Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

tsoebbin, keep in mind that if you end up with a drain you won't be able to travel. I had a drain due to axillary lymph node dissection.

Tsoebbin, I can't believe it! I knew eventually I'd find someone from Spokane! Woo Hoo! I definitely want a winery close to home. My new house is up on Five Mile Prairie (I should move in late in June). Are you at all near me?

Not everyone has drains. I didn't. On the other hand, virtually everyone with ER+/PR+ tumors takes a hormonal of some sort. If you're pre-menopausal then it would likely be Tamoxifen; post-menopausal an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI), like Arimidex (anastrozole). Even with chemo, you would probably take one. So don't be shocked.

BTW, it is REALLY easy to miss those places to make things PUBLIC! Please put your wonderful location in your profile and make it public. You can also create a signature of whatever you want (as you can see from the variety of them).

HUGS!

Dear Grazy:  Your husband is funny regarding the "gym" comment.

Dear Moondust:  Your advice regarding the arm position for rads during the sim is extremely important.  Anyone about to have rads should pay attention to that advice. 

Dear Froggie:  Don't get worried about the boosts.  Your RO knows what is best for you.  Every tx is different.  I was in the same situation as you.  My RO originally told me that I would have 5 boosts.  He changed his mind after reviewing my pathology report and my sim.  He ended up giving me less boosts and more whole breast radiation.  I had the Canadian/UK protocol rads tx.  Good luck.

I am proud of you for stating your mind to colleague of your diagnosing RO.

Dear Peggy:  I love your pictures.  I am glad that you had so many happy years with your DH. 

Dear JCLC and Peggy:  I got married when I was 23 but I moved in with my husband one month before my 21st birthday, after graduating with my BA.  We were married for 12 years but we lived together for 15 and we were together for 17 years.  I have been single now for more than 16 years.  I am dating a wonderful man but we do not live together and it is not the same as being married. I would be very happy to share a "virtual" bottle of wine with both of you.  It would make my day!

Dear Katzplay:  Thanks for the flowers.

Dear Heathet:  I am so sorry that you found out that your bc is actually invasive and that you have a positive node.  My prayers are with you and I am sending you hugs.

Dear MJS:  Good for you regarding losing weight.

Dear Bobbin:  I am glad that your oncotype is 17 and not higher.  It is still unsettling.  Good luck with your surgery and hoping for no node involvement.

Dear ChiSandy:  I am so surprised that no doctor informed you about the possibility of a breast reduction and breast lift.  That is really too bad.  I felt fine after my oncoplasty surgery and I would have been able to travel.  I did not have drains so that was a big plus. 

Dear Branford:  Good luck.  You live in Queens. Which part?  I am from Long Island.  Are you going to Sloan Kettering?

Dear MelancholyinNC:  I am so glad for your clear margins.  It is very common for the pathology report to come back with a new/change in diagnosis, a grade change, or more bc.  It happened to me.  I wondered the same thing as you are wondering.  Unfortunately, I only found this website almost 1 year after I finished my tx.  I wish that I knew about breastcancer.org sooner.

Dear TBalding:  You have a great attitude.  Good luck with your next surgery and the SLNB.  I am very glad that you are having your nodes checked.  It is very scary to have a new bc dx in your pathology report.  As I stated above, that happened to me too.

Dear Brit:  I absolutely love the Kitchenaid picture.  I imagined the "Starship Enterprise" flying overhead with every rads beam. 

Dear Poodles:  Congrats to your DH on his pathology report.  My step-father lived 11 years with an extremely aggressive prostate cancer dx.  I am sending you hugs and prayers.

Dear Chipsy:  I know people who have had the D.I.E.P. flap procedure.  That is a much better tx than the T.R.A.M. flap procedure.  Everyone who had the D.I.E.P. flap procedure was very happy with it.   Good luck. 

I understand the numb feeling but yet having sensation at the same time.  It is such a weird feeling.  I have felt itchiness in my breast but since my breast is numb, I cannot feel it when I scratch.  It is so odd.  Good luck.

Dear Tsoebbin:  Welcome.  I felt fine immediately after surgery.  Hopefully, you will too.  I would have been totally fine to travel 1 week after surgery and I had a double lx plus a bilateral breast reduction and a breast lift.  In fact, I did travel 1 week after my surgery.  The only problem that you may have is if you end up having drains.  (I did not have drains.)  Also, you may have doctor appointments 1 week after surgery and it may take a week or more to get your pathology report back.  Physically, you may be fine but emotionally, you may be on a roller coaster.  You may be wondering what your pathology report will show and you may want to be meeting with various doctors.  Good luck with your plans and with your surgery.

Hello and hugs to everyone else that I missed.

614, you have to remember that the late 60s were a very different time. We weren't surprised at all when he married. A lot of priests and nuns were leaving the ministry. But it sure was ironic

HUGS!

Sandy, that's a thought. I've no idea where anything is yet. I can find my house, my son's, shopping and probably the airport and how to get to Coeur d'Alene. I think that's about it But I'll check that one out (Horse Heaven Hills AVA). Oh, now I see that's the name of the whole region (I know nothing about wines except the 2 or 3 I like). (That's about 3 hours from me - a nice day trip - maybe next year). I think it will be awhile before I can travel to the Seattle area or any part of Western Washington. Thanks!

HUGS!

Well, my weekend trip to move older daughter didn't exactly go as planned - 92 year old mom ended up having emergency gall bladder surgery yesterday. Picture us packing up an entire apartment four hours away, cleaning everything, moving into new house, but in the middle of all that hearing this news - so stressful!! We couldn't stop what we were doing and just leave as we were mid-move. Last night after we finished up, we rushed back home, slept, and then I left the family behind and drove two hours north to the hospital, all packed and prepared to stay up here in this tiny little town for a week! (Hospital is 30 minutes away.) For the first time since I was diagnosed, I can finally say that I feel a tad exhausted!! Fitting radiation in with all this will be interesting in a couple of weeks since she's two hours away and because of her terrible health problems recently, I've kept my diagnosis a secret from her - that news would have caused her terrible stress on top of everything else. Being the only daughter, she does look to me for care. My brothers are amazing though and will find some creative ways to cover for me. Oh boy..... STRESSFUL!!

Even though today was sad seeing my mom in a hospital bed, I did seem to find the humor in things, as usual - her hospital room was like a Seinfeld with a mystery roommate behind the curtain hollering out commentary on our family's conversations all afternoon long - it was hysterical for the first two hours, it was just so ridiculous. Even the nurse was cracking up. For a while, we thought she was talking on the phone, but nope, she was chiming in on every aspect of our personal conversations. #BoundaryIssues After several hours at the hospital, I headed to my mom's house, rummaged through her fridge looking for food (92 year olds don't keep much good stuff it turns out), I begged the next door neighbors whom I don't really know for their wifi password so I can contact the outside world. I'm glad to have the wifi so I could have a little vent here tonight, but to get the signal, I have to sit right up against the window in the diningroom like a cat. Oh, and let me add that she has a nutty cuckoo clock that goes off 20 minutes after the hour. I might have to put that thing in the garage.

Did I mention there's nary a drop of wine in this house? Gonna be a long week.

Oh goodness, Grazy- you DO need wine but all I've got is virtual hugs....sending them and hoping you are able to keep your sense of humor...sometimes, I think that is really the only thing that works when dealing with stress- especially when our precious loved ones are involved.

Have posted on several threads but no one is responding.....I am scared. Have 3 different "small lumps" on forearm and inside upper arm...does anyone know what bone mets feels like or if I should be worried?? I have last Herceptin infusion May 5 and first mammo since dx same day. I have had several cysts and lipomas along the way...but am scared.

MJS- thank you for responding...makes me feel better. My DH has been so wonderful and supportive and had taken such loving care of me while going thru all of this (biopsies/chemo/surgery/rads/AI's) over the past year...just do not want to worry him with these things if not really worrisome....will let my BS and MO offices know so we can talk through it when I go May 5....ugh...hate worrying about every pain, twinge, itch, bump, etc....BC stinks!!

Happy Hammer,

I should have added you are not alone with feeling that every twinge or bump is alarming.  I think at least once a week, I have to convince myself that the twinge is just from working out or something else normal.  I usually just wait a couple days and it goes away.  MJS

Thanks, y'all for the good wishes and hugs...so, Peggy, one on lx side and two on the other arm.

Happy Hammer-sending you hugs. I think everyone is scared from time to time. Looking forward to you getting good news from your doctors

happyhammer id be scared too, hugs. However, my understanding is bone mets hurt. Hope it's nothing!

Happy Monday everyone! Over the weekend I attended two gourd art classes and had a great time. At the Saturday class I met another breast cancer survivor. She is from San Jose, just completed 5 years of AI and is stopping. I asked if her MO had mentioned that 10 years is now thought to be better. She said her MO had not mentioned that, and is having her stop because of some arthritis in her fingers. She said her bone density has stayed good. She also mentioned her MO is giving her a drug called Osphena which relieves vaginal dryness. I looked it up and I don't think it is cleared for breast cancer patients! But maybe it will be before too long, at least I can hope, because I won't take it otherwise. It does not contain estrogen, but it mimics estrogen in some way and is specific to certain tissues. This lady called it her miracle drug.

HH, good luck getting a quick answer about your lumps. Big Hug! I have a moveable lump on my ribcage on the same side as my tumor. It has been there for several years.All the doctors have said it is nothing to worry about, but I still want to get it removed. Drs can be wrong. Three drs said lipoma, two said it was some other type of cyst. It feels sore sometimes. I want NO LUMPS or BUMPS, especially on my cancer side!

Three days on the generic arimidex and so far I feel the same, which for me means creaky knees and the right one gets stiff if I sit too long. My DH is home from Korea and it feels good to have everything back to normal. I haven't heard from UCSF about my second opinion yet. I'll call tomorrow if I still haven't heard.

Today was the first time in months that I looked in the mirror and it wasn't a pair of eyes suffering from pain and exhaustion looking back. I was able to run to cross the street this morning! I pray I continue to feel this way on exemestane because anastrozole was killing my spirit.