July 2015 Surgery Sisters

I hope it isn't too late to jump onto this board. I just got my surgery date of 7/24 for my umx with reconstruction.

ipsy....Nope, went home 2 hours out of surgery! My sister was with me and a friend was at my house to help me walk up 17 steps into my house. I hsrdly remember that dsy, but it worked out OK. When I think back, it was difficult, but my sister was great and we did it. I had a home health nurse come in for an hour for the first three days to check drains. Make sure you have someone to do your drains and make sure they know how!

Hello all! I'm new to this forum but I've lurked for a while and after find ally getting my surgery date I wanted to jump in. Since February I've had numerous mammos,MRIs and ultrasounds that eventually led to a biopsy on a lump I found. It came back benign but due to my strong family history the radiologist mentioned genetic counseling. I did end up getting genetic testing and I am BRCA 2+. With my family history and being BRCA positive my breast surgeon and I decided a PBMX was best for me. My surgery is july 30th and I will be getting immediate TE and later on have DIEP FLAP reconstruction. The only thing I'm unsure of is if I want want a nipple sparing or non nipple sparing mastectomy. So I was hoping some of you ladies could shed some light on the subject!! Thanks in advance!!! 😊

Desiree 918 with regard to nps or not. . .my BS did not give me a choice. Maybe because of location of my one ILC. The end result was LCIS is all for quadrants in both breast so I'm glad she made that decision. I mentioned this before but I have found that not having them is liberating. I'm good with it and not going for a third reconstruction just to get them back. I may do tattoos in the future.

Scottie

proudaunti, my hospital just does the drain training ahead. There is a breast health care center and a nurse specialist It is the same office where I had my genetic Brca testing. I think because we have so much breast cancer in Connecticut many local families have donated to it. The nurses will show me again before I'm discharged. basically just wash your hands really well first first. Then you open up a little cap on the bulb and pour contents into a measuring cup to measure how much fluid you're still producing. Squeeze the bulb, then close it back. Having the bulb be squeezed before you close it produces section. She said occasionally I'd have to strip the drain if it got clogged. It's very similar to squeezing a tube of toothpaste to get the last contents out. The drain tube was more stretchy than I thought it would be. I think I will be able to do it myself but it's just a weird angle to work at, especially the section closest to the torso.

Deseree.....forgot to say, you would be a candidate because you are having surgery due to family history and not a malignant tumor.

There is not much tissue, but the skin has tiny blood vessels that keep it alive. I was given nitro glycerine (I think that is what it was) an ointment to rub on nipples to stimulate blood flow. They turned pink in a few days. I was a little concerned about having tissue left that could hsve Cancer cells, but my doctor reassured me by saying that he took much more tissue with the BMX than he would have wIth a lumpectomy. Women with lumpectomys have their nipples.

NSBMX with immediate tissue expanders scheduled for tomorrow, July 6th. Went into PS office today for markings and consent form signing. Not feeling anxious about it...yet. Probably won't sleep much tonight, however.

Adding that I will have SND first. If all clear of cancer, no ALND will take place. Fingers crossed! I really don't want ALND

I didn't check this forum before my surgery, so many good tips.

I finished my chemo end of May and had my BMX/TE on July 1st, at home now, the pain is far less than I imagined it would be. Although the mound that is supposed to become boob is waaay too ugly.

Wish you all July sisters tons of luck! You got this!

• Sugarcakes and Sailor girl, prayers and thoughts for clear nodes and margins tomorrow as well as a restful night both now and tomorrow.

Scottie

I will be thinking of you tomorrow and sending many prayers your way, Sugar!

mfana: I'm so glad to hear that it wasn't as bad as you thought. That relieves my worried mind quite a bit! How long did your surgery last, and how long were you in recovery? Any words of wisdom?

I would like to join you. I am having surgery on the 16th. Will be doing a bmx with recon and lymph node dissection. I am 43 with two girls that are 8 and almost 12. For the most part, I am ready to get this done, but part of me is scared too. Only because I am having a hard time understanding why I have it. Not on any drugs yet, but will be starting chemo about a month after surgery.

Guess I am off to make dinner. Take care.

tazbear89, I can certainly relate! I am 49, married with 3 children (youngest going off to college this fall tho) and of all the problems I worried about facing, this was absolutely NOT on my radar!! All my life I have eaten a super healthy diet and been a faithful exerciser, maintained my weight for over 30 years blah, blah, blah and preached to my husband (but in a totally charming way, I'm sure he would say, ha!) about making healthy food choices etc. Obviously he will NEVER listen to me again about healthy living since I am the one who got cancer!!

My surgery is this Tuesday- I am nervous and anxious just bc I want to get it over with and get this foreign invader OUT of my body!! I just want to jump out of my own skin!! Every little mildly painful twinge in my body just seems magnified 1000x and I think- is that from the cancer?? So, yep just get it out! Even tho I just have a lump in the right breast I am having a double mastectomy with TE to implants reconstruction. All indications are that there is no node involvement so I won't know for sure about chemo til after surgery and the results of my Oncotype DX test.

Blessings and prayers for all you sweet ladies with surgeries upcoming. As ispy said, I am ready to "surrender to the process".

Freeland