October 2014 Surgery Sisters

Hello ladies, wow lots of challenges for us
Fourminor thank you for your great support and excersise info, I just got out the rest of staples yesterday, still had about 30. She left 5 in over the hematoma because it needs to heal more and the staples are the only thing holding it togeather, NICE.

hummingbird… I am hoping this chest of mine starts looking better, I wanted flat but didn't quite get it, puffy under arms, a little sunk in were the hematoma is. What choice do you have but keep moving forward, and try to deal with what comes our way.

LE, I had it 20 yrs ago after having my armpit cleaned out of 20 lymph nodes. The issue is that they don't think it is an issue (doctors) until it reaches a certain size. Mine became a problem when my wrest was an inch larger as well as upper arm, some days even more. It was a problem from the start with me. I went to PT for messages, working the fluit out of my arm. It worked and had very little problems after that. So the good news is that it can be resolved, therepy is the only way to go.

Sandra sometimes there are no words, so here is my thoughts. A house can stand a lot of shaking and rateling with a good foundation, we can supply you with the foundation with lots of caring thoughts.

I am returning to work on Monday, its been a long 20 days since surgery, with no reconstruction and am wondering how people are going to deal with the big change, people who didn't know you don't having anything to campare with but these people do. I hope they won't be too uncomfortable. With the hematoma can't put any stress on the chest until its healed.

Hang in there ladies!

revup, perhaps because I wasn't very big (barely a B cup), people at work really haven't noticed. I expected a lot of double-takes but got only one (and I have no problem with it--I bet I can't control my reactions very well, either). And it may also depend on how you dress. I tend to wear shirts that have a bit of room in them, not close-fitting, so that could also make a difference. And I wouldn't worry too much about other people feeling uncomfortable--they'll get used to the new you before too long! Rock your flatness--if you project confidence, others are less likely to feel awkward, I think. Enjoy your last days of rest and recovery, and good luck transitioning back to work!

LeeLee - I'm glad you were able to take a bit more time off and give yourself a bit more leeway to deal with the loss of your mother (and likely dealing with all the practicalities) on top of this. It's a big adjustment and can make work seem pretty irrelevant. I'm sure your runs are therapeutic and hope your got an RX for those truffles so you can enjoy the very best.

If I had it to do over, I think I would have avoided reconstruction. It's been such a long haul. Of course mine was because of the nasty infection I got in the hospital which did such damage to my body, losing my breasts was no big deal. It took 5 surgeries to fix the damage, get some range of motion back in my left arm, and make my body accept these "foobs" without moving them all around. I'm certainly pleased with the results but it took TOO MUCH to get there. Sometimes I think I have a bit of PTSD due to all the trauma. I seriously think I would have been fine rocking the flat look. (sigh)

Hi Hummingbird, all aboard!! Will you be doing fat grafting first too? I needed that because of some blood flow issues during the BMX and the skin is super thin on one side, and relatively thin on the other. The PS is certain it will be needed in order to even consider the TE. Though it will take longer, I'd rather have a more positive outcome in the long run. Even though I am slender, I feel there are plenty of fat sources in my thighs, lol...but geez I was just mortified with this last picture taking session. Ugh, so vulnerable and embarrassing, especially with the PS, the nurse, the DH and a brightly-lit exam room. Looks like we have some similar stats, no chemo for me either. Here's to virtually holding your hand! Thanks for the info on the bp cuff--I remember the onc resident saying the same thing, but then some people in the medical offices get all worried about it.

Hummingbird, oh my gosh, I agree---the idea of repeated surgeries is so BLECH!! From what I understand from my PS, I will likely have 3 fat grafting surgeries (with 3 months in between each one, and I am HOPING that means that #2 is scheduled right after #1, etc so that it literally is just 9 months...no delays in between. Then the TE surgery, and the fills, and then the final exchange...oh yeah, then the nipples, etc. Hey--what was getting the prosthesis like? I keep staring at the prescription but haven't yet picked up the phone to call. I am thinking though that over the summer they would come in handy...my wardrobe is 90% t-shirts, not quite sure I'd be comfortable enough going flat to my son's baseball games...and I live in a hot climate...But hey, if they are a massaging tool, what a bonus!! Oh noooo.....not the drains again..ugh yuck blech. We'll get through this together!!!!

Oh wow, thanks so much for the encouraging words on the prosthetic fitting, H-bird! Maybe I'll go ahead and get that set up. To be honest, my hubby has gone to all appointments with me, but if there were any that I'd preferred he'd sat out, it was the PS one.(s) I try very hard to get past the awkwardness but yeesh...

I prefer blood pressure to be taken on my leg, but usually have it done on my wrist on the right side only...the one that has had the least work done. I never get bp taken the traditional way. I've had blood draws and IV's...again on the least affected side only, as well as 5 PICC lines before subsequent surgeries - all on the right. I had 4 nodes taken on each side but my left side has had a lot of reconstruction/repair surgeries so I baby that side. The doc says if I'm going to get LE, it would likely be on the left but it could for some reason happen on the right also. I realize I'm taking a chance, but I've tried blood draws on my feet and it hurts too much and doesn't always work after several sticks.

I have to say that I am loving the look of my new foobs. Now...the TEs are VERY firm and feel like I have two tennis balls on my chest. However, in the mirror, I am very pleased and wonder why I didn't do augmentation years ago. ;-)

I have to finish chemo (March 20th), wait 4 weeks and then I can do the exchange! My PS encouraged me by telling me that if the TEs are looking good, then I will be thrilled with the actual implants - he promised they will be 'squishy' and although not 100% anatomically correct, they will look really good. Looking forward to rocking a bikini this summer! Woo Hoo!!!

Gotta look at the bright side, right?

Akitagirl

Thanks for the info, Sandra. Oh my--just hearing about IV's in the feet makes me cringe. The PS mentioned that, or the neck, and I was like oh nooooooooooooooo. I had one in my wrist once at the hospital and that creeped me out as well. Oh wow mefromcc, that is tough for your husband. Glad he is so supportive. Good for you to be comfortable in your own skin! Akitagirl--you are always so positive! There's a theme song playing in the back of my head right now about looking on the bright side of life..think it plays in a movie I've seen recently, you are definitely doing that, bravo! I feel the same..always shooting for "glass half full". The "rocking a bikini" comment really cracked me up, as I used that exact phrase this week with my PS (though in the opposite way.) He was searching for fat on my tummy, and I had a previous ER surgery for cecal volvulus 4 years ago with a very interesting resulting scar...I said I hadn't been rocking a bikini for awhile, lol, so please find some fat and carve away!!

OK - we have one designated bikini rocker for this summer (that would be you, Robyn). Anyone else want to volunteer to help carry that responsibility? LeeLee, I bet you could handle it.

Blood draws from the neck are just a bit too vampirish for me. And the feet sound horribly painful.

Hummingbird, one of the few upsides to my original treatment plan (including October surgery) would have been going through all of it this winter. At this point I'm sulking about treatment and sulking about having my summer screwed up by this. I spend a lot of time in my garden once the weather allows (usually after late June) and I treasure every, single day of that gardening season. I lost a lot of it last year and my inner two year old is already whining about losing this year's. She's whining about radiation, too, so it's getting pretty unpleasant around here.

Thinkingpositive, I'm sorry you're struggling with your TE.  There is generally a lot of pain and discomfort that simply comes from the mastectomy that I can only imagine it's compounded with TEs in there, but I wouldn't know for sure.  I still have sore spots and pain and I haven't had recon  yet.  Regarding your question, I have a BC friend who has had BC twice.  The first time she had LX and rads, no chemo.  The second time she had BMX with immediate implants, chemo but no rads because she's had it before and they wouldn't do it a second time.  She didn't get the implants until the second time around with BMX and that was AFTER she had rads with the first cancer.  

Hopeful--I did RT before and the toughest thing about it for me was just the traveling. I would get up and throw myself together, take a cab to Manhattan, be in and out in about an hour, walk to the lexington Avenue Subway and take the subway home, crossing off one appointment off the list as I waited for the train. Then go to work. (I had a 12-8 shift). My boss let me use some sick time so I could have Friday's off and have a shorter week to recoup which helped.

The actual RT part was a little surreal, but the treatments themselves are pretty quick once you get on the table--you're off again in like 5-10 minutes. I did baby my skin a lot. Showered at night, didn't let water pound my skin, put on heaviest moisturizer, nothing but soft cotton bras, used cornstarch for deodorant, and then right after treatment I would also put on another slightly lighter calendula cream. I used Weleda and something called My Girls which I found on the internet. I think its counterintuitive but the lighter your skin is the better it handles the radiation. I had no blistering or breakdowns. In the end, I was red like a sunburn, and it faded back to just a shade more than my winter white butt--more like the skin on my arm.

I did not use the Aquaphor -- didn't like the ingredients list. I was already on natural skin care before this happened to me. Although my radiation oncologist forebode me to use the My Girls Cream since I thnk it had avocado and olive oils in it and she thought this would make me burn (i never applied it or anything in the morning prior to treatment, used it at night), she said my skin handled the radiation better than most.

When I really think about it now, its was the daily slog of going there for actually seven weeks since i had a boost to my lumpectomy site that was the worst.

You will have to be really good with sunscreen and wear crew neck Ts for the summer to protect your skin.

Hopeful,

It may not be that bad. I am also very fair and was scared due to how easily I burn from the sun. My PS said he was surprised that he would not have known I had RT if someone didn't tell him. In fact it faded my lumpectomy scar too.

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