Help! I need advice.

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kims3boys
kims3boys Member Posts: 3
edited June 2014 in Caring for Someone with Breast cancer
Help! I need advice.
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  • kims3boys
    kims3boys Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2007

    Mom just had her surgery at 5 tonight. (left breast mastectomy and lymphnodes removed, her choice) She's back to her room and the doctor said surgery went well. She is in so much pain. I am assuming this is normal. Doc said the pathology report will be about 5 days. Is that normal? They had told us initially it was invasive. Which from what I have read means could have spread to other parts of the body. So how are we supposed to get through a week not knowing anything? Any suggestions. When we do go back to the surgeon for the path reports are there any special questions we should ask? Will she really feel good enough to go home in the morning.

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  • JoelKM
    JoelKM Member Posts: 205
    edited November 2007

    Invasive just means that the cancer is outside of the milk duct. Cancer which is contained in the duct is called "in situ" or "in place". Having her nodes removed simply means that there are cancer cells there. It means that the nodes are doing their job of catching those cells before they can escape.

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  • JoelKM
    JoelKM Member Posts: 205
    edited November 2007

    Also, 5 days seems a little long to me. We got our report back in about 2-3 days.  Maybe they are counting Saturday and Sunday too.

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  • chemo072
    chemo072 Member Posts: 682
    edited November 2007

    I went home late the next day, after I could walk without throwing up.  It seems like 5 days is a long time, but considering my whole treatment has taken 9 months, 5 days isn't that long.  And recovering from surgery - those days are spent sleeping, emptying drains, and keeping on top of painkillers, and eating a little too...

    hope your mom feels better soon.  the trauma is intense.

    xoxo 

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  • LisaSDCA
    LisaSDCA Member Posts: 2,230
    edited November 2007

    She should NOT be in pain. Get her nurse in there, pronto, to administer appropriate relief. If her MD has not left orders for meds, call him non-stop until orders are given. She should be resting comfortably.

    You should have preliminary results in 48 hours - ie. number of nodes involved. The testing for hormone receptors and Her-2neu response can take longer. If it has spread to other areas, only CT or PET scans can tell you that. That sort of staging oftentimes comes later.

    Good luck to your family,

    Lisa

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  • Shirlann
    Shirlann Member Posts: 3,302
    edited December 2007

    Lisa is absolutely correct, NO EXCUSE for any severe pain. Just go out in the hall and start shouting, "My mother is in here in TERRIBLE PAIN, can someone please help us?". If you get no response, do it again. This is not something you or your mom should tolerate for 5 minutes. Just plain bad medicine. Shout that too.



    Hugs, Shirlann

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  • OneBadBoob
    OneBadBoob Member Posts: 1,386
    edited December 2007

    Your mom absolutely should not be in terrible pain.   As Shirlann said SHOUT FOR HELP and demand it!

    Insist on speaking to a doctor--if the pain reliever they are giving her is not working, they must switch to another.  They may be giving her morphine and it may not be working for her (said from first-hand experience.)  Insist they switch to a pain reliever that works FOR YOUR MOM.

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  • akreebok
    akreebok Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2007

    hello

     my name is rick p. just found out my wife has breast cancer. iam

    so scared i don't know what to do we pray a lot but iam stall scared:

    to death  dose anyone havesome great advice for us please?

    think u rick p. 

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  • delorisannsdaughter
    delorisannsdaughter Member Posts: 1
    edited December 2007

    My mother in law has recently been diagnosed with bone cancer, along with her bc and a mets in the skull.  I am going to the dr with her on the 26th and would like some info on what kind of ? to ask the dr.  If she can do this, I can too--right along her side.  I just need to be more knowledgable.  The power of prayer is here, love and support is here, just need more info.  God bless all of you.  Marie  

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  • iodine
    iodine Member Posts: 4,289
    edited December 2007

    Hi Rick, boy what a rough time for you both.  So glad you found these boards.

    Using the tabs a the top of the page, begin educating yourselves about bc, knowledge is power and she will need to make informed decisions, not decisions from fear or ignorance.

    For you, get the book "the breast cancer husband".  It will help you both in SO MANY ways.

    Begin reading the great information available on these boards, starting with recently diagnosed.  It's the first big one after, not diagnosed, but worried.

    You and she are welcome to ask questions and we'll do our best to ans.  You'll get more "traffic" on the newly diagosed board than here.

    Please come back and keep us updated and let us help you both thru this maze of medical care with breast cancer.

    Lots of very well informed and intelliget women either going thru this now or have already bought the t=shirt and mug.

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  • iodine
    iodine Member Posts: 4,289
    edited December 2007

    Hi Marie, what a great dil you are!  You and she are both welcome on these boards--please ck out the Recurrance and Metistatic boards, a wealth of information awaits you there from women who are surviving with some of the same things y'all are facing.

    They will be a huge help.

    AS noted above, use the tabs at the top of the page to educate yourself and Dr.Susan Love's Breast Cancer Guidebook is an excellent source of valid information and lists of questions.

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  • caydengma
    caydengma Member Posts: 1
    edited January 2008

    my sister has recently been diagnosed and has started chemotheraphy. the problem is that she can not eat. everything tastes nasty and feel like she is eating playdough when she tries to eat. any ideas of what she can do to eat?

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  • TheShopMama
    TheShopMama Member Posts: 577
    edited January 2008

    Caydengma:

    Just a thought.... when I was in chemo, smells often made me nauseous.  Different people react differently to different foods.  Some ideas that worked for me at different times:

    watermelon....it is close to the same Ph balance of stomach.  She might be able to keep it down easier than other things.  Once she keeps stuff down, she may actually feel hunger.

    kiwi fruit... not too sweet, not too sour

    fried potatoes!  Another friend of mine in treatment shared this idea with me.  Just cut up potatoes into small pieces and fry (with onion if you can or like).  My son fixed these for me and I could almost always eat them.

    Just be as supportive as you can!  We are here for you as well. 

    Pam 

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  • iodine
    iodine Member Posts: 4,289
    edited January 2008

    Mashed potatoes and other mild, high starch foods are a good place to start.  More importantly is to maintain hydrations with almost any non caffeine liquid she will take and as much as she can get down.  this will help flush out the chemo and she will feel better.

    Make sure her treatment team knows what's going on as well, they may have some good suggesitons.

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  • Shirlann
    Shirlann Member Posts: 3,302
    edited January 2008

    Well, if this is the case, she needs to just chug-a-lug Ensure, or another product that will provide nutrition without a lot of chewing or fooling around.  You can get in a lot of calories and nutrition without the hassle.  Just have her hold her nose and chug it down.

    Hugs, Shirlann

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  • brandy2006
    brandy2006 Member Posts: 3
    edited May 2008

    dear rick p,

      i am a new memeber to this site. I have come here for my own issues, but then i read your conversation. Please just support her and continue to tell her how beautiful she is and how much you love her. This means more than you can ever imagine. I on the other hand have not had this, so I know how important this is. I wish her all the best for it is a rough road but god has put the special people in this postion for a reason and someday we will know why.

                                                                   god bless

                                                                    brandy2006

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