DIEP 2011

Hello all...joining this thread - uni mastectomy with immediate diep for me...can only do one side because of previous abdominal surgeries : (   Will be with drs. escallon (bs) and zhong(ps) here in Toronto, Canada.

 Waiting for a date, but likely some time this summer.

 Anyone else here with Dr. Zhong?

Welcome pamdo.  I am Stage 3c ER-/PR-, HER2- as well.  I will be getting a delayed DIEP in Syracuse NY.  It seems like I've seen Dr. Zhong mentioned here by someone.

Hello All: I may have to look her up before I leave the hospital and have a long talk with her on doing her research and calling the PS's office instead of the patient.I am so happy to have this board,I was telling my DH about it this morning and he is so impressed.I have been lazy and nodding off and on all morning. I have to just stay away from the bed. I am eating a bag of raw vegetables trying to clear out the fridge before Fri. I am hoping that they will have wi-fi at the hospital,so that I can bring my laptop.

SCUBACAT  thanks so much for sharing once again  - I started a new forum topic DIEP Stage II 

have so many questions in prep for finishing touches 

Hubby thinks if I gain any weight it will go staight to my bellyboobs lol 

Dee, I have to add to that - I have been reading every forum I can find on this website about the DIEP surgery.  On one of the forums someone posted When I get hungry after DIEP surgery will my boobs growl?  That was so funny to me that I have never forgotten it.  LOL!!!!

Still waiting on news from Sue.

Susan

yeah, maybe Noob is better than foob, as they're not 'fake" for us DIEP sisters! Just relocated. I'm still amazed by this whole process and what these PS Dr's are capable of achieving. Everytime I look in the mirror I'm still amazed. Good luck to all ladies facing this and I really hope your outcomes are as good as mine has been. That's the best we can wish for each other.

Yeah, I get panicky when I look at some of the photos in the photo gallery and hear about things like leech therapy.  I ask myself why in the world am I doing this?  Haven't I been through enough?  But I do want a noob.  I am one day less than 3 wks away from my surgery date.  Our summer is short here and I had to stay out of the sun last summer because of chemo.  Will I spend this summer in misery?  I am supposed to go to Camp Good Days and Special Times the weekend before my (wednesday) surgery.  Am I whacko to consider that?  I didn't have the surgery date when I signed up for it.  I am thinking it might help my pre surgery nerves to be occupied that way.  What do you guys think?  I don't have kids at home to worry about.

Hi All: So far so good.I am cleaning and washing today. I am scheduled for the hospital at 5:00 am. and my surgery is at 8:00 am. Making sure that I have my bag packed so that DH will only have to pick it up and bring it when I am in my room. I told him when I am in surgery he can come home and feed our doggie and have them call him for any updates. I have a fish that I hope DH does not forget to feed. I will probably leave him a honey do list. He will be working next week and taking off to be with me when I get home from the hospital. I have told my friends and family to wait until I get home to visit because I don't think that I will be getting much rest while in the hospital.

Susan: I have finished all of my pre-op stuff. He is going to map me before surgery. I am just so excited to get this part of this journey behind me.

@SAMayoFl Good question on the color of the Noob after all is said and done. When I look at my abdomen, the color is very similar to my chest wall and remaining breast right now. I think it is anyway. Perhaps that is because I haven't worn a bikini since before my DD was born - 12 1/2 years ago. I have no plan on wearing one in the near future either (how sad is that?). I suppose if you sunbathe in a full monty, your skin would become the same color with a tan and what-not. I'm not quite sure if I would sunbathe topless, even with 2 Noobs

.I don't think you are a freak - my sister (who lives in FL) has had a menagerie of different animals over the years, including a few snakes. I never quite understood the snakes - who would cuddle one of those? Does your parrot say anything? I had a pair of parakeets as a teen, but the novelty of owning birds wore off once I realized how much poop they made.(I'm a clean freak). I love all those cute little lizards that live in the yards in FL. It's like having pets and not having to take care of them. At times, a lizard sneaks into my sisters house, but I never tried to catch one and hold it. I would get grossed out if it peed in my hand, LOL.  

@alexanjb Hmm, I'm not sure what that camp is that you mentioned, but I am all for a Good Day and a Special Time - so it sure sounds good!  A good day to me is a day off from work, the sun shining with low humidity (curly hair), all my housework done, I have taken the dogs on a long walk, and I am chillaxin' on my deck with a good book on my Kindle and an iced tea! Throw in a massage and no requests from the children, and my Good Day would become one with some Special Time! Yeah baby, sounds good! I say def. go to the camp and have a great time! 

@mscal02 Oh my, I was stressing about having to be at the hospital for 6 a.m., never mind 5.My surgery is scheduled for 0730 - and there is no CT involved. I will be marked that morning by my PS. Are you freaking out? I'm not (yet), but ask me again on the day before and the answer might be different. We live about an hour and a half away from the hospital, how about you?I will have to leave my DH one of those honey-do lists also - most likely a small novel. I'll bet a $100 that my kids (and DH) will be eating at Mickey D's and any other take-out/fast food places that they can agree on while I am in the hospital, and while I am dining on "clear liquids", YUM ! Are you taking a lot of stuff to the hospital? I picked up a black nylon hip bag (kind of like a "fanny pack") at Target that I think will hold the bulbs of at least 4 drains. It can get wet (for showers) and will dry fast. Super cheap = $10, compared to the Marsupial pouch that my PS's office suggested.

So, I received a pre-op call yesterday and was asked many a question about my health and such-and-such. The nurse was super nice. She went over everything, including how the flaps will be monitored, the position I will be in during the sx and in post-op, the "clear liquids" after the surgery (hold the green jello, please), how I may develop pain in my arms after the sx and why, how I will be cushioned to avoid pressure sores, etc. I have my PAT's scheduled for Monday, and will most likely be asked these questions again, as well as have labs drawn and whatever else. I can't believe that I received my sx date 7 weeks ago...and now have 2 1/2 weeks to go! Crazy sometimes - how time flys. This DIEP is fast becoming a reality and I know this sounds odd but I actually get a little teary-eyed when I think about having 2 Noobs on my lop-sided chest.

I hope Sue from Iowa is doing well. My thoughts are with her, as well as with mscal02 for tomorrow.   

17 days to go...but who's counting ? ME=)

~Lori

Camp Good Days and Special Times is a camp for people that have or had cancer.  Check it out there may be one in your area:  http://www.campgooddays.org/  I was hoping someone from on here would be going the same time as me.   I am signed up for the Women's oncology arts & crafts program.  It is Friday evening Jun 3 through Sunday June 5, and I think it will involve a boat ride on Keuka Lake.  We won't get the schedule until arrival.  They have other Women's programs like Wellness (yoga, massage) and outdoor activites (canoe, hike, climbing).  At any rate I will be with other women going through cancer "stuff".  Not just BC.

SAMayoFL your bird sounds like fun.  I have two wonderful fluff ball dogs (Bichon Frise) that give me great comfort and joy.  I hate to be away from them for any length of time.  We are crazy about each other. XRAYEstlnMA- I am two days after you for my noob.  But who is counting?

Alexan, I think the camp sounds like a great idea!  I would like to go there with you.

Notafraid, I am cracking myself up.  Did you see the movie Steel Magnolias with Julia Roberts?  They had an armadillo cake made from red velvet cake.  When they cut into the red velvet cake topped with that grey icing it looked like the armadillo was bleeding.  I think that would be pretty cool for an end of the world party.  LOL!!!  Good luck with that!

Susan

alexanjb  Nice that you are doing camp good days, being from NY I know what that is!  You should deffinitely go, it will take your mind off surgery.  I would love to sign up for that some day, maybe when I retire LOL  I have always taken care of children with disabilities, so rewarding!

To all those of you asking, My skin flap is a different color, kinda, and maybe a diff texture, not drastic though.  Although it has a different shape when out of a bra, it looks very good in a bra and a bathing suit..ha ha....I had to try on a suit to see what my summer was gonna look like.  My new one is a little smaller too, but not really noticeable, only to me.  I think a lot of this will be corrected when I move on to stage 2, but I dont see my PS till after done with rads.  I am so happy with my results! Really, who is gonna see me naked besides my DH?

Mscal  good luck to you!  sounds like you are all ready to go.  Sweet dreams

mscal: I'll be thinking of you and sending you lots of positive energy. Sounds like you are totally ready. I liked the part where I could just sleep whenever I was tired and know that I would be taken care of. The intermittent waking didn't bother me; I was on a no schedule schedule. Everyone was kind and gentle and I loved the whoosh whoosh of my doppler - it was like a lullaby.

I second Carberry's wish. Sweet dreams all the way through!

Kathy  /  Treesprite

mscal02 - you are so ready for tomorrow. Wishing you all the best. Will be thinking about you and sending good thoughts your way. All will go well and you will soon be on the healing road to recovery.