LUMPECTOMY

tricia13

I'm sure someone out there has had this done and i just want to know, what to expect and whats to come. i will also be having rad and chemo. I am having surgery in a couple of days, just want to know other peoples experience. thank you

Whoknowz

Hi Tricia
Welcome. The last day before my surgery was when I got the jitters. I had a lumpectomy in one breast with sentinel node dissection and an excisional biopsy in the other breast. The surgery is typically fairly short and most on here seem to have breezed thru it. Mine wasn't as easy as many on here indicated theirs was, but it was very doable. I needed the pain pills a couple of days, others didn't.

My surgeon told me 2 weeks off work was the usual but those who owned their own businesses often started working again in a few days. She said I could start driving when I felt like it.

Each stage of this journey comes with its own challenges and opportunities to discover just how strong, creative, and wonderful we are. I had 4 rounds of chemo and am in rads now. It feels like this has been going on forever, but it's going fast now.

Good luck. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Angela

sbmly53

Tricia,
While I'm sorry for
Tricia,

While I'm sorry for the reason you are here, this is a very helpful site teeming with sympathy, empathy, love and knowledge.

I had a lumpectomy with 1 node removed. My Onco dx test let me out of chemo, but I have had 23 out of 33 radiation treatments so far. I did well with surgery at first, but had tendon cording and slight lymphedema. Just keep plugging along, asking questions and bring a notebook with your questions and write down their answers.

Our thoughts and prayers are with you,

Sue

dame

lumpectomy
Hi Tricia:

I had a lumpectomy Nov. 2, 2009 and have been going for chemo since 12/3. The lump was removed and 25 lymph nodes including the sentinal node which was positive. I can tell you that mental attitude does play a big part in recovery. I now have only two more chemo sessions with a month off which will be followed by radiation.

I find taking one step at a time is a good way of handling and dealing with the entire situation.

Good luck and keep a positive attitude. After all, what is the alternative? You have to try not to stress over what you cannot control

DAME

cindycflynn

Tricia
Welcome to this site, although I'm sorry you have to be here at all.

I had a lumpectomy in October, and was lucky that they only had to take 1 lymph node, which was negative. My tumor was fairly small (1.3cm) and the margins were clean, so I was really one of the lucky ones overall. I was off work for 2 weeks after the surgery, but really started to feel better after the first few days. I only needed pain medication for about a day and a half after the surgery, and the nausea also went away quickly and was helped with the meds they gave me.

I would just try to prepare by "clearing the decks" at home (and and work if you need to) so that after your surgery you can rest and concentrate on healing. Stock up on meals you can just heat and eat so you can get away with doing as little as possible if you're on your own. If you have someone living with you, or someone that can come stay with you for a few days after your surgery, so much the better.

Keep us posted on how you're doing and we'll be here holding your hand along the way.

Hugs,
Cindy

Cairmaid

I'm new here, too
Hi, Tricia,

I had my lumpectomy on Jan. 4, 2010. I had a sentinel node biopsy, which was negative. I opted to try for mammosite brachytherapy (local radiation with a balloon implant and radioactive beads). The surgery itself was no problem. I was home for a month, including the time for radiation treatment, then went back to work.

There are a lot of variables to be met for the brachytherapy but I met them all (tumor size, clean margins, minimum distance from skin). A balloon is implanted and a tube is left sticking out, through which the nuclear physicist (actually, his robot friend) sends radioactive beads twice a day for 5 days. About the third day, I started to have some skin burns, which were pretty bad by the final day. I alternate using aloe gel at night and Curel lotion in the morning.

The lumpectomy incisions have mostly healed (7 weeks). I still have some puffiness under my arm from the node biopsy. The brachytherapy tube site is still healing because that didn't get closed until two weeks after the lumpectomy. I have some lumpiness in my breast from the radiation which, I'm told, will mostly clear up in time for my post-surgical mammogram in 6 months.


As was said above, prep your living quarters ahead of time. Buy/beg/borrow pajamas & clothes with buttoned tops and elastic-waist bottoms. You won't be able to do pull-over tops for a while :-) Make sure the tops are soft with no "nubbles" inside.

For personal hygiene, I used flushable bathroom wipes on my upper body. On my face, I used astringent first, followed by a wipe. For the nether regions, I used a 2-quart plastic pitcher, filled it with warm water and took it along with a wipe and liquid soap to the toilet, where I sat and cleaned myself all nice and pretty :-) The day you can take your first shower is a day to celebrate!

Best wishes for a successful outcome.

tricia13

Cairmaid said:

I'm new here, too
Hi, Tricia,

I had my lumpectomy on Jan. 4, 2010. I had a sentinel node biopsy, which was negative. I opted to try for mammosite brachytherapy (local radiation with a balloon implant and radioactive beads). The surgery itself was no problem. I was home for a month, including the time for radiation treatment, then went back to work.

There are a lot of variables to be met for the brachytherapy but I met them all (tumor size, clean margins, minimum distance from skin). A balloon is implanted and a tube is left sticking out, through which the nuclear physicist (actually, his robot friend) sends radioactive beads twice a day for 5 days. About the third day, I started to have some skin burns, which were pretty bad by the final day. I alternate using aloe gel at night and Curel lotion in the morning.

The lumpectomy incisions have mostly healed (7 weeks). I still have some puffiness under my arm from the node biopsy. The brachytherapy tube site is still healing because that didn't get closed until two weeks after the lumpectomy. I have some lumpiness in my breast from the radiation which, I'm told, will mostly clear up in time for my post-surgical mammogram in 6 months.


As was said above, prep your living quarters ahead of time. Buy/beg/borrow pajamas & clothes with buttoned tops and elastic-waist bottoms. You won't be able to do pull-over tops for a while :-) Make sure the tops are soft with no "nubbles" inside.

For personal hygiene, I used flushable bathroom wipes on my upper body. On my face, I used astringent first, followed by a wipe. For the nether regions, I used a 2-quart plastic pitcher, filled it with warm water and took it along with a wipe and liquid soap to the toilet, where I sat and cleaned myself all nice and pretty :-) The day you can take your first shower is a day to celebrate!

Best wishes for a successful outcome.

HI CAIRMAID, SO YOU JUST
HI CAIRMAID, SO YOU JUST WENT THROUGH WHAT I AM ABOUT TO GO THROUGH, MY TUMOR SIZE IS 4.3 AND I PRAY THAT IT HAS NOT REACH ANY WHERE ELSE IN MY BODY OR CHEST WALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR STORY WILL KEEP IN TOUCH.

Cairmaid

tricia13 said:

HI CAIRMAID, SO YOU JUST
HI CAIRMAID, SO YOU JUST WENT THROUGH WHAT I AM ABOUT TO GO THROUGH, MY TUMOR SIZE IS 4.3 AND I PRAY THAT IT HAS NOT REACH ANY WHERE ELSE IN MY BODY OR CHEST WALL, THANK YOU FOR YOUR STORY WILL KEEP IN TOUCH.

Feel free to ask
Tricia, don't hesitate to ask about any aspect of life-after-diagnosis. You're sure to get a variety of suggestions to choose from :-)

Tux

Had lumpectomy in July.
Had lumpectomy in July. Pain was minimal & I was back to normal activities within a few days.
However, I am very active & had a demanding job, so I have experienced some soreness, even after all these months. Doc says it is normal up to a year afterward. Hope everything goes well for you!

Kat11

Tux said:

Had lumpectomy in July.
Had lumpectomy in July. Pain was minimal & I was back to normal activities within a few days.
However, I am very active & had a demanding job, so I have experienced some soreness, even after all these months. Doc says it is normal up to a year afterward. Hope everything goes well for you!

Lumpectomy
I had a lumpectomy in April. Had 22 nodes removed as well. Surgery was not all that bad. My arm hurt more than anything else from the nodes being removed. I did 16 rounds of chemo starting in July. I am just finishing 34 treatments of rads. Time went by faster than I thought it would. All was doable, not a picnic, but you can do it. Good luck with your surgery.

teresa41

Kat11 said:

Lumpectomy
I had a lumpectomy in April. Had 22 nodes removed as well. Surgery was not all that bad. My arm hurt more than anything else from the nodes being removed. I did 16 rounds of chemo starting in July. I am just finishing 34 treatments of rads. Time went by faster than I thought it would. All was doable, not a picnic, but you can do it. Good luck with your surgery.

lumpectomy
i had a lumpectomy in may 2009


wishing you the best!

teresa

MyTurnNow

Tricia, welcome to the
Tricia, welcome to the group. I, too, had a lumpectomy in 7/09, chemo 8/09-10/09 and rads 11/09-12/09. I am currently taking Arimidex for 5 years. I had minimal side effects from the treatments and so far am tolerating Arimidex very well. I wish you success in your upcoming surgery. My only advice would be to rest and give yourself time to recover. Keep posting and let us know your treatments and we'll help you get through your journey. Take care.

padee6339

MyTurnNow said:

Tricia, welcome to the
Tricia, welcome to the group. I, too, had a lumpectomy in 7/09, chemo 8/09-10/09 and rads 11/09-12/09. I am currently taking Arimidex for 5 years. I had minimal side effects from the treatments and so far am tolerating Arimidex very well. I wish you success in your upcoming surgery. My only advice would be to rest and give yourself time to recover. Keep posting and let us know your treatments and we'll help you get through your journey. Take care.

Hi Trisha
I had my lumpectomy on 10/13/08. I took two weeks off from work. Took my first outing (driving) one week after surgery. After a year and 4 months out of surgery, I still find it wierd to look at the breast. Just recently it started itching like crazy and my oncologist told me its all the nerve endings reattaching. I asked why after all this time? She said it takes that long. Sometimes the itching happens at work and that is embarassing! LOL. I had 6 rounds of chemo and 6 weeks of rads and will celebrate my one year off chemo on March 6. Seems like yesterday - seems like forever ago. The sooner you start battling the beast, the sooner you will dance with NED!
Hugs and good wishes - Pat

Angie2U

Tux said:

Had lumpectomy in July.
Had lumpectomy in July. Pain was minimal & I was back to normal activities within a few days.
However, I am very active & had a demanding job, so I have experienced some soreness, even after all these months. Doc says it is normal up to a year afterward. Hope everything goes well for you!

Sending you good luck and
Sending you good luck and prayers!

Angie

jbug

Hi Tricia
Welcome! I had my lumpectomy in Nov 09 and then a separate sentinal node biopsy. My tumor was very small 4mm, and my nodes were negative. I had 30 radiation treatments and have started tamoxifen. I ended up w/2 separate recovery periods, but didn't find either to be too taxing. It seems like the more recovery time for nodes is needed when you have lots of nodes removed. Many women that had lots of nodes checked, had a drain placed. I didn't need one.

I had my surgeries on thurs a.m. and was back at work both times by Monday, though not lifting heavy things or anything.

Take one day at a time as you head into this journey! Come back often...lots of love and support here. God Bless...

Julie

Ritzy

Whoknowz said:

Hi Tricia
Welcome. The last day before my surgery was when I got the jitters. I had a lumpectomy in one breast with sentinel node dissection and an excisional biopsy in the other breast. The surgery is typically fairly short and most on here seem to have breezed thru it. Mine wasn't as easy as many on here indicated theirs was, but it was very doable. I needed the pain pills a couple of days, others didn't.

My surgeon told me 2 weeks off work was the usual but those who owned their own businesses often started working again in a few days. She said I could start driving when I felt like it.

Each stage of this journey comes with its own challenges and opportunities to discover just how strong, creative, and wonderful we are. I had 4 rounds of chemo and am in rads now. It feels like this has been going on forever, but it's going fast now.

Good luck. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Angela

Hoping that your surgery
Hoping that your surgery goes well for you and praying for a fast recovery!

Sue

Remonda

I feel so betrayed by my radiologist. The man may have spoken 20 words to me during the 23 radiation treatments. I am still in pain after 2 years. Finally, my surgeon told me in an offhand manner that the breast they did the radiation on is forever changed molecularly (ie spelling), letting me know that the lumpectomy breast will stand at attention while the other one keeps going farther & farther down. Not one person seemed to give a dam until I got a new surgeon, for who knows what reason the other one is gone. But my new one had enough compassion to tell me the pain can be indefinite. For her I am grateful. My suggestion is, don't settle on a Dr that you're only $$ signs to. I have to believe there are some good ones left. Scar tissue is real. Do I know anything about it, no but if anyone wants to share with me, I'm all ears. Thank ya'll so much for listening & I hope each & everyone touched by cancer has a better experience than I did.