September 2014 Surgery Sisters

Thanks Sandra!   You always make me smile with your pics!    Yes, I would have wondered too how you could be called to attend your pre-admission appt if you weren't on the surgery schedule lol.   Glad it was resolved but after 5 surgeries you'd think you could get some perks... like frequent flyers!  Lol.   

So far the treatment plan is radiation followed by Tamoxifen.  But I'm " patiently" waiting for the node results to come back, which is driving me nuts.  They looked clear on MRI and ultrasound, but if they show anything, that will completely change the plan.  Do drain tubes usually drive people crazy?  Anyway, should see the doc on Thursday to get it removed and hopefully find out more.

Sjacobs and SuCQ: I should mention that my lumpectomies were all for benign conditions, and therefore there was no lymph node involvement. I can't speak to how much difference that extra bit would make--would you still be able to wiggle into a T-shirt instead of using a button-up shirt, for instance. Maybe someone else can answer that bit.

Lisa, that's all you can do. Research, learn, make your decisions, and fight like hell. Although there is nothing that will actually prevent a recurrence, you can throw the kitchen sink at it and hope something works. Even though mine was caught early and I chose the most aggressive surgery, there is still a chance I could get another type of breast cancer. Many people think there is only one kind. Not so. My right side cancer starts in ducts and my left side starts in lobules. It was found before it became invasive. The BMX eliminated any chance of me getting those two types of cancer again because I no longer have ducts and lobules. BUT, even the best surgeon leaves behind some tiny bits of breast tissue so I CAN get one of the other types of breast cancer, especially because LCIS is a marker for an increased chance of a different kind of cancer according to my oncologist. My chances are low however, only 1%-2%. Am I cured of cancer? No, I am NED.

We cannot say we are cured of breast cancer because there IS no cure as of today. The best we can hope for is the status of NED...no evidence of disease...maybe for the rest of our lives. Fortunately more and more of us are able to stay NED, thanks to astounding advances in the field. Early detection helps and we've made huge progress with new drugs, radiation and surgical techniques for those whose cancer has become invasive. There are Stage 4 women living 15-17 years, some even longer, but research MUST do more to address advanced cancers. There's a huge backlash against all the "pretty in pink" ads, too much of the money raised going towards early detection, and the notion the general public now believes - that if you catch it early, you are cured.

Everybody asks, "What did I do wrong?" when they get diagnosed with any stage of breast cancer or even a later recurrence when they've done EVERYTHING to prevent it. The truth is, no one knows what causes it or why it can come back. All the experts can do is publish research that shows women who do XXX are more likely to get it (or not get it.) There are plenty of us out there who did everything "right" and got it anyway. It's not your fault. Concentrate on the fight.

I'm on board the pink bus for sure with pink sunglasses and cool umbrella drinks of choice for everyone!   Thinking of you hzzr and wishing you successful surgery with a speedy recovery!

Gamma, great news! Keep us posted on your recovery.

Thanks Lilith!   Welcome Lisa,  I'll be on the pink bus Sept 30 (a little sore but what the heck! )  to support you and minivan!   Lots of great ladies here who've been where you are and will help you through this.

Thanks so much Birdgirl!   I'm so glad you're recovery is going well.   Hoping for clear margins and negative nodes for you!

Way to go Gamma!   Negative nodes and clear margins!  So happy for you!

Wearing pink pajamas on the bus for Hzzr today. Good luck!

I didn't sleep well last night and I think it has to do with a delayed reaction to something my breast surgeon said about my pathology report following my mastectomy last week. (Brief background: I had an invasive ductal carcinoma tumor removed during a lumpectomy back in February, but residual DCIS in the margins required two more lumpectomies, both of which did not result in clear margins. Hence my mastectomy last week.) 

Although my new breast surgeon she said I had clear margins after my mastectomy, she also said there were traces of DCIS in the breast tissue (which I was expecting), but she also mentioned that there was a bit of the invasive tumor left as well, which supposedly was all removed during the first lumpectomy. A couple things are nagging me about that. First, how could the first surgeon (I had a different surgeon for the lumpectomies in Feb/March) do three lumpectomies and not remove all of the main tumor? If she HAD gotten clear margins with no signs of DCIS and a mastectomy was not needed, then that bit of tumor would still be inside me! Second, why didn't the chemo kill off the remaining piece of the tumor? Isn't that why I went through that hell, to kill off any stray cancer cells left behind? If the chemo didn't kill off the bit of tumor the first surgeon left behind, what faith can I have that it killed off any stray cancer cells that we don't know about?

The new breast surgeon didn't have the mastectomy pathology report in front of her so she said we'd go over it in more detail at our next appointment. So maybe I misunderstood what she said. Am I overreacting?

Hopefully I will get answers Monday.

Positive thoughts Linda - it's your turn!

Thinking of you, Linda, and hoping for a positive test result. When do you find out if the surgery tomorrow is a go?

Hey all  - never heard that surgery wasn' t a go so I guess I am having my exhange tomorrow - wooo hooo.   Scheduled for 10:30 - gotta be there at 9:30

great news birdgirl on the nodes and margins!!  

Sandra will be thinking of you as I enter twilight and hope all goes great for you.

Linda and Sandra are ready to go tomorrow.  Linda will have her exchange and Sandra will have her last (positive thinking) repair to her damaged muscles.  

I will be on the bus early in the morning.  Let's roll on down the road.   Who will be joining ?

Birdgirl congrats on the good results.  Take care and heal. 

I had my pre-op today.  I always seem to get the "new nurse" for these visits.  Story for another day.  I am getting nervous about this one because I don't know enough details.  

I am hoping it is not too bad, I am supposed to walk the Komen walk 6 days after this procedure.  I got my package with the forms and t-shirts in the mail today.  If I can't walk I will sit in the tent.  I called the patient advocate at the hospital to tell her of my plans.  I was signed up to walk with the hospital team.  The hospital paid our entry fees for the survivor group.  

See everyone on the bus in the morning.

Today I went to the hospital to have a PICC line put in. I get one before every surgery and keep it as long as I'm on the antibiotic - 10 days minimum. For those who have no idea what this is, it's like a port in your chest or a central line in your neck. A special trained team does the procedure in a sterile environment and Lidocaine is involved. They use ultrasound to locate the right vein on the inside of your upper right arm. A line is fed through that vein up to your shoulder, across your chest, and down to your heart. It affords the medical team instant access in case they need it and the patient doesn't have to have anymore "sticks." After they bring in a portable xray machine to confirm it's in the right place, the end of the PICC line is sutured to your skin so it doesn't move and two lumens are connected. One is for blood draws and the other is for IV's. You can keep a PICC line in for a year or more but have to do saline flushes several times a day and get the dressings changed by a nurse who has been trained in all the procedures that keep the area perfectly sterile.

I got a PICC line after my first surgery when I was fighting the infection and all my veins refused to cooperate anymore. It is left in when you are discharged and a visiting nurse cares for you at home until you're finished with the IV antibiotic. If you happen to develop an infection during your recovery, it's likely you will get a PICC line too. It looks scary, especially with all the blue sterile drapes and masks on everybody but it's not a big deal.

I'm hopping on the bus too!   You're a trouper Sandra!  Wishing you and Linda successful surgeries and speedy recoveries!