I’ve had my appointment with my surgeon to plan surgery for late August. But I wasn’t really expecting to be given decisions to make….
First one is lumpectomy and radiotherapy versus mastectomy. She says that she is happy to do either as the chances of secondary reoccurrence elsewhere in body are the same for both. But she says that there is a 5% higher chance of local reoccurrence with a lumpectomy within 10 years. She says she isn’t bothered about this as she says this would be picked up early and can be treated in same way as is being done currently with more surgery chemo and radio.
But I don’t see how an increased risk of local reoccurrence can be so easily dismissed as if going through all this once again in a few years time is nothing to concern myself about.
What are other people’s thoughts on this? Did you get a choice too and how did you decide?
The second thing is about testing the sentinel lymph nodes. Do I want OSNA testing or the traditional lab testing? OSNA can be done very quickly while I’m still in surgery and gives a straight yes/no for cancer being present. If it’s a yes they’ll clear all lymph nodes there and then without needing to go back in for further surgery. Downside is that if it’s a no, there’s no way of knowing whether it was a ‘no there never was any cancer here’ or ‘no it was there but has been killed off by chemo’ as the OSNA machine crushes all the cells and they then can’t be tested in traditional way.
Did anyone else have to make this choice??
@isthisreal I was given the choice of wide excision lumpectomy or a mammoplasty which is a bit more cosmetically ok as I’ll have big dent with lumpectomy - both with radiotherapy. No choice in lymph nodes- just removal of sentinel node, with results a week or so later. Was perturbed that 1 in 5 need further surgery as they don’t take enough on initial surgery. Also need radiosensitive “seed” inserted - like another biopsy thats in 2 weeks xx
@gromit12 Ah yes she mentioned that too. That 1 in 5 need further surgery with a lumpectomy as don’t get enough clear margin, and the radioactive injection and blue dye one.
She mentioned another pre-op procedure to insert a wire guide round the lump with ultrasound under local anaesthetic as the surgeon might not be able to see the lump with her eyes.
I laughed out loud when she said I wouldn’t be able to feel the wire going in due to the local anaesthetic, as I was told the same for the biopsy, the marker clip and PICC line going in which I most certainly still did feel even with the local anaesthetic!!
@isthisreal - I can’t help with this as I wasn’t given any choice! Told it was a lumpectomy and sentinel node removal. Sounds like a lot to take in and think about though. Might be worth speaking to the BCN nurses for their input?
@belle1 - I shaved my legs today for the first time in months, so it definitely started to grow back during the docetaxels. I also have rogue chin hairs etc - honestly, you’d think chemo would at least kill them off!
Haha why’s it the annoying ones that are the most stubborn eh!! I just had a moment in the last few days where I was like damn I’m still pretty hairy lol!!
@isthisreal I get the “oh it won’t hurt with local”- rather than a guide wire I get this radioactive seed thing 2 weeks in advance- so like a biopsy then?! And then the dye the morning of op- oh it’s ok there’s local PICC line removal was a breeze in comparison Laura x
Tonight we celebrated. Chemo has been an overwhelming period of my life and it is finished. Told my husband I wanted to go out for a meal, and I didn’t wear my wig. So grateful for the amount of hair I kept. And to have exchanged contracts on our new house was the icing on the cake. And I had a v large glass of pinot - I’ve been alcohol free during chemo-so this was just a one off. Hang in there lovely ladies
Hi @gromit12 That is so lovely. The relief of finishing and the fresh start! Enjoy everything you can. I haven’t even started my chemo yet but I will hold that thought of a post chemo celebration close to my heart.
@anne3 do get in touch with any queries. I have been fortunate with side effects compared to others, and have even run 6 half marathons during chemo. I sometimes feel guilty posting when others are suffering so much but I think it helps to show all our journeys are different, and some journeys can be bearable ( most of the time!) Laura x
Gosh you are an inspiration - I’m afraid I don’t see myself doing half marathons but maybe I should try to keep walking at least! Maybe that helped you keep some of the side effects at bay? I will definitely keep you in mind for any queries. Thank you!
Enjoy your new house! and stay well
Hi everyone- hope you’re all doing OK? I’m finally starting to feel better after my final chemo last week. Not currently on any meds and trying to stay fit and well for my surgery in 3 weeks time. I spent an afternoon at a local cancer charity, Star Throwers, this week and it was so helpful. they provide tailored support according to your diagnosis and I spent an hour with a specialist nurse who explained my treatment programme to me and she answered my endless questions.
It was great to have someone who could spend as much time as it took talking everything through. They’ve arranged for me to see a qualified cancer nutritionist in September and then I’m having six sessions of counselling to help me deal with my anxiety around the future, specifically recurrence.
I came away feeling supported and positive - probably for the first time since I was diagnosed. I still have a wobble in the middle of the night but at least I’m able to fall back on the advice she gave me and remind myself of the positives. Sending love to you all in this hot and sunny weekend, Emma x
Sorry @isthisreal i wasn’t really given a choice. My lump was over 3cm to begin with and was fast growing so the surgeon did say he’d try a lumpectomy, with all the caveats of needing clear margins, but that due to my “modest size breast” there wouldn’t be much left. It did lead me to choose mastectomy on those grounds. Good job really because it was over 5 cm by the time of removal. I’ve never really got over that hidden insult though
@altoan mines was 2.1cm and the surgeon was like hmm yeah your breasts are small but I can do a lumpectomy…. my joke with the team ended up being can I hurry and start chemo please to try shrink this thing as I’ve not got a lot of boob to play with here (may be inappropriate humour but it’s true lol!) made me laugh and think of my own convo with the surgeon seeing your hidden insult!
This does worry me @altoan - my tumour bed plus margins is going to be about 4cm and I am very small chested- god knows what it will look like once he’s taken that out!
I don’t know what it’s called, but my friend who had a lumpectomy also had the space replaced from her own body (maybe tummy area) at the same time. She also had that biopsy where they send the cells off during surgery and wait to find out before finishing surgery. Don’t think she was given the choice though.
thats in 2 weeks xx
I just had a moment in the last few days where I was like damn I’m still pretty hairy lol!!
And then the dye the morning of op- oh it’s ok there’s local 
Laura x
