Lumpectomy Lounge....let's talk!

Susie, glad your surgery went well! I echo TapperMom - you have had had major surgery so don't overdo just because you don't feel awful. Rest and let your body heal.

Vivian, Waiting for all those test results are tough. Hoping you don't need chemo!

HUGS!

I came home with my incision site bandaged, and I think my surgeon said to leave the bandage for 48 hours (it was at least that long). Is yours not bandaged?

It is so interesting to me how different everyone's experiences are.

I was a little surprised I had no bandage and she said I could shower after 24 hours.

GrendelDog - you speak from the heart. Good stuff on a clear margin!

Susie2017 - So glad you are doing well. I appreciate you sharing the process of the wire insert. I had thanked my radiologist last time I saw him (thinking I would not see him again) and he picked up that I "thought" I would not see him again and he told me I was not done with him yet. Reminding me that prior to surgery I would get the wire inserted. Here's to a good pathology report.

How soon after surgery do you begin radiation?

Susie, glad you are recovering nicely. How different all our individual experiences were! No wire-locator insertion for me, but instead a radioactive seed implantation. I awoke stuffed into a front-Velcro knit surgical bra three sizes too small—“XL” for an I-cup boob (the NP had warned me they might have to use a giant ACE wrap instead), which I was instructed to wear for the first 48 hrs. After that, I could shower freely, and let the Steri-strips fall off when they were ready (no Tegaderm necessary).

Poodles, you're doing GREAT! You weaned off the opioids really quickly. As for ditching the walker, my experience was different from yours, as I was in rehab after both surgeries (10 days for the R, 2 wks for the L) and had transitioned to a cane within a week of transfer from hospital to rehab. (The second time, IIRC, I did short stints with a cane at the aft. session of my third day of PT). I used a cane for a long time, mostly for safety & balance. 12 wks. after my R TKR, we took a Viking river cruise. I didn't use the cane while onboard, only for the shore excursions and the airports (where I got a wheelchair).

Nowadays, for domestic flights, I pack a cane unless I'm dealing with a backache or it's a very, very long walk in the terminals. In that case, I carry it with me and am always offered a wheelchair. For international flights, I carry the cane and accept the offer of a wheelchair if I'm either arriving in Europe or home—makes the wait at passport control much shorter. I didn't when landing in London—and after an hour of waiting in the “non-UK/EU" line (full of millennials with their faces buried in cellphones instead of keeping moving), I wish I had. Also, for my flight out of Heathrow I asked for a chair only upon arrival (the corridors there aren't very long), but had no idea that my plane would leave not from a jetway at the gate, but from another terminal—had to take a bus (almost didn't get one of the two seats) from the gate—only to find a the plane on the middle of the tarmac, with a staircase! I asked if I could use the lift-truck (which Bob & I used when transferring to the Budapest flight for the river cruise), and one of the ground crew said I should have asked for a wheelchair at check-in—no standees except if accompanying a disabled passenger—and no wheelchair, no “disability.” Fortunately, a kind gentleman hauled my carry-ons up the stairs so I could hold on to the banister with one hand and use the cane with the other.

Just because you are not in pain, it doesn’t necessarily mean you should be too stoic to accept disability assistance if offered, nor be too proud to request it if there is the slightest possibility you might not be able to handle long walks and standing in line.

Can’t speak as to returning to full-time work, as after the first surgery I was working only part-time (and retired after finishing up the real estate closing on which I was working during the river cruise). I never weighed stuff I was lifting—we had porters on the ship, and didn’t have to yank my own suitcase off a baggage carousel for at least 6 months.

Peggy, I’ve seriously considered breast reduction for years—the lipo/tummy-tuck was always wishful thinking, especially since no insurance would cover it (or any of its complications). I didn’t consider having it done along with the lumpectomy, as my “eyes were on the prize” of the Mediterranean cruise Bob & I had booked shortly before his own surgical misadventures, which were two months before my diagnosis. Because I knew I’d be a candidate for the short radiation protocol (and if I were to need chemo, my MO assured me she could schedule it for the last week in a cycle), I was confident we could make it. And two weeks post-rads, I was on a plane to Rome.

Sandy, I'm right there with you on the wheelchair. Both DH and I have needed wheelchairs when traversing an airport. You can easily walk over a mile in Atlanta's airport! No way could we do that. It doesnt necessarily get us front of the line treatment, at least not in Atlanta, but it sure makes it easier. With DHs poor lungs and heart, it would take us an hour to walk to our gate.

Think I could be ready to ride 450 miles to my mothers house to sort through her stuff in 4week? 6 weeks?

Robin, sorry Yes it was in my breast behind my tissue expander. I fainted, lost a lot of blood and had emergency surgery the next day.

Dara...I have the same thing, my LE said it is cording from rads and she is massaging it out.

Sandy...is there any way you can still get mastectomy and DIEP (fat from tummy tuck put in breasts) covered by insurance? I, too, was larger breasted and had a BMX with expanders and will have DIEP recon in July, once rad damage heals. The expanders are a C cup size, I never wear a bra (no nipples) and feel so "light" that I have lost weight just feeling so good and being more active. The tummy tuck will be the bonus. Finally looking good at 67! Even if not covered, I want to encourage you as it is life changing to get rid of that weight on your chest

it's the left knee, thankfully. I'm totally off the narcotic, as of 2days ago, so I anticipate being able to drive in another week or so.

We had to move the contents of my mother's apt back to get house this week.she's been in independent living for about 2+wks. The independent living place gave us 7 days verbal notice. Grrr. I'm pretty sure it's illegal, but we decided to comply to keep them from confronting my mother, who is physically and cognitively declining. Thank goodness she still had the house! At least we have a safe, free place to store, sort, and stage things. My sister have been great about doing all this. I will take my turn soon as I can in June.

Poodles, what's with your mom being moved? Where did this come from? She's being moved to what? Crap.

HUGS!

MJ, how nice to get a good night's sleep. I think you'll find that you tire easily and are fatigued for about a year. Just BC itself does that, let alone the treatments we undergo. Just listen to your body.

HUGS!

I'm sending good wishes to all. It's hard to await test results or to prepare for surgery. Grendeldog, so glad that the margins are clean although sorry it took the third surgery. Susie_2017, glad your lumpectomy is over. There is great variation. I think many surgeons use steri-strips that fall off after 1 or 2 weeks. I believe that the redness and swelling are typical and subside with icing when healing is going well. Came home with ace bandage covering me and was surprised that allowed to remove that so quickly.

Survivor Guilt: Thanks to all who answered my recent questions about follow-up care and my concerns about having had my cancer diagnosed early, triggering less invasive treatment. I appreciate the info and insights from these and other threads. Forgive me if I missed any posts. I saw ones related to "guilt" at early diagnosis and less invasive interventions from VelvetPoppy, Peggy, IHGJAnn, Tappermom, SJI, KB, Poodles Gardennerd ,natsera ,and ChiSandy. I believe Sandy framed my discomfort as "survivor's guilt." Viewing my experiences through that lens, I've been reconsidering things. Thinking about others who've experienced serious life challenges, I've noticed many respond with a commitment to living well and to helping others. That theme weaves through so many, many posts on assorted topics; even the very fact that those long past the lumpectomy stage are taking the time to offer info and support to those of us at earlier phases of treatment. This is the time of year some of the events related to WWII and to the Holocaust are commemorated and interviews with survivors in various situations during the War show an inspiring sense of renewed appreciation of life and commitment to living life to the fullest. (I hope that analogy does not strike anyone as inappropriate. Survivors of many other extreme situations, such as forced internment, random violence, natural disasters, accidents, or deaths of loved ones show similar tendencies. It is not my intention to offend anyone. I'm merely trying to draw inspiration; understanding the responses of many, many who have endured tragedies of far greater scope and intensity than the experiences I'm going through now.)

Another view from the angle of providers: I've also gained insight into how some providers might experience treating those diagnosed at different stages of severity of prognosis. I perceived this as providers thinking that those with small, early-stage cancers, hormone-receptor positive cancers do not warrant much of their time and resources. I listened to someone who was moved to become a physician while watching her mother battle breast cancer. She was drawn to oncology but did not think she could bear working in any health care role because she observed so many in the waiting room – including her mother – who had grim prognoses and did not survive. She spoke with her mother's oncologist, who engaged so deeply with those who struggling with such dire threats to their lives, and asked how she was able to retain her engagement with those facing death so imminently. The oncologist told her that she was moved to draw upon her training and skill in helping those patients. That said; she drew upon the successes with any and all patients, drawing great hope from those diagnosed early. To the oncologist, early diagnosis signaled greater screening, greater awareness of risk factors and efforts to minimize risk, and a hope that on the horizon, fewer would be diagnosed when they need more serious interventions. This doctor valued the mix of patients, but found relief and renewed energy meeting patients diagnosed at earlier stages. So…I hope that maybe some of my providers find my early-stage experience questions are not a waste of resources.