Moving along at a snail's pace!

Well, I'm 4 weeks post-op mastectomy and had 3 doctors' appointments this past week. Surgeon said it's going slowly because of the previous rads. The skin around the incision is dark red and very, very tight. I have swelling under the arm on the trunk--probably post-op and lymphedema combo. I had my Faslodex/Zometa treatment last week, so the combo of that with the post-op, brought on a great deal of fatigue. Oncologist is thrilled that we are able to continue the treatment I had been on. Apparently, when my case was presented to the tumor board at the hospital, all the oncologists/surgeons present (over 20) unanimously voted to continue that treatment and not go to chemo because my breast recurrence was so tiny and the bone mets (last time we looked in June on PET) were in remission. That is a blessing. The ONLY reason that tiny tumor was found is because I insisted on breast MRIs (dense breast tissue).

Can't get fitted for a prosthesis for several weeks or put anything tight on that area since the surgeon doesn't want to constrict the blood flow. So, I get to walk around totally lopsided. I'm getting good at layering and long, flowing scarves!

I hope to start PT soon for improvement of range of motion and lymphedema treatment. In the meantime, I'm doing exercises at home to try to stretch out the skin and muscles.

Please, girls with dense breast tissue--insist on MRIs especially if your insurance will cover them.

Thanks to all of you asking about me.

Hugs, Renee