December 2015 Surgery Sisters Part Deux (with list)

I have my lumpectomy December 10th!

good luck girls. I am wishing I had asked for Xanax for my lymphoscintigraphy. I'm more nervous about that than I am the mx!! I will be asking about lidocaine first thing.

I am a newbie here. Lumpectomy is scheduled for 6:00 a.m. Friday morning, the 4th. Somehow it helps to know there are more walking in these same shoes. Praying for you all! We can do this!

Hey all, just popping in here to repost this from the other December 15 thread:

Check out some good info from the main Breastcancer.org site on Surgery, including:

• What to Expect with Any Surgery
• Lumpectomy: what to expect, side effects, and questions to ask
• Mastectomy: what to expect, side effects, and questions to ask
• Lymph Node Removal: what to expect, side effects, and questions to ask
• Reconstruction: all types of reconstruction, what to expect, side effects, and questions to ask

Also, the Treatment Side Effects section is a great resource for tips to help manage any side effects you may experience.

Lots of practical advice here on helping to prepare for surgery:Shopping/packing/to-do list for surgery + recovery....

Hope this helps and good luck with all of your surgeries!

--Your Mods

Hi I am scheduled for December 30th, lumpectomy, SNB possibly bracketing, reduction and lift but that might change with the results I've received from my BSGI/MBI. So far diagnosis DCIS, Grade 2 intermediate, Stage 0 , ER+93%, PR+ 99% left breast but BSGI/MBI picked up an additional lump in left breast that was not seen on stereotactic biopsy.

I considered switching teams but both have pros and cons, so at this point I think it's all relative. Thanks for the support.

Is anyone in the DMV (Washington, DC, Maryland, Northern VA area) receiving treatment that can at least mention doctors and recommended treatments? Thanks

thanks everyone for your prayers and thoughts. Leaving in about an hour and haven't even packed yet. Super anxious. Best to the others going in today also. We CAN do this!

I wish everyone has a smooth surgery.

Will be praying for you all, all the best!

Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes. I am home and am ok, a little sore, but not nearly as I expected. NO lymph node involvement according to surgeon! Will see her on Tues with final path report. Hoping and praying that all the other girls scheduled for today went well!

Hello My Warrior Sisters! A big thank you to MrsGreenJeans for putting together this board in my absence during surgery! Welcome to all of the warrior sisters who've joined the board in the last few days. I'm sorry you have to be on this journey, but the women on this board, and other boards out here, are some of the bravest, most amazing you will meet!

Surgery went well on Monday. I'm sorry it took my a bit to get online... I had Facebook while in hospital and was able to post to a couple of you, but couldn't get to the BSO site on my phone. I was trying my best to follow doctors orders and rest (hard for me!) while in hospital. I was up and walking around Monday night after surgery, and I took the meds they gave me in hospital as they made me do it... However, it was fine and it counteracted and got ahead of any pain twinges that may have wanted to start.

The low down... It wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be! I felt great coming out of recovery, with minimal discomfort. Came home Wednesday night and it's been really good. Only had to have 2 drains instead of 3, which is cool. If you are going to surgery, go to AC Moore or 5 Below (a store that has them) and get some of those squishy pillows. I took two and had one under each arm while I slept and rested, it made a world of difference. I held one against my chest, with my arms loosely crossed, as I inched toward the edge of the bed to get up. That way I wasn't tempted to push off the bed with my hands, and it really helps to get up that way using your legs. Anyway, if you have questions, please send them my way, either here or private message me. I've taken the one med they say to take for the spasms that can occur in the chest muscle, but have only had to take Tylenol at bedtime since I got home. Ad I've slept all night each night I've been home... What a blessing!

I did get the best Christmas present ever though... I need to share... BS called me late last night. She said they'd have path report in about 10 days, so I was freaked out when she called and said can we talk about the path report? Cancer side; tumor had shrunk, there was more scar tissue than cancerous tissue, 5 of 23 nodes showed the same, so neoadjuvant chemo (TCHP) and hormonal targeted drugs worked. CLEAN. CLEAR. MARGINS. No tethering of the ILC to nipple area or chest muscle. No other cancer found in nipple or other area of the beast tissue. Left side found a-typical cells which we knew about, and some cells that looked like they were trying to become lobular precancerous. So she was happy I decided on the BMX. I will still need to do radiation, as that will "mop up" any little buggers that wanted to hold tight, but when they tested during surgery, nothing lit up with the dye tests. And I'll finish the Herceptin for the year through July.

All of that said, she ended the conversation saying, "I'm so happy the chemo and targeted therapy did their jobs, and that surgery successfully removed all of the ick left from chemo. I'm excited to be telling you right now, you are CANCER FREE!" I made her repeat that 3 times!

Yes, warriors, CANCER FREE!!!!!! I'm so thankful for each of you out here, and those who are joining this board, there is light at the end of the tunnel and it is brilliant, and wonderous, just like all of you. I've been praying for all of you who have had surgery this week, even though I haven't been out here to say so. I will continue to be on this board and support each of you i any way I can!

Remember, you are all warriors, and we are all in this together, fighting together. Everyone's journey is different, but we can join up along the way, hold each other up, and keep moving forward. Cancer sucks, but it doesn't define us, we are warrior women first and we will conquer!