Lumpectomy - what can i expect?

I was told not to take any medication starting 4 days before surgery, including nyquil for the cold I had developed.  I'm on prozac and also stopped this for the 4 days before.  Better check with your doctor before you take anything that morning.

I'll add two things: take a pillow in the car to protect your chest from the seat belt when you go home and get a front-zip sports bra (Penneys has good ones). The kind of sports bras that you pull over your head will be hard to get on and off the first few days after surgery.  Because of where my incision is, the front-closing sports bras that have plastic clips instead of zippers ended up rubbing against the incision.  I am back to wearing normal bras again (surgery was exactly a month ago), but I still wear the sports bra when exercising or working in the yard.  Probably always will--I like them now!

As for the rest, I will second what almost everyone else is saying:  Surgery is a breeze, recovery is not bad at all (I took pain pills the first night and next day only), and the incisions will look bad right after and look much better in only a few weeks.

You'll be fine.

Shayna I know what you mean. I have been diagnosed 2 weeks now with same size tumor as you. Lumpectomy and SNB tomorrow. Ups and downs for me too, wondering if things will ever be the same.

Hang in there, I will post my surgery experience. 

I had the wire, and to top it off, I was told my mass was  deep in the chest wall. Do NOT worry about the wire. No, it is not fun. It was unpleasant , just as going to a dentist is unpleasant.
Please---dont bother worrying about the wire. That will be fine. They will do it, and it will be overwith . Make sure you ask for Lidocaine ...just as you might request novocaine at the dentists.  It was more worrisome than anything.

 The wire will really help your surgeon to be more precise.

The lumpectomy was not bad, and  cosmetically, the breast looks fine ... perfect.  Ice becomes your best friend. I had a 1 cm. mass at 11 o'clock position.  My surgeon did the incision by the nipple and  ' went up'.  I have NO scar at all.

 Wishing you all clear nodes and margins ...the hardest part REALLY is the waiting.

Good luck to you.

Hi Everyone and hi Shayne!

I had an infiltrating ductal carcinoma, 12mm..

Surgery was yesterday and it went very well. I took 0.5mg of Xanax witha sip of water before going in (had surgeon's ok) and then had the wire placement with dye injection into the breast. Not fun, but not bad. They took out two lymph nodes which are preliminary negative. Bought front closure sports bra one size bigger than normal at JCP.

I had some after effects of the anesthesia which made my heart race during the night, but other than that I did not need any pain meds. I had Motrin 800 mg after the surgery while in recovery.

No real pain today, just soreness in the arm pit area where nodes were removed. Breast looks the same as before in size etc. This part so far was easy and I hope it will be for you too and everyone else waiting for the surgeries.

Will start radiation in June as well as Tamoxifen, most likely. 

Shayne, I think because you have Carcinoma in situ, which means it has not spread (or infiltrated) out of the duct. That is great news for you! You will just fly through your lumpectomy and maybe some radiation? Lucky that you found your lump so early. Did you find it via a mammogram? I did mine...

My cancer infiltrated the area outside the duct, that is why the lymph nodes were checked.

Hope that helps!! 

Just had my lump and AND yesterday and I feel really good. Very little pain unless I move around a lot. No pain meds yet. Just used some ice. The needle insertion was not fun but they gave me plenty of numbing when I asked for it. The drain is not a big deal, just kinda hanging out there. They put me in a surgical bra after the surgery. Didn't need any anti-anxiety meds because I meditate and I'm a Buddhist and chanted before I went which helped keep me calm. And I had huge support from my friends. Bring something l Iike a book or mp3 so you're not obsessing while you're waiting for things to happen. And just breathe.

Take it one step at a time or you'll get overwhelmed. Find something that distracts you that you love. I paint so I started a self-portrait to work on during treatment. Best of luck!

Shayne, I had over 5.5 x 3.6 x 1 cm taken out, and I am small (very small B cup).  It was at 10 o'clock - just like lifeonitsside it was on the outside.  When I am naked you can definitely tell (and not only because of the scar, which is about 2 inches), but when I wear a jogbra you can't tell unless you really look ... I can see it when I look down, but others can't see if they look straight on.  

You can't really tell what it is going to look like for about 3-4 weeks, because it is usually swollen and the swelling takes a while to go down.  My breast (sans scar) looked pretty normal until about 4 weeks out.  

Good luck to you both in your recovery.  And best of luck to you in your upcoming treatments.