DIEP 2013

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  • MartyJ
    MartyJ Member Posts: 1,859
    edited April 2013

    Kuka - I was dx many many years ago (ooo, that makes me sound really old).  Things were a bit different then.  They didn't do the SNB as Betsy describes.  They did take 50 (yes, 50) nodes.  While I do not allow venous puncture on that arm, I have had carpal tunnel surgery and the other nicks and cuts of life.  Fortunately, I have not had a problem with LE.  I offer this only to remind you that it doesn't happen to everyone.  You are right to be concerned.  You have watched your Mom live with it.  

    Try to get some rest tonight before your big photo session tomorrow.  Maybe you will even get a bit of a nap during the MRI.  It is great that you will see the PS on Wednesday as that my allay many of your fears.

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited April 2013

    Marty....aren't you coming up on a surgery date for yourself???? ((X))

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  • Moviemaniac
    Moviemaniac Member Posts: 949
    edited April 2013

    Nihahi-go for it-it sounds good!

    ((((Hugs))))

    Namaste and God Bless - Jackie

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  • kuka21174923
    kuka21174923 Member Posts: 427
    edited April 2013

    Bdavis, thank you for the mini lesson on the lymph nodes. Docs removed 20-40 nodes from my mom when she had her surgery, but that was 14 years ago. She still does chemo treatment because even without her breasts her cancer has come back 5 different times! And all of her nodes were negative! But even with everything she's gone through, she cries about how the most difficult part of her journey has been her lymphedema on her right arm.

    Nihahi, thank you for your kind words. I don't know if I'm much of a fighter. I'm just starting my journey, so we'll see how it goes. I'm terrified!!!

    MartyJ, I will have to ask my BS about it. My mom was telling me about a new procedure to test if your nodes have cancer cells without having to remove any of them to test. I'll have to ask my mom how it works.

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  • MartyJ
    MartyJ Member Posts: 1,859
    edited April 2013

    Yes, Nihahi, I am up for Stage 2 on Friday. Dr. Massey will do pre-op tomorrow and I will learn what she has planned. So excited for the next step and especially because this time we will do surgery in Charleston.

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  • Moviemaniac
    Moviemaniac Member Posts: 949
    edited April 2013

    Good luck to you, Marty!  I hope you have a quick recovery, and that you are back "pronto" to help us "Newbies" on the board.  Smile

    Namaste and God Bless - Jackie

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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited April 2013

    Sounds great, Nihahi!  Thanks so much for taking this on!

    Two weeks to go.  I'm showering with Hibiclens and stuffing antibiotic ointment up my nose, just like my PS told me.  And no aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen, fish oil, vitamin E...he even recommended I wean myself off coffee.  

    The suffering we endure!

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  • heavenschild
    heavenschild Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2013

    kuka21 - I had nipple sparing and my breast oncologist was so pleased to tell me that I had a 1% chance of getting CA again.  I was very thankful that I was able to keep my original equipment. 

    Faith - praying for you!  Take good care of yourself afterwards, it's your season.

    Nihahi - I would joke with people about the tummy tuck because I got sooo tired of the shocked expressions.  One thing that I noticed is the compassion that I have felt from others, even those that didn't like me at work, since my diagnosis (again) and SX.  It truly is an equalizing factor that every woman doesn't want to go through. 

    Seagan - OMG - you are doing so well!  I didn't start to even feel human until about six weeks post-op, you are doing GREAT!  Please give yourself some *me* time, children can be so all consuming. 

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited April 2013

    Ladies.....we all should give Cuetang huge applause. She has compiled a new list of dates, by going through page after page of messages. This info was posted by ladies wanting to get "listed", so I am going to assume it's ok to forward it to the mods???? I will start the new info we have talked about with my own entry, (location of surgery) so if anyone else wants to add that, that will be another pm I guess. 

    I have also asked the mods to take Bleugirl's name off the new header, as I don't want it to look like I have spoken on behalf of Bleugirl. Never was my intention to "take over" her thread, just want to keep it going.

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  • Morningsun1
    Morningsun1 Member Posts: 649
    edited April 2013

    Great job, nihahi, I see your welcome header is in place. We are almost there. Thinking about faith. Nite.

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited April 2013

    Yep, thanks to many people, we're getting there. Thinking about Faith too. It's late where you are, sleep well!

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited April 2013

    Sorry the thread has been "hijacked by housekeeping" lately....Pinkheart, mammalou, shechirple, sbelizabeth, everyone else.....hope all is well. 

    Marty...on Friday they are going to have to expand the waiting room BIGTIME....there will be so many of us "waiting to jump in your pockets"!!!!! So glad to hear you are going to be close to home this round, instead of the travel. 

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  • nihahi
    nihahi Member Posts: 3,841
    edited April 2013

    I really do have to get off the computer, but....

    sbelizabeth....just reread your earlier post. I am laughing so hard I can barely type and my hubby thinks I'm losing it...."shoving antibiotic up your nose"...what the....that's a new one to me!!!!!

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  • mammalou
    mammalou Member Posts: 823
    edited April 2013

    I was wondering about that antibiotic up the nose too!



    Good luck to all having surgery soon. I am learning a lot here. I'm scheduled to go in June. I don't know if 2 months to think about it is a good idea. I've already researched I to death. Ugg, I hate waiting!

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  • PinkHeart
    PinkHeart Member Posts: 1,193
    edited April 2013

    My surgeon also prescribes swabbing nostrils with Rx antibiotic ointment two days prior to surgery. Not all do.

    Also starts oral antibiotic day before and single serving of miralax 2-3 days prior to make life easier from the guaranteed constipation from pain meds and anesthesia.

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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited April 2013

    Two days?  What's up with this two weeks nonsense?  

    Maybe it's because I've been a nurse too long.  He thinks I'm inherently germy.

    Thanks again, Nihahi, for fixing this thread.  It was SO worth keeping!

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  • sbelizabeth
    sbelizabeth Member Posts: 2,889
    edited April 2013

    Can't wait to hear from Faith!  We all hope you're resting well, with sweet dreams of Barbie breasts.  Write when you're up to it.

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  • heavenschild
    heavenschild Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2013

    sbelizabeth - no coffee?  Que horrible! 

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  • KiwiMum
    KiwiMum Member Posts: 704
    edited April 2013

    Good work Nihahi sorting the thread housekeeping!



    Cuetang, amazing effort reading and sorting the posts to update the surgery list!! That was a huge job and I'm sure appreciated by everyone. Thank you.



    Nothing up the nose for me. I was allowed coffee no problem.



    My instructions were high dose Vitamin C 2x daily for 4 weeks pre and post surgery. No alcohol for 72 hours pre surgery and no solid food 36 hrs before. Nil by mouth 12 hours before.

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  • Cuetang
    Cuetang Member Posts: 575
    edited April 2013

    Thinking of you Faith! And no coffee is just cruel....

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  • Cuetang
    Cuetang Member Posts: 575
    edited April 2013

    KiwiMum-- think we cross posted, hope everything is well! :)

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  • Gini23
    Gini23 Member Posts: 183
    edited April 2013

    3 weeks post-op here and I'm feeling great - but also feeling some tough love....! I am out of bed more than in, but still get so tired. I'm trying to get myself down to one "nap" a day, by getting through the morning and then laying down a couple hours before everyone gets home. On Easter I made it to church, and then I fell asleep in a chair at my mom's after brunch, and when we got home later in the day I crashed on the couch. I have not tried to drive yet, but ready or not, I'm not going to have a choice today. Our soccer carpool is not feeling the love I don't think... I never really fully explained to them what I did, but they do know I had surgery. Oh well! And my DH and DDs seem to be ready for mommy to be back in the swing of things and don't seem to have much sympathy at this point. Do I sound like I'm whining? I guess I am....!



    Never heard of the nose swabbing! And the Hibiclens for me was just 3 days prior to surgery. So many variations.



    Thanks so much to Nihahi for getting all this sorted out! I'll send you more details for me. And thanks also to Cuetang for deciphering all the dates!



    No caffeine for me, too, but I was already a green tea drinker, so just had to switch to decaf and no chai lattes for awhile. I love the "SleepyTime Green" by Celestial Seasonings with chamomile.



    Can someone please give me something specific regarding the Marena garments? I am looking online but there is so much. I'm sure you must have given us an item number at some point... I want to send the docs at the Brigham an idea of what others are using. I tried to put my favorite black dress/work pants on today, and there is no way they are buttoning over this binder! So far I am wearing yoga pants and sweats...



    =) Jeannie

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  • heavenschild
    heavenschild Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2013

    Jeannie - please don't let people push you, it is really important to heal right now.  Tough love 'em back and just don't be available.  Sorry, but men are clueless.  I would show my husband my healing scars all the time, it scared him into action. 

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  • heavenschild
    heavenschild Member Posts: 212
    edited April 2013

    I stole this from the NOLA girl's site, I am sure they won't mind.  It was in their header with all the SX dates:

    Useful links

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  • Moviemaniac
    Moviemaniac Member Posts: 949
    edited April 2013

    Hi ladies!



    Don't have much to add to this discussion, except my PS banned all caffeine for 2 months post-surgery.....since I am not a coffee fan, I didn't care too much......I forgot that my drug of choice, Coke Zero, has enough for a "no-no" from my doc. Now, at almost 11 weeks out, I no longer crave it.....have switched to Tazo Zen green tea. I have very small veins/ arteries for blood supply, and had re-attachment issues b/c of that. I almost lost one of my transplants (luckily my PS was experienced enough to recognise the problem, and was able to save it , but my surgery took hours longer due to venous congestion). Maybe the fact that blood flow was an issue for me was the reason he said "No caffeine. Period. Two months." I'm just glad he felt he could successfully DO the surgery at all....with my tiny vessels.



    Faith????? Anxiously awaiting word from you! Hope all is well. Thinking of you.....



    Namaste and God bless - Jackie

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  • wraithg
    wraithg Member Posts: 93
    edited April 2013

    Nihahi great job!! A big thank you. heavenschild thanks for info. Oh and I went to target yesterday (new in canada) and they had the GO pants. What a great suggestion! love them. Got some full high cotton briefs too as after surgery and when those balls are removed the higher panties that come above the scar are more comfortable. I found some silicone strips in shoppers drug speciality health store and wonder when I should start to use them and how. I am thinking that I should wait until the incision is well healed first. Have been a little down these days but a friend put it well - she said " you have been putting all your energy into the physical healing so the emotional was put aside, its too be expected." 

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  • Moviemaniac
    Moviemaniac Member Posts: 949
    edited April 2013

    Geralyn-you have a very wise friend......some very wise women on the boards told me to be kind to yourself, so I will reiterate that mantra......be kind to yourself! I certainly have had down days since my surgery.....I think it's part and parcel of this lovely disease all share.....just know that it will get better. "2 steps forward-1 step back". Overall, we are still moving forward......(((Hugs))) to you!



    Namaste and God bless - Jackie

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  • HHCats
    HHCats Member Posts: 121
    edited April 2013

    I will apologize in advance.  I am going to ramble.  It's been a weird day.  

    I'm new to this thread and completed chemo last Monday.  So just today I met with my plastic surgeon here in Hamilton, Ontario.  We went through all my reconstruction options and he encouraged me to have the DEIP.  I was completely not thinking about this  as a viable option but now I am.  I don't have a lot of meat to give to my new breasts - so they will be smaller but I'm OK with that.  However, I am wondering about one thing.  I've read that I will have to undergo mammograms if I do the DEIP?  Is this correct?  I know with implants - mammos are pointless pretty much.  Also does anyone know any rates of recurrence of cancer with the DEIP?  I'm triple negative so I want to avoid anything that might ADD to my chances of recurrence.  

    Just some more information.  I am Stage 2, N0 (node negative), and M0 (no metatsis).  I've already had a lumpectomy with clean margins prior to chemo.  They have told me that should I opt for surgery that radiation will not be necessary.  I'm in good shape and healthy.  I had very few issues with chemo but I took good care of myself while I did it.  I am going to have a bilateral done because I also have an LCIS tumour marker which shows a propensity for a new breast cancer to form in the other breast.  I'm 43 and have three young kids to stay alive for - ages 6, 6, (identical twin girls) and an 8 year-old boy - and a fantastically supportive husband.  I'm being aggressive because I never want this to come back and plan to live like it never is.

    I'm just a little in shock right now about the DEIP.  I think I'm going to do it and it really wasn't on my radar screen.  I really wanted to go straight to implants and avoid tissue expanders and then suddenly DEIP is on the table . . .what a difference a few hours make.  

    Any advice or information would be appreciated.  I have a week to "make my final decision"!!  

    Again I apologize for the clueless ramblings.

    Thanks

    Robin

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  • bdavis
    bdavis Member Posts: 6,201
    edited April 2013

    Robin... Your story mirrors mine. I too had a lumpectomy with clean margins, then chemo. But as I went through chemo I had lots of time to think about the next step. I was supposed to have radiation, but when I chose MX instead, that meant I didn't need rads. So I started researching reconstruction. And it didn't take too long for me to realize I didn't want implants. My neighbor had the direct to implants and they ended up in her armpit. She was very unhappy and she was the one who suggested DIEP. I also spoke with many women and not one who had implants was 100% thrilled. They all said they could feel them. Plus they need replacing every 10 years or so. And they don't usually look as good, not as natural. So... those were my reasons for choosing my own fat. I visited a local PS who didn't do DIEP and was encouraging me to have Lat Flap, but I didn't want muscle loss... He also didn't think I had enough abdominal fat.. Which, by the way, he was correct on that. So after more research, I decided to go to New Orleans where they offered to do the Body Lift (using the buttock and abs). I was a C/D going in, and wanted to come out the same.

    So... sorry for the long story, but I just wanted to say that my story is so similar to yours, and I have no regrets for choosing my own fat. And now that I have met even more women, I am so glad I made the decisions I made... I would just hate Implants.

    Last, about DIEP vs implants and mammograms and recurrance. Flaps are fat from your abdomen.. Cancer doesn't grow in fat. So now worries there. And I haven't heard of anyone getting a mammogram with a DIEP.

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  • wraithg
    wraithg Member Posts: 93
    edited April 2013

    HHcat you will get alot of help from this thread!!! On feb 28th I had bilateral with diep recon. Your husband will have to give alot of help as you can't carry anything heavier then 5lbs for a month. I can now carry 10lbs. There is  pain but its amazing how fast it heals and the pain gets less. There is no guarantee that cancer will not come back I am not sure of the stats but doctor says its low but they don't really know. After a bilateral you will never need to do a mammogram again. This was one positive for me. Its a tough decision and no right or wrong one. Listen to your heart and keep getting lots of advice and support from here. moviemaniac thanks for the hug

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