October 2014 Surgery Sisters

Thanks Ridley!  I thought about looking for a black bra in case it got stained, but then I thought if I started bleeding I wouldn't notice it and that wouldn't be good. I'd love to have a recliner to sleep in, I've read of so many people recommending them. But I don't think one would fit in my bedroom, and I don't want to be right in the middle of my small living room with the boys going in and out all the time. 

Fourminor, in less than 48 hours you'll be on the other side with your safe landing...you're almost there!  I'm confused, I just googled sentinel node map and from what I understand they inject dye to see which node is closest to the tumor. Do they remove the node tomorrow?  Why wouldn't they just do it with your surgery Wednesday?

SC Mom--it will be removed with surgery but the mapping entails injecting a radio tracer and marking out where the nodes are.

Good luck to all of my October Surgery Sisters today. Sending healing prayers, thoughts and good juju vibes. Can't wait to see updates and hear all is well. 

Thanks Fourminer, so I guess there's a chance that that's what I'll be getting gone?  I guess I'll find out for sure next Monday. I hope it goes well for you today!

Sentinel Node Biopsy (SNB) and Axillary Lymph Node Dissection (ALND) are the two most common procedures from what I can tell from being on this website since last summer. There are threads devoted to each of these procedures on the main BCO All Topics. I can only speak from experience on the SNB. I think the ALND is more associated with lumpectomy, but don't quote me on that. Get your facts from the BCO experts.

Although some women have the first part a day or two before their mastectomy, for many of us SNB starts about 2 hours before surgery. We have lots of lymph nodes throughout our bodies. If your cancer spreads, the first place is probably to a lymph node. Doctors used to take out lots of lymph nodes, but since that increases the risk of lymphedema (if that is a term you are not familiar with, please check out the thread) a method of finding which lymph nodes are the ones most likely to be affected was needed. There are two: in one, a blue dye is injected into your breast and it will travel to the sentinel node(s) and turn it blue so it's easy to locate during surgery. The dye injection is not painful. The other way is a radioactive isotope which is injected and in the next two hours, it travels to the sentinel node(s). The surgeon uses a Geiger counter-type device to find them. The radioactive isotope is a different Ph than your body, so it's like a bee sting BUT it's over in about 5 seconds. If you are concerned, ask your surgeon for Emla cream...an anesthetic applied a little while before the injections. Sometimes you'll have both methods, with the dye injected after you are already in the OR.

Women now have a way to help avoid or reduce their chances of lymphedema, so a few minutes of discomfort is certainly worth the results. I had four nodes taken on both sides. Results: 0/4

Hello October ladies! I was just diagnosed on October 1st and will be undergoing a bilateral mastectomy with bilateral sentinel node biopsy and possible axillary node dissection on the 9th. The left is prophylactic but I am triple negative and unable to have an MRI, so my surgeon thought it best to just go ahead and check those nodes too. I had already planned on the bilateral, so not that much bigger of a deal, I guess. It seems like there is a lot of support and very knowledgeable ladies on this board and I'm happy to see that some of you have already had successful surgeries. Congrats and a speedy recovery to you! 

Just a quick note to say I am home and resting.  Everything went we'll. Trying to manage this pain.  Currently taking Tramadol.  How quickly one forgets after nine months about the pain.  He filled me up to 200ccs..  Go into tomorrow to PS office to have everything looked at.  I am sure they will be watching me like a hawk..... Which is good!!   Thanks for all the thoughts and prayers.

Great question lilith08.  Hubby will be with me the first week then I'm on my own during the day. Curious to see responses. 

My sentinal node mapping was also done the day of surgery. I was told by the surgeon afterward that one node was taken from each side. I was upset when my path report said two on the left and four on the right were removed. When I asked the PS about it, she said that often when they think they are just removing one, sometimes there are tiny "nodelettes" (my word, not hers) that they can't really see with the naked eye but the pathologist sees under the microscope.

I asked my MO about lymphedema risk after SNB.  She told me that in her experience, she has never had a patient end up with lymphedema after a SNB. I know this happens sometimes, but she seemed to think the risk was almost non-existent. She was also not concerned about blood draws, blood pressure readings, etc.

I had my post-op appointment today. PS is pleased with how things look. So am I! The most uncomfortable areas are where she did lipo under my arms. One side looks tender and almost abraded. I think it must be a reaction to adhesive or something. I see her again next week for suture removal. She wants me to wear a supportive bra with no underwire for a month. (I can take it off to sleep).

Lilith, I had TEs, so hopefully your recovery will be easier. I was basically exhausted for at least a week. It was all I could to do drag myself back and forth from my bed to the sofa. I took hydrocodone type pain relievers for about 4 days, then switched to Tylenol or ibuprofen and took that for about another week. I could drive, take short walks and do very light housework (no vacuuming!) after about two weeks. At about six weeks, I was feeling pretty good. Recovery really varies by individual, though, so you may be vastly different.  

Welcome to our group, BrittPro! Glad you found us.

Togetherness, glad you're home and things went well. 

SCMom, this is the kind of pillow the other person was talking about:

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-Plush-Bedrest/...

I've always heard them called husbands. Don't know why! If you google husband pillow, you will see them at other places than Walmart in case you don't like to shop there.

I think Bed, Bath & Beyond has a pretty good selection of such pillows. I would think that Macy's, etc., would as well.

I wouldn't say the first week is terrible. You are not going to be in unrelenting agony. Sure it hurts, but they will be happy to give you lots of pain drugs. Just don't expect to be pain free. That's not going to happen, but the pain drugs should bring it down to a tolerable level of "ouch." You are going to feel weird because of all the general anesthesia still in your system and your body and brain are trying to make sense of all the things you are feeling so that can interfere with how you perceive the sensations your body has. The first time I got up out of the hospital bed was difficult because I couldn't use my arms. (Hint; Let the bed do the work! Raise it up to sitting. Scoot your legs toward the side and wait a minute. Then slide your legs off. Wait a minute. Get your legs directly under you, bend your knees a little, hold onto someone's forearm for balance, and push up. Your legs have to do it all.) Standing tall brought on a rush of strong zots and zaps, but as I stayed standing and started walking, it went away. You will feel lots of burning all across your chest because of the nerves that were cut. Reaching for things is a bad idea. Keep your arms close to your body (T-rex arms) at first. Your pec muscles have been cut and you may even have some muscle spasms. (Get valium.)

Sitting quietly and napping are the best. Let your body start healing, which it does when you are not using your energy for something else. (Like laundry or wiping a counter. Don't do it!) Get up and walk to the bathroom, but save strolls down the street for another time. (My PS gave me the ok to walk down the block after two weeks.) You may have more discomfort if you had an Axillary Lymph Node Dissection and have an incision in your armpit. Sometimes it is accompanied by pain that goes down the back of your arm.

You probably won't even notice any pain from the mastectomy incisions. All those feelings just blend into all the other strong feelings in your chest. But later as some of the biggest discomfort starts to fade, you might find you notice a stinging sensation in the incisions. The spots that will bother you the most, however, are where your drains enter your body. The drains are secured with a couple of sutures and it's easy to accidentally pull on the tubing, which tugs on those sutures. After a couple of days, the area around the sutures gets sore, red, and very unhappy. I found it helpful to have a piece of tape an inch below the drain entry site. That way if the tubing was pulled, it wouldn't get all the way up to the sore spots.

This is a JP Drain  Some are slightly different but most are like this. The flat white shoe-lace part is what is inside your body (about 8"-10"), plus a little of the tubing. When they are removed after a week or two, the sutures will be snipped and the doc/nurse will gently pull the drains. Make sure the nurse does not let the tubing rub against the sore, red part and tell them not to stop. Just pull gently.  I haven't ever felt any pain during any of the drain removals after any of my surgeries. I can't feel a thing as a matter of fact. Some people do.  

Got an email from my BS office today. My surgery is not scheduled until 1400 (2 pm). Aargh! That means I will have hours to fret next Tuesday before I go in! The actual surgery does not bother me as much as knowing I will be ill for 5 to 10 days and then be weak for about a month afterwards, if my past surgeries for other things are any indication. I'm trying to be brave for my family and friends. However, I find a lot of comfort coming here and reading that others are having the same feelings.

Good luck tomorrow, fourminor, jrsno1fan and Ridley. I hope and pray that you all have a smooth surgery and an easy recovery. 

I got some bad news today - the pathology report came back and I have to go see 2 oncologists. One is Radiation and one is Medical. The BS said the cancer was too close to the skin and there was a small IDC. Not sure what all that means yet.  My initional DX was DCIS and since I was having a DBX I was told I would not need radiation. Guess I will have to research what this will mean for me. As usual, it will be weeks to get appts with the Dr's.  I thought I was over the waiting part... :-( 

Thanks everyone.  I'm still up, nerves, just downed a benadryl and melatonin as I still have half an hour before NPO.   Someday i look forward to sleeping well again. 

Sorry about the news SummerSun.  I did fine with RT in 2009 when i did it.  It was a mini marathon, but skin held up well with calendula.   I'm so nervous about the nodes too.  Would like not to need chemo.