other worry.  Hopefully it will resolve quickly.  Yes it does always seem to be something!  Let us know how things are.

My vacation from chemo is almost at an end and I just want to get started.  I want it to end soon so the sooner I start the better, but I also want to start so I can stop worrying about the SE's.  Such a weird headspace to be in.  But the nice thing is I will end my chemo vacation by seeing Mama Mia this weekend with my sisters-in-law and mother-in-law.  It will be very fun.

Take care!

Yo

Well I did it ! Had my surgery on Thursday - BMX with TE's / nipple sparring skin sparring - everything went well so far. I came home on Friday morning and am not in terrible pain only very uncomfortable. Someone please tell me I won't be this uncomfortable until my exchange surgery ...

It does not look so bad either - just looks like my boobs but someone or something really heavy like maybe an elephant sat on them. I was never very large breasted a small B cup so I am hoping I won't need to many fills to get be back to a B cup. It does however fell like a have a 2X4 strapped to the inside of my chest. Does that feeling go away when they start filling them ??

Yo - have a great time at Mama Mia - i saw in in Toronto a few years ago, it was great. Good luck with the chemo !

Terri - Sorry about your bloods, hope it clears up soon.

Marie

Marie - The worst is over! You will start to feel better once your body gets used to the foreign being (TE's) inside it. Make sure your PS doesn't go too fast with the fills and you should be OK. For me, the whole fill process took about 3 months but he went pretty slowly and there was also some vacation time he took in between. They say that after your last fill, you need to give it about 3 months before your exchange. Apparently the results are better if you don't rush the exchange surgery.  Rest and take care... you're on your way!

Terri

Marie, Glad you're not in too much pain. You're lucky to only have 2 drains, I had 4! Once the drains are out you'll be more comfortable but I don't think you'll be able to sleep on your side for a while. I couldn't sleep on my side throughout the whole expansion process. The bigger your TE's get with each fill, the harder it will be to lie on your sides...sorry You''ll probably be sleeping on your back most of the time. I suggest a pillow under your knees which helps put less stress on your back. I'm sorry, I don't want to discourage I just want you to be aware of what might happen....

But let me tell you, once those TE's are out and the implants are in, it's a world of difference. They're soft and squishy and after being almost 1 month out, I "almost" feel like they're my own!  I pray that your expansions go well and that you get those darn TE's out as soon as possible.

Take care,

Terri

Hi ladies:

I have a small question I am sure I may not like the answer but here it goes. I was expecting to lose feeling in my nipple and some of my breast after bmx but not to this extend. My whole breasts are numb. Do you get any of the feeling back in your skin and if not how do you adjust to this ?

Marie