May 2017 Surgery Group

Mama Oz, Good luck with returning home. So glad your house is still standing.  Maybe a little break in the radiation wasn't such a bag thing.  Give your skin a little time to heal. My parents are settled and attempting to spend from 4 pm to 11 pm each day without a helper.  If my dad should fall again they will be required to have 24 hour helpers for the rest of his life.  I see the oncologist Thursday and will start Arimidex then I believe.

That is a bummer Mama Oz.  Hope you get things straightened out soon.

So ... going on six months since surgery. How is everyone doing these days? Do you feel normal - whatever that means?

I still don't feel comfortable a lot of the time. Just being still, I'm usually not in any pain or discomfort. But pretty much all around the edges of the implants are kind of sensitive if pressed on at all. I get pulling or tightening sensations, too.

I've had a lump under the nipple on the cancer side for probably at least 2-3 months. That nipple was pretty mangled during the surgery and I thought it would never be normal. I was pleasantly surprised to have it end up looking and acting (mostly) like a regular nipple. I saw my OB/GYN 2 months ago and she did an exam - no concerns. I alerted my MO to it and he did an exam - just follow up with the BS at the next routine appt. Last week saw the PS and he wanted me to get in earlier with the BS. So I saw her yesterday instead of next month and she's sending me for US.

I really don't think it's cancer. I think it's probably scar tissue. But it sucks that I have to even have something else evaluated! I'm so sick of everything r/t cancer.

Plus - the PS thinks the one implant has rotated and that's why I have a flat place on the side of one breast. And he recommends fat grafting to help cover the ripples, dents, hollows that I have. But the BS doesn't really want me to pursue that for "a few years" due to the risk of it causing more bumps or lumps during the time that they are more vigilant about recurrence.

Good grief. I haven't even finished the Herceptin yet. And then there's the consideration of Nerlynx. It's never ending, I guess.

Sorry. Had to vent a bit. Sometimes I feel sorry for myself in spite of feeling thankful. Does that make sense?

NotVeryBrave- I don't feel "normal" yet. Had immediate reconstruction with tissue expander and then implants, so my 3 month post-recon check-up is coming soon. I'm in physical therapy now since they are worried about the scar tissue causing a frozen shoulder. I still don't sleep well because I worry about the implants rotating and/or moving into my armpits. And my mastectomy side always feels tight / uncomfortable. I wince when I try to open a door or open a bottle/jar and my pec muscles start to compensate and help my arm/hand strength.

I think the implant on my native side bottomed out, so I'm definitely asymmetric. And I wonder whether I'll ever have inframammary folds ever again... the implants still just sort of stick out there.

Aesthetically, all the doctors tell me that I had great results, but there are many days where I feel greedy and wish I looked "normal". The lipo for fat grafting was some of the worst pain I've ever experienced, so I am skittish about doing more fat grafting to correct the ripples and edge asymmetries, but I know I will do it, despite my abdomen and back being lumpy and scarred (I had blistering and post inflammatory hyperpigmentation). The fluffy mullet and effects of chemopause are more disheartening than the breasts, frankly. But! My energy has returned along with my eyebrows and about half of my eyelashes, so on a good day, I suppose I look normal - just far more haggard and older than I think I should look.

I know I had relatively few complications with my surgeries, but I can definitely empathize with you. I am thankful for everything I've been given- and yet, still wish for more. And then there is a part of me that goes to dark places and thinks, "what's the point of working so hard to get cosmetically back to as close to normal as possible if the cancer comes back soon?" It's a horrible mental game to play over and over in my mind.

All the best with your check-ups - I hope that the tests are all negative and I am raising a virtual coffee mug/wine glass/whatever you prefer in solidarity of being tired of everything related to this disease!

Howdy ladies! Has it really been 6 months already? Wow! In spite of being diagnosed with breast cancer and all the "fun" that went with that, overall this has been a very good year for me anyway. I got to go for a two week trip overseas with my oldest this summer and my second born got married! I was lucky and didn't need chemo or radiation and the worst side effect from the Letrozole is hot flashes which I had already. So, for most of the past 6 months, breast cancer was just a small bump in the road.

That said, I had my tissue expanders swapped out for implants and fat grafting done a little over a week ago. I decided to have a tummy tuck done at the same time since my PS said the recovery would be the same as for the fat grafting alone that he would be taking from my belly. I think if I had just had the expanders swapped, I would feel almost completely normal by now. Instead, I feel very sore from my neck down pretty much! I am happier with the size of my breasts now, he had the expanders too large and I really hated how heavy they were. They had also dropped about 2 inches in the 5 months since I got them, so I got a lift as well back to where the girls should be. Since he opened me up from underneath along the original scar lines, he was able to remove the excess skin and tighten everything up. Obviously things are still a bit lumpy from the fat grafting but I am really happy about how much more natural they look and feel compared to the expanders.

On the other hand, I have swelling even with my breast under my right armpit from the surgery about the size of an egg which is a bit uncomfortable and pushes my breast towards the middle somewhat. On the left, I have a huge hematoma from my armpit to my waist that is hard as a rock and the swelling is the size of half a cantaloupe. Very uncomfortable and it makes everything look distorted and misshapen. My breast on that side is also squished towards the center. I am really hoping this goes away soon! I look a bit montrous right now. My birthday suit is one scary Halloween costume!

The tummy tuck was way more painful than I expected! However, I think I will be pleased with the final results there as well. I had lost 140 lbs so I had a lot of loose skin that kept me from looking nice even in clothes. But for now, I am very sore, sick of dealing with drains again, tired of sleeping on my back but almost 2 full months of that still.

I really shouldn't complain though. Things could have all gone so much worse this year and I really do have much to be grateful for!

julia! Wow 60 Ibs! Nice work!! Hows the arimidex working for you?

My ribs and joints are sore trying to choose remedies

Dr wants me to take Boniva ( I have osteopenia and arthritis) but I dont want to. Going to try a plant based calcium suppliment and up my vit D and hope that keeps my bones stable.. meanwhile my cholesterol has started to climb. All arimidex side effects. So the challege continues!!

Hope your as good as you sound!!

It's so nice to hear from all of you! I am 4 weeks PFC, and still have some minimal side effects from chemo -- neuropathy in my toes, some of my taste buds haven't come back yet, and hair is taking it's time to grow in. I actually feel blessed that my side effects from chemo were minimal. I don't want to say I had an easy time, but grateful that I didn't get too sick and was able to work throughout. I start radiation next week and will be going for 28 sessions. Since I'm doing radiation, I probably won't have my reconstruction surgery until summer next year. My PS wants to wait 6-12 months before exchanging to implants. Hope it's sooner than later!

I started the Livestrong workout program in September, so I'm halfway through the 12-week session. It's lots of fun and only twice a week, so if any of you are trying to find something to help get you active I recommend this program.

Great news, not very brave.  The waiting is so hard.  Now you cn heave a sigh of relief.