Mastectomy on friday staying positive..

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dmdudra
dmdudra Member Posts: 50
in Breast Cancer #1
I know that all of you where praying for me and hoping for the best where I am concerned. My breast cancer came back in the same stop which my surgeon told me is not uncommon after a lumpectomy. there must have been some little nodes of cancer left and it started to grow. So with that note I am having a mastectomy of the left breast this Friday. Can anybody tell me the difference between a mastectomy and a bilateral mastectomy I really would like to know.. they did say that after this my prognosis will be even better... surgeon is going to put in a port-a-cath... but the good news is NO strong chemo this time light and I will not lose my hair..No radiation this time either...so I guess there is a good side to all this.. cause when I am done I will be cancer free till I reach the old age of 104...sorry but I am staying positive... on the lighter side Friday the 24th is our relay for life...

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  • MAJW
    MAJW Member Posts: 2,510 Member
    #2
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    Bilateral.
    Bilateral means having both breasts removed...What has your oncologist told you about this recurrence?

    I wish you the very best and a speedy recovery...God Bless
    Hugs, Nancy
  • LoveBabyJesus
    LoveBabyJesus Member Posts: 1,679 Member
    #3
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    Good to hear from you! (Just
    Good to hear from you! (Just saw your response to my post - hot flashes, thank you)-

    I pray that everything goes well and smoothly for you. You will be fine. Love how positive you are. :)

    Best wishes and hope you keep your super strength for the entire process. Keep the faith!

    God bless you.
  • CAchick
    CAchick Member Posts: 277
    #4
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    Hugs
    Hugs to you! I was wondering how your test results turned out.
    One of my good friends once said if something is trying to kill you--get rid of it!
    She had bilat mastectomies and reconstructive surgery.
    I am sorry for all of us that our boobs are trying to kill us, but I am humbled by you and your positive, courageous attitude!
    Prayers, and hugs,
    Sybil
  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #5
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    sending good thoughts your
    sending good thoughts your way

    Denise
  • disneyfan2008
    disneyfan2008 Member Posts: 6,583 Member
    #6
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    sending good thoughts your
    sending good thoughts your way

    Denise
  • ladyg
    ladyg Member Posts: 1,577
    #7
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    I will keep
    you in my thoughts as you go in for your surgery. All of us pink sisters will be there to watch over you. I am also sending you positive energy for a quick recovery.

    Hugs,
    Georgia
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    #8
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    Wishing you success with
    your upcoming mastectomy. I had bilateral one year ago and no reconstruction. I healed well. Will keep you in my thoughts and prayers and I'm sure your room will be filled with pink sisters. I hope we don't get too noisy!
    {{hugs}} Char
  • susie09
    susie09 Member Posts: 2,930
    #9
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    LoveBabyJesus said:

    Good to hear from you! (Just
    Good to hear from you! (Just saw your response to my post - hot flashes, thank you)-

    I pray that everything goes well and smoothly for you. You will be fine. Love how positive you are. :)

    Best wishes and hope you keep your super strength for the entire process. Keep the faith!

    God bless you.

    Praying for a successful
    Praying for a successful surgery for you!
  • delcan87
    delcan87 Member Posts: 4
    #10
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    my beginning
    Certainly wishing the best outcome for you. I'm not too great with computers, bear with me please. I had my lumpectomy May 17, I'11 start chemo tomorrow. I am worried about lymph node involvement I had several removed. But if I have to have more surgery in future I'll face it as you do. Medicine has advanced and I am getting great care. I am fortunate and determined. Yes, the bilateral means both sides. I have a port cath thing also. Keep staying positive! Praying for you. JV
  • Annette 11
    Annette 11 Member Posts: 380
    #11
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    I had a bilateral mastectomy
    I had a bilateral mastectomy (both breasts removed) without reconstruction and I did very well. Wow, light chemo and no hair loss...great!
    Keep us posted.
    Wishing you a good surgery and keep us posted.
    Hugs,
    Annette
  • robang13
    robang13 Member Posts: 333
    #12
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    Wishing you a hopefully pain
    Wishing you a hopefully pain free surgery~ Glad to see you are in an upbeat mood. Will be praying for you on friday!!

    hugs~ angela
  • butterflylvr
    butterflylvr Member Posts: 944
    #13
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    robang13 said:

    Wishing you a hopefully pain
    Wishing you a hopefully pain free surgery~ Glad to see you are in an upbeat mood. Will be praying for you on friday!!

    hugs~ angela

    I too had a bilateral
    I too had a bilateral mastectomy, immediate reconstruction. Although my tumor was only in my left breast, my husband and I chose to remove them both at the same time for this exact reason. Although I didn't have an option of a lumpectomy due to my tumor size, I won't have the worry about my IDC showing up in my healthy right breast. Peace of mind I say.. or at least to an extent.

    I'll be among the prayer warriors on Friday, you will do fine.
    Hugs,
    Lorrie
  • mollieb
    mollieb Member Posts: 148
    #14
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    Mastectomy
    I had a modified radical (includes lymph nodes) mastectomy in November. There are a few things I wish I had known, but I can't remember all of them, and there are some things you can't do anything about -- just would have been nice to be prepared. One thing is to ask them to send you to physical therapy so you keep the range of motion in your arm. You will lose a lot of nerves, so the incision and the area around it may have no feeling. You may have little (or big) cone-shaped things at the ends of the scar. They are called rooster tails, and I am going to have to have my scar cleaned up when the rest of my treatment is finished. You may not get them, or they may go down on their own.

    You will have a drain or two to remove fluids from your chest cavity. It's a tube attached to a bulb that collects the drainage; you will need to empty and measure it twice a day. When the drainage gets below a certain point your doctor will remove the drain. You need to do something with the drain bulb when you shower; ordinarily it's pinned to your clothing. I eventually crocheted a nice soft chain to wear around my neck and pinned it to that; some people have fancy bags that also are strung around the neck.

    You can't get a permanent prosthesis until your incision heals, about 6-7 weeks after surgery. In the meantime they might give you a soft prosthesis but it's still hard to look right, and no one gave me a soft prosthesis until I was fitted for the permanent one. (It's not permanent in that it's attached to you; it's just not temporary.) I tried socks, but they really looked strange. I ended up using the empty side of my bra to hold the drain bulb, which I pinned into the bra. It's not elegant, but if you wear a jacket or loose shirt over another loose shirt, it doesn't really show.

    I was able to go back to work after about two and a half weeks, but I have a physically easy desk job and an easy commute. Plan to take any activity a day at a time. Don't clean your house. The dirt will wait.

    I found that cotton knit sleeveless tops were very comfortable, and somehow comforting, under my clothing.

    They will want you to take off the bandage way before you are ready. Go ahead. It won't bleed and it's probably not as bad-looking as you imagine. Even if it is bad-looking (and mine really was pretty bad, with the rooster tails) it gets better as it heals. The stitches may look like Dr. Frankenstein put them in but that definitely goes away.

    Good luck.
  • Rague
    Rague Member Posts: 3,653 Member
    #15
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    mollieb said:

    Mastectomy
    I had a modified radical (includes lymph nodes) mastectomy in November. There are a few things I wish I had known, but I can't remember all of them, and there are some things you can't do anything about -- just would have been nice to be prepared. One thing is to ask them to send you to physical therapy so you keep the range of motion in your arm. You will lose a lot of nerves, so the incision and the area around it may have no feeling. You may have little (or big) cone-shaped things at the ends of the scar. They are called rooster tails, and I am going to have to have my scar cleaned up when the rest of my treatment is finished. You may not get them, or they may go down on their own.

    You will have a drain or two to remove fluids from your chest cavity. It's a tube attached to a bulb that collects the drainage; you will need to empty and measure it twice a day. When the drainage gets below a certain point your doctor will remove the drain. You need to do something with the drain bulb when you shower; ordinarily it's pinned to your clothing. I eventually crocheted a nice soft chain to wear around my neck and pinned it to that; some people have fancy bags that also are strung around the neck.

    You can't get a permanent prosthesis until your incision heals, about 6-7 weeks after surgery. In the meantime they might give you a soft prosthesis but it's still hard to look right, and no one gave me a soft prosthesis until I was fitted for the permanent one. (It's not permanent in that it's attached to you; it's just not temporary.) I tried socks, but they really looked strange. I ended up using the empty side of my bra to hold the drain bulb, which I pinned into the bra. It's not elegant, but if you wear a jacket or loose shirt over another loose shirt, it doesn't really show.

    I was able to go back to work after about two and a half weeks, but I have a physically easy desk job and an easy commute. Plan to take any activity a day at a time. Don't clean your house. The dirt will wait.

    I found that cotton knit sleeveless tops were very comfortable, and somehow comforting, under my clothing.

    They will want you to take off the bandage way before you are ready. Go ahead. It won't bleed and it's probably not as bad-looking as you imagine. Even if it is bad-looking (and mine really was pretty bad, with the rooster tails) it gets better as it heals. The stitches may look like Dr. Frankenstein put them in but that definitely goes away.

    Good luck.

    Everybody's different
    I was told to leave the bandage on until I saw surgeon a week after surgery. Was very surprised when he took it off - just a line where the incision had been made - no stitches or clamps just a line. I probably should have expected to not have external stitches but I did 't - my surgeon had put my port in 10 weeks before ( I did 4 A/C before surgery) and there were no external stitcheds then.

    Susan
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #16
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    Rague said:

    Everybody's different
    I was told to leave the bandage on until I saw surgeon a week after surgery. Was very surprised when he took it off - just a line where the incision had been made - no stitches or clamps just a line. I probably should have expected to not have external stitches but I did 't - my surgeon had put my port in 10 weeks before ( I did 4 A/C before surgery) and there were no external stitcheds then.

    Susan

    Excellent, and exactly information provided
    by fellow Sisters in PINK - above.

    I would asked your Surgeon as well as your Oncologist for stats regarding single or double (bilateral Mastectomy). My choice was bi-lateral -- better safe than sorry, I say. Besides, my Sister in law, as well as 2 close friends ... removed 1 breast, only to have the beast returned with 5 years to the remaining (good) breast. I did NOT like those odds.!

    The only chemo infusion that I know of that does not prevent hair loss -- is herceptin, which I took due to my HER2 positive status. Then again, I am not a physician.

    I would get some additional information .. i.e. stage of returned breast cancer, chemo brand names, etc.

    Good luck,

    Strength, Courage and Hope.

    Vicki Sam
  • Megan M
    Megan M Member Posts: 3,000
    #17
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    ladyg said:

    I will keep
    you in my thoughts as you go in for your surgery. All of us pink sisters will be there to watch over you. I am also sending you positive energy for a quick recovery.

    Hugs,
    Georgia

    Positive thoughts and
    Positive thoughts and prayers for you this Friday!


    Hugs, Megan
  • Kristin N
    Kristin N Member Posts: 1,968 Member
    #18
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    robang13 said:

    Wishing you a hopefully pain
    Wishing you a hopefully pain free surgery~ Glad to see you are in an upbeat mood. Will be praying for you on friday!!

    hugs~ angela

    Praying your surgery went
    Praying your surgery went well for you today and that you are resting comfortably.

    ♥ Kristin ♥
  • laurael
    laurael Member Posts: 4
    #19
    Options
    Bilateral Mastectomy
    Hello!

    I had a bilateral (double) mastectomy on 03.31.11. Although my breast cancer was only in my left breast (two tumors) I elected to have a double mastectomy because breast cancer killed my younger sister at the age of 42. I am one of the lucky ones who did not have to go through chemo / radiation because there was no lymph involvement. I am currently undergoing breast expansion which is the first stage of reconstruction. I feel like I am going through puberty again at the age of 46! :o)

    By having a double mastectomy I was able to move on with my life and not live in such fear. My only point of reference for breast cancer was my sister who was diagnosed Stage 4 from the very beginning and fought such a battle before she died. It is because of her that I started getting mammograms at 38 since she was diagnosed at 36. Amazing enough my surgery date was the same day of her death only two years before. I believe with all my heart that that was her way of letting me know all would be okay since I was thinking of her on my date of surgery. :o)

    Good luck with your surgery! As I have come to believe since my diagnosis of breast cancer on 03.03.11 life is just a journey and we are given life experiences in order to become more as one with each other and God. Thank you for sharing yourself with me and I hope that you have found some comfort and relief of fear in my journey.

    Take Care!

    Laura

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