My breast is incredibly sore - still waiting for my biopsy result - meet with surgeon tomorrow -

Noel said:

Sending more prayers to you!
Sending more prayers to you! And, I think you need a huge hug!


Hugs!

Lola7 said:

Just Gets Worse - now infected!
Suppose to have my staples removed today and drain taken out at the Clinic as no home care was ever provided - love the day surgery too! Well they can't remove the staples as it is infected - blistering - dark purple spots and swelling under my arm pit and down my side. Nurse tells me I am still draining too much liquid to remove and that I need to go on an IV drip asap with antibiotics - she faxes an order to my surgeon and tells me to go and see him right away. Well we drive over there and his secretary tells me that the first available appt is in December - she tells me to go to my GP - can't get an appt there so I go to a walk in clinic to see a Doctor. Wait an hour and a half - he looks and says its serious and I need to go to the hospital - which I hate to do as my last visit was 8 hours in a waiting room - but I go - I tell him I hate Emergency as they make you wait forever he agrees - but says that if he prescribes pills - antibiotics it will take 24-48 hours to start to work and that is too long in my condition as the infection can start to back up into my incision - he says I need an IV drip and he will write a note to Emergency that I need to be seen as a priority - I go to Emerg and I sit for 4 hours - by then the pain is so bad in my side and the swelling is getting worse - meanwhile they take sprains, cut fingers etc ahead of me - I eventually went to the nurse at the counter and rip off my bandage on my breast so she could see how bad it is - they send me in finally!! - Only 2 doctors in Emergency - he looks and says I need antibiotics but it isn't serious. I am swollen down to my waist - I can't put my left arm down - it is all puffy and numb - my arm is numb and fingers too - he asks me on a scale of one to ten if I can feel my fingers - I tell him its a 7 - he says its nothing to worry about then. I get a prescription and leave disgusted - I should have lied but I don't. I doubled up the dose as I am in so much pain and took some oxi to kill the pain. Needless to say I am going to see my surgeon first thing tomorrow morning.

Has anyone had an infection after surgery - I don't know what to do - Walk In Clinic Doc says its very serious and so did Clinical Nurse but Emergency says its nothing to worry about - who do I believe ? All I know is that my breast wall is painful and my side is all swollen, arm numb - just doesn't seem right.

I hate the Canadian medical system!!

RozHopkins said:

Hi
I had infiltrating Lobular. Cancer both sides at different stages. Bilateral mastectomy. One one month and one the next. Yes this does TEND to appear in both afraid eventually. My tumor just seemed to pop up ours being cylinderical in shape and not picked up by mamos until formed.

We don't like to recommend as all different but I am very pleased I went with the double mastectomy. If I knew then what I know now even if cancer is not traceable in one side I would have had both done.

I am sticking my neck out and not sounding confident about you surgeon. Breast surgeons are the best but some general surgeons though good and perhaps do these ops many times, feel certain of his experience in this field. Tumor was around 2 cms I think and didn't have time to grow as operation sorted quickly. Estrogen positive. Chemo no radiation. I do not like the sound of all your pain and it should be looked at straight away if only to put your mind at rest.

Good idea to have a vacation before treatment however your results sound like they are taking a long time to come throgh and treatment too long to come. I should request another session with professionals to clarify things better.

Good luck and please let us know how you get on.

Lola7 said:

Scheduled surgery
Unfortunately my husband piped up to the surgeon before they told me their plans on surgery that I was booked to fly to florida on the 29th and did I need to cancel - the doctor hesitated for a moment and said that by the time he does the blood work, booking mri and prepartory work - he wouldn't get a surgery date that fast - I would be fine to go away for 10 days as he would have to see when surgery could be booked - apparently these doctors only get 1 or 2 days a week surgery time - I am worried that his ratings on the net don't really specify him as a breast surgeon - but rather colonoscopy, comsmetic surgery and stomach reduction - banding - he seemed to know his stuff but was reluctant to take the whole breast but rather do a partial mascetomy - he said there is no difference in the outcome of a complete mascetomy and partial and I would heal faster from a partial. I have heard that this type of cancer often occurs in the other breast - and some say a bi laterial masectomy is a safer bet. When I am in Florida I plan on getting a second opinion - although I got no paperwork from the doctor here in Canada - not even a specific diagnosis - just wrote breast cancer left breast on pre surgery documents.

The two doctors I met for my assessment seemed very competant - but this is my life - and I suppose I need to get as much info as possible. I am going to try to get a copy of my cd ultrasound and mammogram from the hospital tomorrow - but it is sunday and the records office may be closed - but I shall try - don't have a copy of the biopsy results either.

Noel said:

Lola, are you any better
Lola, are you any better yet? Please seek another opinion if you aren't getting a lot better.

Worrying about you,


Noel

Lola7 said:

biopsy
yes it was the worst pain I have ever had - and I have had 2 C-Sections so wasn't expecting this from a biopsy - just wondered if anyone had had the same reaction - even doctor said he'd been doing it for over 20 years and was extremely rare - didn't offer much except saying I was extremely inflamed. Friday I find out results so the waiting continues. Im book to go on vacation on Monday so am not trying to think of much else - but its hard

Lola7 said:

bad news
malignant - mascetomy planned for Nov 19th - it has gone from 2 cm to 3cm in 2 weeks - its the lobule cancer - I am so upset - I kept thinking positive and I suppose I just wasn't expecting this - doctor did not sound optimistic - he just said it was the rare cancer - he said depends on whether lymph nodes are infected to know how bad it is he told me to go away and enjoy my vacation as it will be a long road ahead - worse part is telling my 3 kids, I have had health issues my whole life and always took it in stride - but never thought I would get this too - doesn't seem to matter how healthy you eat or exercise - things just happen - I am trying to stay positive - but this has knocked me right back - I hve to get positive soon - but I suppose the first day you are told you hve agressive breast cancer is the hardest - anyone out there that has had lobule cancer 3cm - any advice would be much appreciated! I have been have low back pain for 2 weeks and burning down my spine - did anyone experience this - or is it my mind playing tricks???

helps me please to understand how to take control of my body again - and oh by the way can I drink alcohol on vacation? as I was certainly planning on getting drunk at least one nite to forget this

Lola7 said:

Got my Pathology Results Today! Not the news I wanted to hear!
I feel my world is crumbling around me - went this morning to hear the pathology report had the surgery Nov 12 - had to wait till Dec 5th for the pathology report - news was not good - even though the mri did not show signs of cancer in my lymph nodes - the surgeon took 3 and found cancer in all of them - he now wants to do surgery next week to remove 10 to 20 more lymph nodes on my left side - he now realizes the cancer is more aggressive than he thought - the tumor was actually 7 cm - he said we will just have to take it a day at a time and after my next surgery he will have me meet with an oncologist to discuss the next steps - chemo. I had prayed it was not in my lymph nodes and had kept positive - I am so scared - we are about to decorate for xmas and all I keep thinking is this is my last xmas with my kids. I always have such bad luck - and since hearing that I had cancer I found out why I was in so much pain - that the doctors said I was imagining - I have kidney stones - which are quite painful - only took 10 visits to the hospital and doctors to figure that out. While I was at the Emergency of course I pick up a bad cold - and now have bronchitis - which I have to get rid of before surgery next week or they won't do the surgery - can anything ever go right? I asked the surgeon what my odds are and he said no one knows - it all depends on how I do in chemo.

Lola7 said:

Stage III/III 7 cm with negative but close posterior margins
Lobular invasive - 3 lymph nodes positive - they are going to take 10 to 20 more on Monday - still haven't met with an oncologist in Canada yet - big mystery why no referral yet - just stuck with a heartless surgeon - who downplays everything and wouldn't even tell me what stage the cancer is at - my husband had to argue with hospital yesterday and demand a copy of the pathology report - he paid $30. to get the copy of 8 pages - ridiculous why they wouldn't give it to us - I faxed a copy to the oncologist in Florida but he wouldn't provide too much advice - just told me I need to see him once my lymph nodes are removed - not that easy when you have to keep jumping planes to get there - spent the last 2 days screaming for a better cancer hospital to be referred to - my GP is away so I begged her secretary and she did the referral for me -hopefully next week I will see an oncologist - I want to get on temoxafin asap!! I think I shud have been on this for the last month - my pain in my back is so bad now - I know its not just kidney stones as it burns all the time and has spread all the way down - I feel like my body is one fire all the time. The Florida oncologist said looking at my pathology report I have about a 50/50 chance of surviving a year but that depends on the spread of cancer to my organs - could be less - but at least someone is finally being truthful. I just cry all the time I look at my kids - I cried this evening putting up the xmas tree - looking at the ornaments my kids made when they were little - just think its my last xmas. My husband has been so great - I am so sad - I can't imagine leaving them all - I'm just not ready to go - I was really looking forward to retiring in Florida with my hubbie and finally enjoying ourselves - I have worked full time since I was 16 - I am 56 and thought I could slow down and enjoy the kids, see them get married and have their own children and this all seems to be slipping away. My youngest just turned 17 yesterday - she is developmentally delayed - and I worry about her having no mother - she doesn't understand the depth of the illness - she thinks its something like the flu. I am angry at myself for not going to the doctor sooner to be checked - I felt the lump in August but as I swam 50 laps every day I just thought it was a muscle - how stupid is that! - then my sister in Australia who I rarely see wanted to go to England to meet in early September for a 10 day vacation - I didn't want to go cause I was too busy with work - but I did as I didn't want to dissapoint her - I wish I hadn't gone as I am sure I would have gone earlier to the doctor. When I got back from England I was so far behind with my work that I just had to catch up with it as I was putting on a huge seminar and I was the organizer (I didn't want to do the seminar - but others kept bugging me to do it and I again didn't want to dissapoint them so I did it - again it was a very stressful job and I wish I hadn't done it and concentrated on myself for a change - I kept thinking I better go get that mammogram - but cancer doesn't run in my family - so just didn't worry - as soon as the seminar was over I shot over to the Doctor Oct 3rd - too late - wasted a month - that could have been vital - as apparently this cancer is so aggressive - one month makes a huge difference. I know since the biopsy I have gone downhill quickly - just pain every day - pls God - let me get help from an Oncologist ASAP - GIVE ME A FIGHTING CHANCE - I JUST DON'T WANT TO LET THIS HORRIBLE DISEASE TAKE ME FROM MY FAMILY - Please anyone out there that had Lobular Stage III/III with lymph nodes infected and pain throughout their body - Pls tell me I can survive this ???????????? I need to hear success stories to keep me strong THANK YOU SO MUCH LADIES FOR ALL YOUR SUPPORT SO FAR - EVERY TIME I FEEL LIKE I AM DROWNING I GO ON THE SITE TO GET SUPPORT - IT REALLY HELPS LOVE LOLA