Delayed Skin Healing & Chemo Start Date

kelbo22 · January 2013

Hi,

Had bi-lateral mastecomy on 11/8/2012. Reconstruction at the same time (skin/nipple sparing). My tumor was on left side, but did the double due to trip-neg diagnosis. Feel good about that decision. Had 2 sentinal nodes positive, but other 7 were negative. THat part freaks me out the most.

Anyway, my skin is "thin" and not healing well. Had second surgery to remove necrotic skin in the right side (yes...ironic) on 12/21. Just had another excision on left side on 1/7.

So, needless to say chemo has been delayed. Original plan was to start on 1/7, which would have been the standard 8 weeks after a double. Not sure what we are looking at now. THey want the skin to heal first, but just when it looks OK, little areas pop up...

Oncologist is realistic & wants me to be healed & strong so we don't risk infection. But the delay is frankly scaring me. Right now, it's "wait till plastic surgeon says skin is healed & we can book for 1-2 days after she says go"

Also, I still am in a ton of pain & have no range of motion in either arm.

How long is too long to "wait" for chemo? Never thought I'd be anxious & ready to start!

SpecialK · January 2013

I am not triple neg, I am triple pos but I wanted to respond to you because I was in the exact same position you are now. I did a skin/nip sparing and had necrosis issues on the non-cancer side - had surprise positive nodes so did a complete ALND, then ended up having an emergency surgery on the non-cancer side, followed by two more excision surgeries and the removal of the left TE. From my BMX to first chemo was 14 weeks, but it was necessary to heal from those surgeries. That is outside the ideal time period from surgery to chemo, which is usually up to 12 weeks. Once the TE was removed I did heal fairly quickly - for whatever reason the TE was aggravating the skin even though the necrosis was gone and the PS had cut back to healthy, bloody (that is a good thing) skin. I am now 18 months PFC and doing fine. Wishing you the best!

dlb823 · January 2013

kelbo, here's the research on the 12-week information that SpecialK gave you: http://www.jco.ascopubs.org/content/24/30/4888.abstract

I also had a Diep and some necrosis that kept me from starting chemo until Week #11, and I was also very worried about it at the time. But your onc is absolutely correct about not starting you until all of your wounds are healed.

Have you asked your BS and/or PS if there's anything else you can be doing to aid healing?

And for what it's worth, I'm not TNBC, so my comments and the link are general info' only.

I hope your skin heals quickly, with no further delays! Deanna

kelbo22 · January 2013

Thank you all - it helps to know I'm not the only one with these skin issues.

Thanks also for the link to the research - very helpful!

Jen78 · January 2013

Hi Kelbo22 - I had some skin healing problems after my bmx and lat flaps (opens wounds and a hole that had to be packed 3x a day). My PS recommended I drink this stuff called Juven. It's got amino acids and various things that aid in healing. I've never been a big believer in that type of stuff, but I gave it a shot. Within days I actually saw a big difference. It's just a powder that you add to water and drink 2x a day. It's made by Abbott Laboratories - I ordered mine online and it came quickly. I got the orange flavor and liked it a lot. Good luck!

SpecialK · January 2013

While healing from surgery you should be aiming for 100g a day of protein - that is why the Juven worked for Jen78.

Delayed Skin Healing & Chemo Start Date

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