Mastectomy and Healing time required

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inform_farhan
inform_farhan Member Posts: 13
edited July 2015 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Hi Ladies and Gents !

Feeling awkward to post here but really curious to know about this as my mom is in OT right now back in my home country for Mastectomy. She was diagnosed with Breast Cancer of Stage 3 and doctors decided to remove the breast completely. I'm just curious to know, approximately how much time does it take to heal completely or atleast to a point where you can travel abroad ? She is 54 years old.

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  • SuC
    SuC Member Posts: 55
    edited July 2015

    it is variable. I was 48 when I had my mastectomy and it took longer than I thought. I was back at work after 6 weeks but still sore. My second (prophylactic) mastectomy was far easier and I was back to normal pretty well by 4 weeks.

    The first time I had had a partial mastectomy which did not get clear margins, followed 10 days alter by a full mastectomy. This is maybe why I took so much longer first time. Also the psychology was different for the second one as I hadn' t just been diagnosed with cancer so was I a far better mental space.

    Make sure she does her exercises - she should get told which ones to do. These are really important for getting full movement back. I found that you could feel the difference day by day.

    Hope your Mum goes well


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  • Zillsnot4me
    Zillsnot4me Member Posts: 2,687
    edited July 2015

    I second the exercises once she gets the go ahead. A lot will depend on how fast the swelling goes down and stays down.

    I had chemo within two weeks so can't really give you a time frame.

    Good luck.

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  • inform_farhan
    inform_farhan Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2015

    Ladies,

    Just wanted to get some information... can anyone share what parts they removed actually ? for my mom, they removed breast and something from her underarm as well ! she is suffering from much pain under arm, is this normal and process of this surgery / treatment to remove some body part under arm ?

    Further, Dr. is suggesting she needs to have chemo therapy and radiation as well ! I just wanted to confirm if she would be able to travel abroad after/ during these therapies or it makes you really weak that you can't even walk around properly ?

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  • ilovepugs
    ilovepugs Member Posts: 78
    edited July 2015

    I'm only speculating, but the 'underarm' portion of her surgery may have been to remove lymph nodes. Part of your mom's surgery may have included a sentinel node biopsy. http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/lymph_node_removal/sentinel_dissection

    As far as travelling during chemo and/or radiation, her oncologist will be able to advise her. For chemo, It will depend on what her regimen will be and the frequency of her treatments (cycles). http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/chemotherapy/process/when

    Then it will depend on how your mom handles the side effects of her treatments. Everyone is so different and it's impossible to gauge ahead of time. Just a caveat ~ sometimes during chemo, one can feel fine, but can have dangerously low neutrophil counts, which makes you susceptible to infection...avoiding places with lots of people in confined spaces is a good idea. Another thing to consider is whether she would require any vaccinations to travel~they could interact with chemo meds.

    For radiation, it's usually daily (weekday) treatment for a set period of time (in my case 5 1/2 weeks or 28 treatments), so travel during radiation treatment is pretty much restricted to going and back and forth to the treatment facility.

    Anyway, lots to think about, but your mom's oncologist will certainly enlighten her/you more.

    Hope this helps and I hope you get the answers you're looking for, inform farhan. Best of luck to your mom during her treatment. Give her lots of your love and support.

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  • inform_farhan
    inform_farhan Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2015

    Thanks a lot for your detailed reply. Drs have sent the samples to the lab for biopsi so probably that will make it clear how much chemotherapy she needs and what would be cycle details.

    Do you have any idea what would be effect of skipping or delaying one cycle of chemotherapy ? My mom has to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj and thats minimum for 21 days.

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  • Kicks
    Kicks Member Posts: 4,131
    edited July 2015

    We are each unique so there is no way anyone here can give you answers. We are also not medical personnel who are actually seeing her/know her reports. Her Drs are the ones to ask.

    There are many different TX (treatment) plans with different time frames. Some chemo are done weekly, some every 2 weeks and some every 3 weeks. The time between surgery and chemo varies also. Rads. (radiation) is usually daily (week days) for different time periods but usually at least 25.

    While doing TX, the immune system is compromised so being in large groups of people can be not the best idea. Vaccinations (if any needed for international travel that are not current) are not recommended during TX.

    As lymph nodes were removed (under arm), she needs to see a LymphEdema Therapist for baseline measurements and education about trying to prevent it from developing. Air travel is potentially one of the 'triggers' for it.

    Her Drs are the ones that can address her possible issues.

    Added: What type of BC is she dealing with - IBC/IDC/ILC/DCIS? TX and time frames make a difference with different types. The protocols for TX also differ in countries.

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  • windingshores
    windingshores Member Posts: 704
    edited July 2015

    I agree with 4-6 weeks for travel after a mastectomy.

    Can she get an exemption from religious obligations because her life might be at stake with delay in treatment?

    When is her trip to Saudi Arabia? If she goes 3 weeks after surgery, for 3 weeks, that would still be within a good time frame for chemo (and many wait for good healing before chemo) but I don't know about the time frame for radiation if that is involved too.

    When she gets her pathology results, let us know and also maybe give info on the timing of the trip.


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  • inform_farhan
    inform_farhan Member Posts: 13
    edited July 2015

    We are expecting her reports on 27th of this month, surgery was done on 12th of this month and she would be going to Saudi Arabia may be in the end of August or start of september.

    We can't delay that religious activity as it (hajj) falls only once an year, and millions of people go there for this, its not easy or lucky enough to get selected each time, even more than 1 time in your life !

    I will share the reports for sure. Thanks very much for reply.

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