October 2018 Surgery Support Group

star2017,

I know there are some really good reviews for the 3D nipples. I agree with you about not wanting to take away from the other breast to make the other nipple. Hope you are continuing to do well.

Received the release from the doctor for exercising! Anyone doing this yet, and if so what exercises are you doing?

Star2017,

definitely going to work on core! Hope you get released soon...think I may wait on some of the lifting, but glad I can do squats, bike, and abs for now!

Star, I'm still just walking 3 weeks out from lumpectomy.

GAwarrior, have you tried a sports bra?

Dani44 that is such good news!

Dani444,

Glad you are starting to get some news of the next steps! Good news on not having to have another surgery just yet. Are you happy with what they are proposing for treatments? I have my meeting on Monday so I am stating to get a bit antsy!

sillyoldrabbit- I think I will be able to work. I will clear it with the RO maybe? I guess I am not sure! Hopefully, I can but I understand fatigue is a side effect of the radiation. I did talk to the company that handles our FMLA. The 12 weeks total I get can possibly be converted to intermittent FMLA, So I may decide to do that, just in case.

Bookworm - I am happy with the treatment plan, I think they were diligent in deciding the best plan of action to deal with the positive nodes. I know there is still a chance of lymphedema with axillary radiation, but I was really fearful of the full dissection and how it could possibly affect my ability to do my job. Also she had said that doing nothing would leave me with a 26% chance of recurrence in the nodes. (I guess because she had no way of knowing if other nodes were positive?) Best wishes for your meeting on monday! I understand being antsy, all the waiting wears you out!

GAWarrior- Holy cow, so impressed you tried running!!! I sucked at having an exercise routine before my diagnosis, but I am thinking of trying yoga when released. Maybe that will help with the fatigue that is possible with radiation.

Hello everyone,

it is my 9th day post surgery. Surgery went well and luckily my woulds are healing fast. Since mine was metastasis, doctor removed 12 nodes as well from my left side along with both breasts. Unfortunately pathology reports didnot come clear. The cancer cells found to be active. So my OC is recommending Xeloda but that would be after radiation. Hearing about the reports was definitely not the news i was expecting but my OC explained that without Xeloda it has been proven that 70% chances of no recurrence and adding Xeloda will add extra 6% to it. I am sad but i am boosting myself taking Xeloda as a precaution like Radiation. My PS took the two drain out this Wednesday and remaining two drains will be taken out next week.

I do not want to feel sad and ruin my present thinking about the pathology reports. I am trying to be positive that this cancer is set to be end. Workout wise I am still not forcing myself to do any. Doctor is saying that i have to see the symptoms of lymphdema. I live in OH and it starts to snow so I cannot walk outside :-(. Once this would is heal properly i am planning to start the indoor workout slowly.

Take care ladies.

Thanks, all, for the sports bra suggestion, but I can't wear one yet per the PS. I still have stitches everywhere (3 weeks post-surgery). I see him Monday, so maybe I can use one after that. Holding my boobs didn't help, though, so a sports bra probably wouldn't either. Sigh. Bookworm, I know what you mean about a bounce in the car hurting, lol - sorry for us both!

Dani444, that's good news! Did they do an Oncotype DX test? That score will tell you more about the need for chemo.

DeeDeeT - I can't belive they are making you wait so long to hear about chemo. It seems like they usually push to get treatment started asap. Good luck getting an appointment sooner. Also, good luck with your pain on the inside of your arm. I have a few areas that feel like a bad sunburn and they seem to come and go. Hopefully, yours is swelling and it will settle down soon.

Naesha, I'm sorry you're going to have to do Xeloda, but I think it's a good idea. Because mine was triple negative, I was ready to take it if I needed to. Two ladies in my April 2018 chemo group are starting it this month - you could drop into the group and ask about it if you have questions. There is also a Xeloda group under the chemo forum. The chemo is oral and you take it 3 weeks on/3 weeks off for 6-8 cycles, according to the ladies in my group. Anything to keep it from coming back, right! Take it easy and rest - 9 days out from surgery isn't very long. Hugs!

Hi All -

I had DMX with lat flap on left and tissue expanders on both sides on 10.24. I had to go back in on 11.2 for a small section to be removed from the biopsy site (my tumor was very close to chest wall).

I am frustrated with my progress and just want to check in with others who are in my same general timeline.

I am still extremely stiff on both sides and in my back under the incision. I am sore. I am weak.

I am off pain meds by a few days during the day, but still taking at night to sleep. I only can sleep in one position, and I'm waking up about 3:00 each morning sore and painful. I can go back to sleep, but it's fitful.

I am cleared to drive but can't even think about how to do that yet.

This morning, I went to renew my driver's license and just that brief excursion has worn me out.

I'm tired of being tired. I'm tired of being weak. I'm tired of being sore. I'm tired. And I know it's just been two weeks and two days. But I'm ready not to be tired.

My PS does not have any exercises or a PT that she recommends, so I have made an appointment on my own to start PT on Monday. I hope it helps.

Sorry for the frustrated tone - I'm trying to be really positive, but right now I'm struggling.

DeeDee, I could have written every word you said about the arm pain. It is very slowly improving, kind of a two-steps-forward-one-step-back process, but week by week there is definite improvement. I found a YouTube where a physical therapist demonstrated lightly stroking area in turn with a cotton ball, plastic fork, washcloth .. basically a few different textures to kind of reprogram the nerves by giving them some true/familiar signals to send to the brain rather than just screaming at each other in confusion. I can't say for sure if it's helped, but things do seem to feel a bit better afterwards. Doing my stretching exercises also helps.

Jennie, my surgery was less extensive, but I know what you mean about being tired. Working more or less my normal schedule, but coming home and crash napping most evenings. I'm trying to just take walks, and now I'm having foot pain, probably from switching to my winter footwear recently, including a pair of boots with poor support, evidently. It's like I can't win. Sometimes I just want to curl up and sleep until I can wake up feeling like myself again.

Star, you are wise: we are processing so much, emotionally, mentally , physically, spiritually. I feel like such a scatterbrain. I've been determined to stick to my normal work schedule as much as possible, but am starting to think I might be better off just taking time off, because my scatterbrainedness surely isn't going to advance my career.

Thanks, Star. I am a part-timer at the moment, so that does help. As much as possible I have been getting appoinments at times I'm not scheduled to work, and have missed very little. I had hoped to just adjust my shifts so as to get all my hours in once radiation started, but am starting to realize there's no special prize for getting through cancer treatment with a minimum of missed workdays.

The radiologist said that most of his full time patients continue to work full time through treatment. I think he said it to reassure me that side effects were mild, and it was reassuring to hear that, but it also added some pressure.

Jennie, don't be too hard on yourself. Surgery takes time to heal and yours was pretty radical due to the flaps. Plus you had 2 surgeries very close together. As Star said, this whole thing is emotionally, physically, and spiritually draining.

I had a BMX on 10/19 and still take afternoon naps. I am a side sleeper, so sleeping on my back means I don't sleep well and wake frequently.

Exercise helps! Try to walk every day - just getting out in the sunshine and moving can make a big difference physically and to your frame of mind. I walked/ran through most of my 20 weeks of chemo and I've been walking since about a week after surgery. Some days I have to drag myself out the door, but once you start, you can keep going for 20-30 minutes. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but sitting on the couch doesn't help and moving does. Must be the endorphins... Good luck - feel better. Hugs!

Lillian, how frustrating! I'm glad you know about the second lesion at least. Good luck with your MO visit on Monday.

GAWarrior,

Moving after surgery, instead of sitting,definitely seems to make everything move quicker. While I did not walk too much after surgery ( still warm in southeast Louisiana) I did make sure I got up and moved through the house, did my stretches, and calf raises. I do feel this helped me recover quicker and get back to work. I had my surgery on the 15th and started back to work full time this past Monday.