March 2014 Surgery

Love love this pic SpecialK and Linda! I wish I had a sister in my neck of the woods.

Lynnlyre,

I was wrapped up for 3+ weeks, and I learned how to wrap myself up. I lowered the wrap around my tummy, with the velcro facing to the front, so I could secure it easily. Then, once it's wrapped around all the way once, turned it back with the velcro facing back, and raised it up over my chest. Just had to make sure to wrap it quite tightly when around my tummy, since it's a bit smaller there. Then I just kept wrapping it around, and secured the velcro when it was at the end. Also, a trick I came up with to keep it from sliding down all day was to hook the straps of a bra with removable straps to the ace wrap, over my shoulders, like a bra. Worked like a charm! My BS was pretty impressed with my "invention" actually.

I was lucky enough to not get much fluid build up once I was finally allowed to come out of my mummy wrap. I still have a little bit, but so minimal that it doesn't have any effect on anything. I am now wearing a mastectomy bra with prosthesis, at least when I go out. I am finding that it makes me very hot, and the area of my chest under the prosthesis gets really sweaty, so at home I don't always wear it. Keep in mind though that we're already in the triple digit heat here in AZ!

Hope that helps some.

Edith

What a nice picture of you two together, SpecialK and Linda. How special that you got to meet each other IRL!! 

Oh, Frostecat, I almost forgot to post to you: congrats on the great news about your onco score. What a relief. I'm not sure why, but I never got one. Never even thought about asking about it either, and I'm sure it's too late now.

Power walked and did elliptical for about 30 minutes total today - I really needed it as I've felt so stiff and restless! Found some cording today in my left armpit and bicep (and only because I lifted my arms over my head in the mirror and saw it - my left arm did feel a little tighter but I had no idea!) I can't tell you all how thankful I am for these boards and that cording has been mentioned. I would've really freaked out as it looks so weird and comes right from my SLN biopsy site. Going to research PTs in the area tomorrow that specialize in this. Have had pretty good ROM overall but don't want this to be a problem down the road. But thanks to all for sharing because the docs don't seem to say much unless you know what to ask!!

So happy for you Frostecat!!!!

Yay for Moon and Sandra meeting

frostecat - excellent!

For those experiencing cording - try to find a PT who is lymphedema certified, or at least does PT at a cancer center.  You do not want someone who is inexperienced or unfamiliar to cause harm, cording can usually be resolved, lymphedema not so much!

Hi wynne50 - the thing that will most likely determine if the oncologist will recommend chemo will be your oncotype score.  That would be the question I would ask and maybe your BS already had that number?  

It may not have been done yet - the oncologist may order it to determine if chemo would be needed.  Your BS may have ordered it and knows the score and that may be why he said what he said - but it seems that BS  usually have a good idea what a oncologist will say do - so I wouldn't worry - when you see him or her - they will fill you in on what they know or what they still need to find out.  An ER/PR+Her2- your size would usually not call for chemo

Hi Everforward. I was never given a choice about where my scar would be or about nipple sparing. I was not on the petite side. 

ever - many surgeons who do skin/nipple sparing make the incision in the IMF (inframammary fold) to camoflauge so that the breast has as normal an appearance as possible.  I had this procedure.  Many are not candidates for either this type of procedure, or this type of incision, based on tumor location and breast size. 

My BS told me she doesn't do nipple sparing mastectomies very often to begin with, and also that I for sure was not a candidate for that, since I had DCIS very close to the nipple. My incision is horizontal across through the middle of my breast. Since I wasn't going to do reconstruction anyway, it didn't really make much difference appearance wise anyway.

Sandra - good luck tomorrow (and tonight!), the good news is that the prep is the worst part.  The colonoscopy is a piece of cake!

Oh my Sandra, just when I read your second to last post things sounded pretty good.  I asked my surgeon about nipple sparing surgery, he looked and me and said "no, you are not a candidate, your breasts are too large".  I am a 40dd, and on that note, I have been trying the Genie bras, and they are comfortable, but yesterday I did a lot of running around, errands, walking etc and must haver overdid it, cause I was getting shot with some real zingers and had to take pain meds.

I realized the Genie was not providing me with enough support so this morning, I went back to my old bras (which have plenty of support) and no underwires and went to the Survivor Shop and bought these "poufs" to put in my bra to even me out (UMX).  They work great!  They are filled with a fiber like pillow filling and you remove some as you get your fills and gradually make them smaller.  They were all of $10 and today for the first time, I felt like the old me and everyone wasn't looking at my unevenness.  If anyone is interested they are "Fiberfill post surgical form made by Amoena".