March 2016 Surgery

JJ - I had a nipple sparing mastectomy and they did not put anything on mine. My breast was pretty small, though, and the blood supply was enough to maintain a nice pink color - unfortunately I'll be going under the knife again to remove it on Wed. because they found a tiny bit of cancer under the nipple

And a warm welcome to All of you new here to Breastcancer.org. Thanks for being here, and sharing your stories to support others.

Warm hugs,

The Mods

Hi everyone and thanks for the good wishes. I had the lx last Wednesday and will go in again this Wednesday to finish up the Oncoplastic surgery. I'm still not sure if I'll need a lx or a mx. I'm still waiting for the results.

The surgery itself was fine. I hated the shots in the Nuclear Med dept. They burned. Ouch. Then straight up to get another mammogram and to have needles pushed into my boob. Again, not comfortable. But I lived through it! After I was on my bed in the pre op room I was given some "feel good meds" and I was again a happy camper. I've been feeling pretty good during the recovery, I don't think that the recovery from this next surgery will be better. I'll have drains and, ick, a much longer recovery.

Mecool= I hope that you're feeling great!

Chrismiss+ How did it go? Was it all you expected? Worse/better? I'm hoping that it went smoothly.

Asante+ I got to shower 4 days after the lumpectomy and was told that it would be about a week after the reductions on both breasts. Maybe more if I have a mx / Good luck!

I hope that everyone is feeling well. If you haven't had your surgeries I'm in your pocket when you do!

JessieJake - I'm heading In this afternoon to have a drain checked out too. It's painful after I drain it right at the site and it's dripping down my skin Hoping it's not a painful appointment but perhaps I can have the one on the left pulled out while I'm there. Good luck to you! Keep us posted!

So glad to hear from you iammags and mckaylaleigh!!!! Continued healing vibes to everyone!

Hi! Could you add me to the list, as I have had my Partial mastectomy scheduled for March 24th. (Ellie)

Wire placement the day before - March 23rd.. Just trying to absorb all the information and be prepared.

I am curious about post-op pathology stuff, as my HER 2 status is at this point conflicting, and I guess there is an area

here to check for that info. So much new stuff to sift through!

Best, Ellie

hi Chris-miss,

I can tell you I had absolutely no special feelings towards my breasts and didn't think I would care one iota about them being gone. And I really don't think I do care that they are gone but I have been actively not thinking about the surgery and I have not looked at my surgery area. it has been a week today. I have gone through a handful of crying jags just at the enormity of all of this. I think I can understand what you are feeling.

I think I still need to figure out exactly how the forums work. I am doing this on my phone as I still feel I am quite the invalid. So excuse my rough looking posts.

Maybe later today I will get to my computer and figure out exactly how all this works. In the meantime positive thoughts to everyone

One odd question: I am continually having the let down feeling of prolactin like back when I was breast-feeding. Has anyone else experienced this? I can't complain about it but sure was not expecting that to happen.

Jean

Jean , when the drains are pulled it is just that... a tug and they are out. No numbing necessary. At least that is how my PS does it. I had 4 drains and 2 came out at 7 days and 2 after 18 days. I imagine it is like removing a bandaide ... you can go agonizingly slow and focus on every little twingevor it can be pulled and done

Diane

Mecool, glad for you to have received further validation on your decision via pathology. Wow, what an example of how even the most thorough testing simply can't catch everything,

I'll hope for the drains to be removed next time.

I am drain free! Wow, still surprised. NP said the dark red blood was old blood. Because I had 3 days (almost 4) under 30 ml they were ready to take them. I was very apprehensive but there was simply no pain except stinging at the incision spot for the tube. Took maybe 3-5 seconds to pull out. Crazy, they went in directly through my arm pit and circled my whole breast area.

I can finally attempt to have good posture and place my arms at my sides.

I was told to continue nitro paste on my right nipple in hopes it will live. The np was hesitant to say if it would survive or not.

I see GS and PS Friday. Will be curious to get their input and hopefully my final pathology.

Good evening wishes everyone

Yay for being drainfree!!!!! I'm counting down the days now and feel more hopeful that mine should all come out on Tuesday! Enjoy your comfort this evening

best wishes iammags

That's great that it all went well Okbecca. Is it okay to ask if you had both breasts removed after finding DCIS in one? Have you ever had genetic testing? I"m not choosing mx yet but if I find out that I have BRCA 1 or 2 I will remove both. I always think of these things and what other women have decided.

iammags i am brca2+ and underwent a PBMX as soon as i could arrange it. That was Nov 20 last fall. I had sentinel nodes removed as well. During the surgery they found an atypical ductal hyperplasia lesion deep in my very dense left breast. It had not yet become malignant. I am so happy i had the BMX. My sister who is also brca2+ is in the middle of treatment for a very aggressive bc.

Iammage, I wanted this thing gone, gone, gone. That's why I had both breasts removed. My cancer (I called her "Plum") was an aggressive little beast that I was blessed to have caught before she got out of the box. I hope I never hear from her again.

Here are a few things I learned from this experience. I pass them along to those who are still waiting. They may (or may not) help you. We're each different.

1. Don't ask you husband to shoulder all your care alone. It's too much for any one person, plus men have more trouble processing their emotions than we do, which can make it tough for them. Try to get people who can help with specific tasks. For instance, one of my girlfriends volunteered to help with my sponge baths and I'm having home health do the drains and wound care.

2. Tell people what you need. If you want them at the hospital, say so. If you want them to give you a breather and leave you alone for a few, tell them that, too.

3. Get at least a couple of those horseshoe-shaped airline pillows. I put them under my arms, and they help big time. They also help with the sleeping on the back awkwardness. I also bought a little pillow thingy that wraps around the seat belt. I got it off Amazon. It was created by a breast cancer survivor who knows.

4. I bought a bed wedge from Amazon. It's a big help.

5. Bendy straws for drinks will help you avoid pouring water on yourself.

6. If you are the praying kind, pray, pray, pray, The help God has given me has sustained me. If you're not the praying kind, use whatever spiritual resources that work for you. Cancer is a whole life illness and we need each other (this web site has been wonderful for me) and whatever other resources we can martial to get through it.

7. If your doc allows, use ice packs. They help with pain and swelling both.

8. Take your pain meds for the first few days. Take everything you are allowed, and sleep. I know from my caesarians that staying on top pain speeds recovery.

9. All that advice about button up blouses and slip on shoes after surgery is true. Also, satin pajamas that slide you right out of bed. I bought my first pair of satin pajamas of my life for this surgery on the advice I found here at this site. It's good advice.

I've gone from a D to divots. I look like a buddha. My next task is figuring out how to dress, which for me will be a matter of coming up with the most attractive disguises. :-) Many of you are so slim and pretty that you won't have that problem. But I certainly do.

Blessings to each of you. Thank you for being here.