Nurses with Breast Cancer

yes its busy because  alot of people want to get their surgery out of the way but have not  noticed any increase in infections plus central supple who process surgical supplies don't get to take a holiday from their quality control checks, also unde i had surgery last dec without any problems

I have had a couple surgeries in December and have had no complications.  There is always a great risk for infection with any surgery at any time.  I completely agree with Foreverchanged about the doctor's vacation schedule and also teaching hospitals in July.  Getting healthcare personnel to wash their hands is an issue all year round!

I have been a nurse for 17 years and I have never heard of such a thing. Good hand hygiene should be practiced at all times. If anything, I'd think it would be better because less elective surgeries are done during the holiday season and therefore staff would be less rushed. There is NO excuse for improper or lack of hand washing, however. As for instruments, my husband works in the central sterile department and their procedure for sterilization remains the same at all times. I'd have no reservation whatsoever having my surgery performed during the holiday season.

I am newly diagnosed IDC at age 28. I am also a nurse and concerned with my treatment options and ability to work. Can you work during radiation therapy???

Thank you!

(((Kstars))) so sorry you have to join us and at such a young age...I'm a nurse too...I didn't have radiation but I was able to work while going thru chemo, I used intermittent FMLA if I was really tired the day after treatments. I'm sure you'll hear from others who did have rads...take care, I hope you have a treatment plan soon (((hugs))) Maureen

thank you all!

(((Renee51)))...so sorry you've been blindsided by this beast...welcome to the club that no one wants to join...I had BMX and did not have radiation. I had extremely dense breasts and "proliferic cysts" (that's how the pathologist described it) - my breasts were very lumpy and sore all the time. I had my annual mammogram which was deemed "Normal, BiRad 2" - the only recommendation was annual mammogram then I found my lump just a month later. I contacted a surgeon and asked her to evaluate the lump - she sent me for an ultrasound and the radiologist said it was "a mass" with lymph node involvement, what a shock? The pathology from the core needle biopsy showed several areas of LCIS, DCIS, and IDC. I had lumpectomy followed by dose dense chemo to give me time to think about what my choices were. About half way thru chemo I had two rad onc consults to see what the risks and benefits were for me to do radiation. The RO's said rads would only prevent local recurrence in the skin or chest wall but no other benefit. I had great margins and no extracapsular invasion in the positive nodes so they couldn't say rads were worth the risk of heart, lung and rib damage. I decided to have the BMX to avoid the risks for radiation and because mammograms were not reliable for me - I did not want to find myself with another lump after another "normal mammogram". I had immediate reconstruction direct to implants and have no regrets:) Good luck with your decision...(((Healing Hugs))) Maureen 

they were unable to do the sterotactic  so had a open biopsy, they were being extra cautious because my sister had bc kept telling me they didn't think it was anything but wanted to be sure, so one diagnosis of dcis later  did have a follow up surgery because 2 of the margins weren't clear so had a follow up surgery to get clear margins and a sentinel node biopsy which was negative  . did rads and still doing tamoxifen  ( 2 years to go)  had a area of concern on the first mammogram post surgery  which was adh  , do have occasional chest pain  which after several trips to er and multitude of tests has been diagnosed as post tx pain,due to age got the full cardiac workup

Thank you all for sharing. I am going tomorrow to meet with the plastic surgeon and on friday I meet with the oncologist. Everything seems to be moving in slow motion and yet moving so fast. I want this to be over, yet I don't want next friday to get here. Call me conflicted. 

I want to make good decisions and you all are helping me so very much. I am forever grateful!!

nm is right it does get better, been referred to the local star program for the ongoing chest pain so hope i get accepted   . had no problems during rads craved protein like crazy tho

Renee1  I chose BMX after being finding  a 5mm cancerous mass in July 2013. Personally, I just could not leave the breasts there. I needed them to be removed. I am glad that I did. When the final pathology report came back, there was an area in the same breast with additional "microcalcifications" noted. I feel in my heart of hearts those would have turned to cancer later and who knows if I would have been lucky enough to find it this early again? Good luck to you as you begin to navigate your way.

if mastectomy is all you need, then you can proceed to the DIEP surgery to begin with getting the breasts removed and getting reconstruction started. I flew to san antonio from Va to have docs at PRMA do mine. I was very pleased.  there are also the nola docs

I saw my oncologist for the first time yesterday. She explained every single detail of the reports. She reassured me that I was making good choices, and that given the same scenario she would choose the same path I have decided on. That has made me feel so much better. I have second guessed every single move I make and now I feel a little more settled and at peace with decisions. 

so glad you were able to get some peace of mind at your appt

Hi bethq. Anxiety was tremendous for me. I am a runner and  I could not run enough to help with the overwhelming feelings of anxiety that seemed to come on out of no where. Eventually I did have to resort to an antianxiety med to help. I can not say enough good things about the benefit to my sanity the medication provided. I was back to work 5 weeks after having a bilateral mastectomy and tissue espanders placed. I do supervision so I was never really lifting/turning anyone, I think 4 weeks may be a little quick when you work in direct patient care.