sentinel node biopsy

Hello,For some this porcedure goes well but for me- yes I can relate. I was told this procedure was not painful. Well. here is my story
Finding the cancerous (Dec of 04) tumor was first traumatic. Then doing the sentinel nodes. My Dr. only took two and they where clear of cancer. After taking them out I had a horrible time. the incision site swelled like a goose egg . It hurt and was red . Finally my Dr. drained it once. Then it filled again and she drained it a second time. My arm hurt. my breast hurt. The second time I wrapped my incision site with a ace bandage at the recommendation of another person on this site. My Dr. said "In the five years I have done this this has never happened" . So she could not suggest anything. Well it finally got better.It is now Mar of 05 and I have 16 more days of radiation. It took that long to get me ready for radiation. Thats another story.
Buff. hang in there . It well get better. Listen to your body . Get help here especially if your Dr.doesn't know. The invasion of the body is traumatic in itself. you are not alone.
God bless you. Prayer helped me much. Jesus comforted me as He will us all if we ask.'
Marliece

I think we are not all talking about the same thing here. The radioactive tracer is the dye injected in the tumor before surgery. I had surgery in 2002, fall. They were just starting to do the radioactive dye at this time at Vanderbilt. I knew I had cancer in the sential node as they had done a needle biospy in the clinic. That amounted to nothing but they asked in the name of research to let them do the radioactive tracer. That was the biggest mistake I made in my cancer treatment. That stands out to this day as the worst of any of it!!!!! A huge needle full of dye injected in your tumor and then every ten minutes under the scanner and on and on it went. No pain killer of any kind and no xanax as surgery was scheduled in a few hours. By the time of surgery my bp was off the wall. I did have two cancerous nodes which is what he expected, he thought maybe three when he went in. In any case next time they want to try something out it won't be on me. My heart goes out to you Buf but it is over so put it behind you. Eat well, rest, love much and take care of your body. Linda

Hi B Gal....Cancer just sucks, so I am so sorry to hear about the trauma of the snb.

I went from 0 tp 150mph in two weeks and most of it was so confusing. The snb did not hurt for me. I think that several factors contributed. My surgeon was very skilled at the procedure, and I did have preop meds in me. However, I think that the location of injection must play a huge part in it. Mine was honestly a very small amount of discomfort, but, my core needle biopsy? God...it was off the charts horrible. I relate that to very very poor people doing my procedure. I was injected to be numb, but, it did not take. And, when I told them, they ignored me until the unrelenting crying got their attention. Hit me a second time with the numbing, and went right back at it. No time at all for the second dose to take effect. Honestly, I have thought about suing them for the pain, and the indignity. They refused to listen to me. Were more intent on getting me out and over since they had reviewed my films and decided that I did not have cancer, must be a kook. Guess what? I did, and lost not one but, both breasts. I can totally relate to feeling powerless and insignificant. They treated me like I was nothing. I have had the opportunity to make sure that the technician who did my procedure knows what she did to me emotionally and that I did, indeed, have cancer. She and the physician both remarked why was I there? It was not cancer.

I am not sure why you were not given something to numb you. I had the drugs for my preop and I was locally numbed. I am so sorry. That is really cruel and inhumane. I am not a sue happy person, but, I also believe that ppl who have little to no regard for you need to be brought up short. It is bad enough to suffer through cancer. Never mind the rest.

Best wishes...it is almost behind you totally...Jan

BuffaloGal49 said:

The part of the SNB where the radioactive tracer is injected was done for me without any anesthesia of any type whatsoever, in spite of my asking many questions about it in advance. It was told "it wasn't too bad." It was way worse than BAD. I was so traumatized, that by the time I reached the operating room, I had an allergic reaction to Betadine. I had 6 months of anxiety attacks afterwards.

Hey:

I think I'm clearer now on what your difficulty was.

I also didn't have any local anesthetic, prior to the injection of the radioactive dye. It was uncomfortable and caught me off guard. I had not expected much pain. Thankfully, in my case, it didn't last very long. I could actually feel the liquid dispersing. As it dispersed, it felt far more comfortable. The actual injection, which displaces tissue, was, for me the most painful part.

Also, I wasn't in a trial at the time and didn't have to keep going into the scanner as Linda did...THANK GOODNESS! I'd probably have lost it!

I'm wondering, since you had an allergic reaction to the Betadine, if perhaps it's possible that you also had an allergic reaction to the tracer, which caused that kind of extreme pain?

We're all different and while my level of pain during the injections was about a 7, on a scale of 10, it didn't last long. We are all very different in our responses and I personally think that ALL SLND's should absolutely require local anesthetic and more of the same, until it is working!

Buff, the whole experience of bc, from dx, through treatment and even beyond is difficult and of course, the more tense we are, the worse everything feels and seems. Then we finally get through treatment only to find that we still have some very difficult work ahead of us, because we have to heal not only physically, but emotionally as well.

It's a long road and just as we may soothe our physical scars and help diminish them by rubbing in ungents/ointments and the like, we must also make our best efforts to soothe our emotions and spirits. To help diminish the "inside" impact of our experience. To find healing and perspective so that we may move forward, let go of the pain, reign in the fear and again find joy and peace in our daily living.

I feel so sorry that your experience was so dreadful but know that the scars of that pain and the anxiety attacks which followed, will fade and heal and become just a part of who and what you are as you move forward.

If I had to just get right down to it, I would say, yes, bc...any "C" is dreadful, from start to finish. Still, we can learn from our miseries in life, as much as we're willing to learn from them.
We can take the valuable parts and turn them into
useful tools in our healing process. We can let fall away, the sharp, painful, frightening parts. We can pat ourselves on the back that we made some very hard choices. Followed through on them and went where many people cannot even conceive of going. We survived it, warts and all and that's no small feat! It's monumental. It's our badge of courage, so to speak. So, when you're feeling blue, remember that and try to look at yourself, not as a victim, but someone who is not only empowered by her experiences to date, but someone who knows it, believes in herself and has set her sights on the next hill with determination and purpose.

By refusing to allow cancer to rule our lives, we say that we acknowledge that we are resourceful, strong and loving. We are kind and giving and we know a thing or two about navigating the hurt life can suddenly bestow upon us. We are not quitters. We are doers, achievers, goal setters and women who have run the gauntlet and well understand the fear and pain of having had to run it. If we can derive from all that, something positive and good and worthwhile and useful, then we are even more the winners. Not unlike the Amazon ladies of lore, we are warriors and we fight to protect and help one another and ourselves each and every day. (I know...a bit of an over the top rant, but hey, we're all in this together and I mean every word of it)

When others here say to you: move past your bad experience, they mean the very same thing. Unless you want to risk being stuck in that mode for a very long time, you must begin to haul yourself up and out of it, one step at a time.

Hoping that things will begin to feel better for you soon. Believe in yourself and you WILL make progress!

Love, light and laughter,
Ink

mssue said:

For my two cents worth-I thought my surgeon was going to check the first lymp node for cancer ---I found out later , way after surgery, sixteen nodes were removed.Hummmm still numb ,almost a year and a half later,now I just try to protect my left arm.
Please take care of yourself,physically and emotionally.Take time to smell the roses and enjoy life!!

mssue, the same thing happened to me. Thought 2 nodes would be taken out, but 16 were. There was no cancer in any.