Surgery Schedule, what next?

krogers - I'm sorry you have been diagnosed with bc. Hang in there...we'll help you through this. In regard to ps, I really think you should post this in the Reconstruction Forum. Those girls have a lot of experience and knowledge and I'm sure they would be able to help you with your decision. I had an expander put in at the time of my first Mast., but had it removed two weeks later because I couldn't handle the pain. BUT...many girls here are very happy with their reconstruction. One of my friends had the Lat procedure, and she is very happy with the results. Best wishes to you...keep us posted on your progress. Will you be needing radiation? I'm assuming - no chemo???

Krogers - At the time of dx, due to the size of my largest tumor, I had to have a full Mast. The day b/4 the Mast, I had to go to the hospital so they could inject die into the nipple to let it "find" the Sent Node. So...the next day, when I went in for the Mast., they were able to locate the Sent Nodes (I think I had 2). They tested both, right there during the Mast. Both "looked" negative. But they also send them to a lab for a more more thorough "pathology" testing. As it turned out, 1 came back positive. So...2 weeks later I went back into the hospital and they removed 11 Axillary Nodes and all 11 were negative. Had the Sent Node showed positive during the Mast., they would have proceeded to remove the Axillary Nodes right then and there. Dr's have different techniques and different procedures to deal with node testing and dissections.

Hopefully others will chime in re: their own experience.

Due to the size of my tumor and the fact that it was multi-focal, and a positive Sent Node, yes, I did have chemo. It was tough. I was numb with fear, but it's do-able. I had the standard - 4 A/C, 4 Taxol over a 16 week period and then 28 radiations.

Hi Krogers,

My dx was the same as yours, ILC stage 1.  I opted for bilateral w/expanders, but have recently had them removed after 3 years of muscle problems.

I had the SNB the day before my surgery.  I always encourage women to insist on local anesthetic before the injections.  For some reason, a few of us had to do it the hard way without numbing first, and the pain is intense.

I had the sentinel node + 3 others out, all negative, so I didn't have rads or chemo.  6 months later I had my exchange surgery, and then a complete hysterectomy.  Then I started Arimidex which hasn't been a problem for me.  If your pre-menopause you'll be given Tamoxifen, post- gets an Aromotase Inhibitor, either Arimidex or Femara.

It doesn't sound like you'll be doing chemo, with stage 1, unless it's in nodes.  But I would investigate the Lat Flap thoroughly if I were you.  Some of those surgeries that require muscle transfer are serious business.

sally