January 2016 Surgeries

Wow, CoolgrammieNC and mama26, congrats! I am almost scared that the doctors said I am cancer free and won't need rads. It is great news but weirdly stressful.

My incisions appear to be healing. My right breast is lumpy because the PS moved some tissue to replace what the cancer surgeon removed. The PS says it will take time for the breast tissue to settle.

The PS wanted me to remain well endowed while reducing me from a DD to a generous size C. I am 61, but my doctors say I am a young woman still.I don't feel young today. My fibromyalgia is acting up. I am ambivalent about the breast reduction and lift. I disliked having large, heavy breasts and they have caused serious neck and back pain for abour 13 years. I am definitely stacked now, but I honestly wonder why society has become nearly obsessed with breast conservation surgery I feel obligated to take good care of these breasts. I know it must sound strange.

My brother has lost a third of one foot to a diabetic foot infection, and he encouraged me to get the reduction and lift. He said I would suffer from losing a big part of myself.

I feel overwhelmed by my mother's hospitalization. She is in a special acute care hospital on a huge oxygen machine. She is 85 years old and keeps asking when she will come home. My brother needs serious medical care. The car just broke down. Surgery is over, I am healing, and life after a cancer DX goes on.

Hi Friends,

My mom had her lumpectomy on Jan 24th. She has been recovering well. However, the only thing that concerns her the most are the drains. Even almost nearly 4 weeks into the surgery, the drain is still coming around 30-40 ml each day. Is this something we should be concerned about? The doctor advised, they will remove the drain tubes when the drains falls below 15-20 ml. We are hoping she will be off the drain tubes by next week. Just checking to see if this is abnormal.

Thanks,

Sid

mama26 - I am also suffering from the muscle spasm. It happens at different times...sometimes while I am doing absolutely nothing! Today, I am 3 weeks post MX, so hoping that this too shall pass.

Sid82 - I had my drain removed 1 week post op due to a small infection, and developed a seroma. I only went back after 1 week to have it drained. I didn't feel a thing when it was drained. The second week I went, it was gone. I read that most times, if the drains are removed too soon, and the seroma develops, only one or two drainings are needed. However, others may require multiple drainings. I decided to take my chances...I wanted the drain out!

Best of luck during recovery to all!

Just popping in to say hi and share that I am 4 days post surgery, and except for a huge hematoma complication the day of discharge detailed on the February thread, I'm doing very well. I weaned myself off pain meds by day 3 and so far today, I haven't even taken Tylenol; I am grateful for little to no pain! Drainage is lessening as well. I did have one positive node, so it's now on to rads for me.

I went to the dermatologist two days before surgery and she burnt off 4 pre-cancerous lesions on my face, one on my leg and one on the back of right hand. What timing I have, and I could have done without those treatments right now, but oh well, it's done. The floor nurse seemed worried that I had shingles on my face. haha

Happy Sunday and best to all.

Hi, everybody, I made it a mile walking around the loop in my little village today. My mother is off of the room sized oxygen and back on the small oxygen. I don't think I mentioned this info; please forgive me if I did. She is improving quickly at the acute care hospital and may need rehab when she is good to go. I am learning about chemo for mets. I want to be armed if the MO says there are no chemo alternatives for my Mom!

I appear to be healing well. At least I don't see anything around my incisions that looks worrisome. I need to have the sutures removed and am trying to decide if I want to make an extra trip in early March to have that done. When I took Tamoxifen for three weeks, I had a discharge. Still having discharge, and I don't like it. GYN doctor did a biopsy but didn't get much tissue. I am scheduled to have a transvaginal ultrasound this coming week. I had atypical uterine cells in August 2014, and I had a D&C and polyp removal with a negative path report. I don't want to have any serious medical care in this risky dink town where care is sorely lacking after the exceptional care I got at a major teaching hospital. Don't know what I am going to do if I need another D&C. I am like an old car that needs some repairs to keep running. Oh, well, I am so fortunate in most ways so no complaints.

Hope everyone is healing well or receiving the care needed to move forward.

Katja23 and Bjsmiller: there are about 25 genes that have been associated with hereditary cancers, including 13 associated with Breast cancer.

Of them, the BRCA2 mutation is associated with Breast cancer, Ovarian cancer, Melanoma, Pancreas, and Prostate cancer.

There are two other genes associated with Melanoma,CDKN2A and CDK4, but they do not have breast cancer.

Hope that helps,

Mominator

moondust & grandma3x........you both amaze me! Jogging and hiking up mountains! I still wake up at night gripping my chest in pain!

I don't crave any alcohol right now, except maybe as an analgesic! Lol but summer time sitting around a campfire will be a different story.

I'm thinking about cutting out bread and pasta.I have this weird thing where I smell something yeast like coming from me. It's on my blankets and clothes. Nobody else can smell it. But I think it's worse when I eat bread. And fresh bread and pasta smells gross to me.

The really odd thing is that before my BMX for about six months I was smelling this awful burning smell. I even went to an ENT and had a CT of my brain because it was so bad. Now that smell is gone and I just smell the yeast!!!

As excited as I was to become free of restrictions today, I also got my oncotype result. It is 57! I was shocked it was this high. I figured it would be just under 30. I meet with my MO next Wednesday to get my chemo details.

Just taking some time to let myself be upset, then I will get back to my positive, humor finding self. I plan to join some of you in the exercising. I was typically walking at least a mile 5-6 times a week prior to surgery. I miss it and I'm glad I can now work my way back to normal (until chemo). Starting ROM exercises as well. I meet with PT next week too.

Thanks grandma! I will check out that link when I have more time later. I'm sure I will be fine with chemo and plan to work through it. Just bummed about needing it. Was hoping to pursue my left mx and recon by May. Leave to breast cancer to change my plans for me!

On a positive note, my husband and I are ditching our boys for a weekend getaway. We leave Friday morning for Gatlinburg, TN and will head home Sunday. We also get to see some old friends on the way home. I also got a nice new used car on Monday.

Thanks Moondust! Vail sounds fun grandma!

Thank you BlueHerron. I knew going into this I would do whatever I need to to reduce my risk of recurrence. I am thankful I wasn't in the gray area, but shocked at how high it ended up being.

Arghh! My MO was supposed to send out my tissue for Oncotype testing 2 weeks ago. As of yesterday they still have not received it. It's now over 6 weeks since my surgery and I still don't know if I need chemo. Last night I had a dream that my score came back as 28. I'm getting a bit stressed by this. I had asked my BS to send it after my surgery but she said it was up to my MO. Then my appointment was pushed back a week because he was out sick. When they called to reschedule (on Feb 4th) I asked if they could go ahead and send the tissue out so I would not have to wait so long for the results. Here it is almost a month later and they still have not sent it out!

Today I go for my blood work for the next surgery on Mar. 9. I'll also gave my final PT and then head out to Vail for a week. Moondust, thanks for the suggestion to get a compression sleeve! I tried to order one on Amazon but it would not get here in time. I'll ask at the PT's office today to see if they have one - I know a couple of the therapists I have seen are lymphadema experts.

Happy Friday! I hope you are all well.

Hi, everybody, I guess I won't find out my risk of recurrence through these prognostic tests that many of you have discussed. I know there are some tests now specific to DCIS. I am supposed to meet with an MO at some point to discuss AI drugs, but I have no idea how much tissue is available or if Medicare would cover oncotype testing.

It appears as if those who are still active on this thread are managing to navigate through major challenges quite well. I am very impressed at the courage and resilience shown by so many here.

My incisions appear to be healing. I am slightly afraid to say it all looks pretty good. I still have some sutures around my aereoles and down the cut made from the areola to the bottom of each breast. The doctor allowed me to wait until March 30 to return for another post op, and she did not mention the sutures. These new, smaller boobs are a vast improvement over the awful jugs that caused me so much pain. Gratitude is the word that comes to mind.

I am going to wait another month I think and then have outpatient rehab. My right arm has restricted range of motion, even though no lymph nodes were removed.

I am trying to see what else can be done for my arthritis and fibromyalgia before and during AI drug treatment. I went to a rheumatologist yesterday but we did not hit it off. I arrived at 8:45 a.m. for a 9:45 a.m. appointment but didn't see the doctor until 11:30 a.m. When she came in, she was rushed and rude and did not give me a full clinical exam. She accused me of wanting things my way when I was crumpled up in the office chair in pain.The lab tech did not have a butterfly needle for the vein she found and she tried to jam a too large needle in the small vein without success. As a severely disabled person, I felt that my needs were blatantly disregarded by keeping me waiting for such a long time. I was in such awful pain from arthritis and lower back and foot pain by 12:00 noon that I got up out of the lab chair in disgust with no blood drawn and refused the anti-inflammatory shot offered to me. The doctor had given me an order for an x-ray for back pain but checked the box for cervical (neck) rather than lumbar (lower back) imaging. I tore up the order and threw it in the trash can while walking down the hall. I will avoid needless pain and suffering. This was a minority physician, a Hispanic woman that I genuinely wanted to work with. I suspect she may be a good doctor but I cannot cope with her style. My former rheumatologist was a former NIH fellow and Harvard educated physician in the Washington, D.C. area - a truly fine doctor - and I never went through the ordeal that I experienced yesterday. I am going back to the incredible teaching hospital where I got my cancer treatment to see the MO and consult with another rheumatologist. I am curious if any of you would want to tolerate being a regular patient of the doctor I saw briefly yesterday.

So, I have read everybody's recent posts, and I am cheering all of you on. I am getting tired of being in doctors offices but I have miles to go before I sleep as Robert Frost wrote.

stellamaris, I was wondering what happened to you. I am so sorry to hear that the third excision did not work out. You fought the good fight and you know that you went the extra mile. You still have treatment ahead of you but it sounds as if you are reaching a place where the road ahead is clearer than before. I am also sending best wishes and positive thoughts to you. I hope you can find some time this weekend to forget about the cancer for a few hours and experience joy and pleasure.