November 2017 Surgery Group

swg, so happy to hear the nodes were clear! I’m meeting my surgeon again tomorrow and hoping to have a surgery date finalized.

im doing well.just before I was put under the iv went interstitial and she was bolusing the anesthetic. I yelled out in terrible pain and I was quite doped up so it must have really hurt. Im not a complainer either! I remember they were scrambling around and then I passed out tg. I woke up with one unused taped iv and one working. Got sick only once and have been good rest of day, just took 2 t-3s tonight to help prevent night pain but if I dont movemy arm its good!

thanks, ToughCookie!!! I've got my fingers crossed for you!

Yes I did. I have a tissue expander in my breast. I'm doing well overall..I thought my boob would look all banged up but it doesnt..I did nipple sparing so it looks like my normal breast, just a little deflated lol

I have some swelling in my chest above my breast and right now that's where the pain is concentrated. I can actually lift my right arm higher than I expected I'd be able to.

My hospital is sending a home health nurse today to check me out. I'm gonna get her to help me shower. I've been doing wet wipes up to this point.

My biggest complaint right now is constipation. Start taking a stool softener as soon as you wake up from surgery..the anesthesia and pain meds block you up!

Good luck on Monday, @ghionik! Personally, the most unpleasant part of the day Of the surgery were the dye injections. Not painful, mind you, but they stang (very very briefly, though). After that, the drugs kicked in and I didn’t feel a thing. I indulged after the surgery. I’ll admit, it was nice. : I just recently switched to Tylenol Extra Strength and flushed the 2-3 Oxycontins left down the toilet.

Swg, it seems that you are making a speedy recovery! It’s nice that they spared the nipple. I didn’t - the tumour was pretty close to it, and now I look like I have Barbie breasts, only with scars. It’s nice that I can wear lacey bras with white tops, but I miss my nipples. I can’t wait to add them, whenever that is. It’s also great your nodes are clear!!! I am still waiting to find out, and the pathology report is not ready yet. They won’t tell me anything before. It’s different here, I guess.

Have a great weekend, everyone!

Hello all, I just joined this community. This morning I had a second surgery to remove some micro calcifications left after a lumpectomy two weeks prior. Now I need to wait for the oncotype test results to discuss/decide treatment. I only pray for a knowledgeable and caring oncologist that can help me make the best decisions. I have two little girls I need to live for. I'm glad I found a place herewhere I can ask questions, get advice and share my feelings and fears. I have only shared my diagnosis with my immediate family. I feel they either don't understand, suffer and/or worry too much when I convey my feelings and concerns to them. Will keep in touch...

I did it, yesterday I made it through my BMX, SN dissection and was able to get silicone direct to implant. Despite a behind the ear nausea patch and anti-nausea meds during surgery I did get queasy later that night and ended up with zofran in my IV. Nodes were clear, yay! And I only have 2 drains - double yay, one on each side. The pain is tolerable if you stay on top of the meds and take it easy. I went into surgery at 1:15 and was in my room at 6pm. Left the hospital today at 12:30pm feeling pretty good. Thought it would be a good idea to go upstairs and try on a couple of different shirts and I way over did it. I spent the rest of the afternoon laying in bed, completely sore with an ice pack. The worst part of the hospital stay for me was getting up to go to the bathroom for the first time. Could't believe how hard that was given how good I felt overall. Thats what brought on the dizziness and nausea. I've gone three times since then and each time is better than the last, can even go on my own now! My incision sites are sore but it's the node dissection on the left that's causing me the most pain. Ghionik - you will do great! It's pretty amazing how strong our bodies are and how quickly we can recover. My PS put water proof tape over the drain sites and said I can shower tomorrow. I have pretty good range of motion but will have my husband wash my hair for me out of fear that once again I'll over do it! I've looked at my new breasts and overall they look pretty good. They're a different shape than my saline implants but I think they'll look more natural. I had 275cc's so my PS put in 365 to accommodate for the missing breast tissue. I'm anxious to see the final resuls. I got a notification from My Chart a short time ago that I have test results in. I'm guessing it's my pathology report but am too nervous to look! lmurphy and swg how are you ladies feeling?

roaming star-those buzzy zaps are nerves trying to regenerate-they're a little freaked out right now 😉 i like to think of them as looking like those crazy air blowup balloon guys that go up and down and wiggle/wave all over the place that they have outside car dealerships. On the numbness, sometimes they will use some localized numbing agents too which will wear off gradually over the next days-week. So there is hope on getting feeling back in those areas. Soglad you're doing well!

Oh thanks @lula73 about the information about the nerves. I thought it was nerve stuff. I hope there it a lot of reconnection with the tissue there. I just don't want to loose anything else to cancer if I can help it!!!!!

@Roxy13 That is great they gave you that booklet at the hospital. I had to research it on my own:o( I am looking at the physio because I start radiation treatment the beginning of January which also impacts the surgical site. Again I just want to have the best outcomes and reduce risk of lymphedema, loss of mobility, reduce chances of cording and pain and horrible scars.

My research and plan for reduced scars includes using PS silicone scar tape, gel and cream over the scars. What I have read is that scars get worse from the stretching of the skin. So the idea is to protect the incision site with the silicone dressing to keep the area pliable while the body continues to heal itself. You can start using the silicone dressing when the stitches come out and the wounds are closed. They recommend using it for at least 6 - 8 weeks but I have read that some keep using it for up to 6 months. You can get good deals on the silicone tape etc on amazon. I just don't know if I can use it during radiation treatment.... More questions for my radiologist....

Roxy13, do you still have your drains? It looks like you escaped the dreaded TE and got to go straight to implants? I wish I could do the same.

Hi @ghionik. I got my drains out on day 6. The fluid had been less than 30cc in the two days prior and they took them out. That's how it's done here I guess. I had no issues after that. And yes, I went straight to implants. I have no regrets (so far, anyway). My body took to them, I have no phantom pain, and they look quite nice (in a bra ). They assured me that even if I have to do radiation I would be ok. We'll see. Again, good luck on Monday! Hope everything is going as planned for you. Please let us know how it went!

This is perhaps the shortest actual "cancer" journey ever. My wife isnt really a "forum" type person, but I personally have found not only hope, but also knowledge in all of your amazing stories thru this wonderful network of forums.

My beautiful 50yo wife was Diagnosed 2 weeks ago with Paget's Disease of the nipple (positive HER-2, GATA-3, CK7....negative ER, s100). Her nipple has been "odd" for over 6 months (perhaps 9 or 10), and finally listened to me and talked to our GP about it. For all of this time, she tried creams, and potions for Eczema and skin conditions. Our GP said "we need to get that checked". Initial Mammogram, including a biopsy of an odd Cyst near her nipple all came back as inconclusive (she has lumpy breasts), with further inspection needed.

So we (she) were referred to a Breast Surgeon who Biopsied the Nipple and said it didn't look like Paget's. Biopsy came back as positive to his surprise. At minimum she needed to have her Nipple removed. Next she went and had extensive MRIs that also reported uncertainty whether lesions' found were DCIS or invasive Carcinoma. Targeted Ultra Sound that showed 3 or more lessions that were still inconclusive in nature. From 3 oclock to 5 Oclock on her left Breast was showing focal lessions, abnormal vascularity and evidence of abnormal ductal disease.

He said we (she) had little choice than to have a Mastectomy, as essentially the nipple had to go anyway. She also had sentinel node Biopsy. After learning about false negatives overnight, I need to also get my head around that, and ask the Dr how many he took etc. There are just so many components to this, and hard to get all the correct and important information in one hit.

That all occurred Wednesday, and today we got the results back that the Biopsy was negative. So now hopefully its onto recovery from the Mastectomy and reconstruction plus drugs. "Gratitude"!

I wish you all the best with your journeys, and pray that they are positive and as short as possible.

Paul.

Gosh Paul, it sounds like you and your lovely wife caught the Paget's early! That would be wonderful news! Best of luck for both of you during this journey!

Thank you @Roaming et al for sharing your exercise regimens. Tomorrow I'm pulling out my yoga mat and starting slow. Also have the buzzy lightening zappy pains and they hit me when I least expect it. Taking lots of Aleve and it helps with everything BUT the buzzy pains.

@swg your recovery is sounding just like mine, although I opted out of TEs! I find that each day gets a little bit better.

And best of all, I've lost a couple of pounds! Carpe diem!!

thanks Roxy! I called my home health nurse because the drain area has gotten really painful and uncomfortable.

I'm still taking 1 percoset at night to help me sleep but I dont want to take more than that

I have a lot of bruising and swelling in my chest and underarm area now.

Yes, i'm definitely lumpy. I have TE's. I feel like it's probably because I need more filling..