dcis having op scary
dcis having op scary Hi there,
I am 34 years old and was diagnosed with dcis (pre cancerous lump)
2 days after my 34th birthday, which was two weeks before xmas, my husband was with me thank god, because the consaltant told me I would have to have a masectomy, which at the time it felt my whole world was collasping around me and that I would be ugly and my husband will not want be with or come near me again. The breast care nurse was brilliant she explained everything to me and all about reconstruction, which I took all the paperwork home and after crying alot and cuddling my little boy and my husband and walking around in a haze, I found a lot of women I know have had breast cancer a lot worst than me and had a masectomy and are now fit and healthy and doing everyday jobs and having a fullfing life.
I go into hospital next weekend for my masectomy on my left breast with immediate reconsruction ( having my bad stuffing taken out and some good being but back lol) I know I will be without a nipple and when I look at my little boy who is 3 I think oh well never mind at least I get watch him grow up this is why now it not so bad he gets to keep his mum and my husband gets a nice new firm brest to play with he he
I have had all the scans done and blood tested and all clear , I am as fit as a fiddle , so have my op and recover and get to normal, don’t know what to expect just take each step as it comes never had op before or stitches never stayed in hospital before.
If anything I just keep telling my freinds to check themselves and like me if something does not feel right go to the doctor asap, which I did thank god and mine turned out not so bad!!!
Bye for now Elaine x
P.S any advice welcomed even down to bras when can I start wearing my old ones???
Hi Elaine
I was dx with DCIS that covered my entire breast in June 2006 and had a mastectomy and immediate reconstruction in July, they still weren’t sure till they removed the breast and could check it that I didn’t have an area of invasive lurking in there because it was so widespread but I was lucky and there was only 1mm of micro invasion. I don’t know what kind of reconstruction you are having, I had a DIEP, where they take the fat from your tummy for your breast. The brilliant advantage with having immediate reconstruction is that, apart from the nipple area, all my skin has been left behind so in bras and swimming costumes it looks as though nothing has changed. They did an immediate reconstruction of my nipple but I am having some adjustments done to it and then I will have my tatooing done, or should that be titooing!
As far as bras are concerned I could wear a non wired bra after I came out of hospital, I was in there 8 days, and I couldn’t wear a wired bra for a month. Your new breast will probably be swollen so it might be as well to have a few in different sizes to try afterwards I found the staff in Marks and Spencers wonderful and they even took back some bras when I had damaged the boxes. An extension for the back of the bra is handy as well, I found them in La Senza and John Lewis.
My husband was very apprehensive about looking at my new breast so when I had one of my checks just after I came back to the ward, they had to check my breast every 15 mins at the beginning, I insisted he came over and look and he couldn’t believe how good it was.
My advise would be to give yourself lots of time after the op and be kind to yourself. Get as much help as you can with your little boy and don’t try to rush into getting back to ‘normal’ too quickly it wasn’t till about a month after the op that all the things that had happened and the changes to my body hit me and then you just need time to think things through. The people on this site are wonderful for giving you support and advise when you need it.
I will be thinking of you next weekend and I am sure you will soon be back to running around after your little boy. As a lady I spoke to who had had the same op as me said ’ In a few years it will just be a blip in your life… quite a big blip but just a blip’
Let me know how it all went.
Love Beverley
thank-u Hi Beverley
I am having the back flap and implant op, thank-u for you help I have a leaftlet on marks and spencer bras from the clinic so I will be giving them a ring and get one ready 
Let me know how u get on with you tattoing I have got all this to come as my husband tells you always wanted a tattoo he he
I have got so much to look forward to so I will be taking each day at a time, I still don’t know if I need any further treatment after this but again that will be another step if and when we get to it .
my only fear out of all this is being put to sleep I have never had any need to go to hospital before even giving birth ( which I would do 10xs Over) was easy and straight forward, I am not very good with pain, but I have got loads of help and support which is helping me
keep in touch and as I keep telling myself is there is always someone worse of than me.
Take care and thank-u
Love Elaine xx
For fishmum Hi Elaine,
You may be interested in looking at the BCC publication ‘Your operation and recovery’. You can either download it from this site or you can order a copy. The link is as follows:
www.breastcancercare.org.uk/docs/your_op_andrecov_july06_updatednov06_0.pdf
I hope this is of help to you.
Kind regards
BCC Host
Hi Elaine
Glad you have so much support I found the support of family and friends wonderful. As far as the op is concerned this was my fith anaesthetic and there really isn’t anything to it you just blank out and the next thing you know they are telling you it’s all over and my op lasted over 6 1/2 hours! Of course you are nervous, I didn’t sleep much the night before I went in and the night before the op I paced around so much I think I drove the nurses mad! After the op I remember one of the nurses in the recovery room saying ‘no one here suffers any pain not while I’m around’ so I was on morphine but I didn’t need to use much. My daughter delighted in calling me junkie! My breast gave me no pain at all, it was numb, only an area just above it where they took out part of a rib hurt but I don’t think you’ll have that, they did it to find veins to join up the veins from tummy. It was my tummy that caused more problems making it difficult to get up out of bed. I’m sorry I don’t know much about your op but I’m sure someone on this site can tell you their experience of it. I was back at yoga 6 weeks after the op and it is a very good exercise to do because your shoulder and arm will be stiffer than before and the stretching does it good.
Take care of yourself and make sure that you have everyone running around after you, my husband had never really done anything in the house before last summer now he gets out the hoover and changes the beds without a murmer so there’s good coming out of everything!
I hope that you are lucky like me and not have any other treatment. Nearly six months down the line and friends say they can not believe how healthy I look I’m sure the same will be true for you.
Love
Beverley
For Fishmum Hi,
There will be many girls on this site who can appreciate what your going through right now.I had DCIS diagnosed in July 2006 and had my first mastectomy and immediate recon in september.I had a different type of recon using fat from my buttock but I also have a son of 3 so know where your coming from!I won’t go into details of my op or recovery since it’s different type of recon but just wanted to let you of my thoughts today.Hope it all goes well.On the bra front I found sloggi ‘sensual’ and ‘romance’ tops good.( Nice cropped top type of thing!).It is only now that I am going for a bra fitting-on advice of surgeon- 8 weeks post surgery is what he advised.
Best Wishes for the weekend,
Maisie
DCIS scared too Sorry to hear what you are going through. Me too. I’ve spent hours reading throught literature thinking should I have it done. Will I be ok without.
The reality is if I want to gaurantee life I have to have this done. I am having the muscle to taken from my back.
I have to be honest I am scared.
The waiting is the hardest bit. I have changed hospitals because they have better plastic surgeons for the reconstruction. If I’d stuck with my first hospital I would be in today for surgery tomorrow. My new surgeon can’t offer me an appointment till the 26 January, amd this is wrecking my head
Good luck HI Elaine:
I am 37 and in July I had a mastectomy for widespread DCIS in the right boob. Just like you I felt a change, something different and took myself to my GP who referred me for a mammogram with the words “I don’t think you have breast cancer”…10 days later I was on the operating table.
I didn’t get immediate recon as my surgeon wanted to see whether there was any invasive component to it that would need chemotherapy. He had 2 cases of chemo associated infection with reconstruction so wanted to be cautious.
Anyway, 6 months on I am back at work full time, feeling fine and had no real problems apart from the usual ones adjusting to the fact that I had cancer at 37! I am seeing the plastic surgeon this Friday to talk about reconsruction.
Although I ‘just had’ DCIS, I felt the whole experience shocking and was on a rollercoster of emotions ranging from terror to feeling very lucky. I also felt totally drained after the mastecomy for many week. But now I feel good and people keep telling me I look very well. Ive got a second chance and I am making the most of it!
Good luck with the surgery
Kathryn
Hi Everyone I have posted this for new user Lorraine
BCC Host
Hi Everyone
I also have DCIS and must have a mastectomy with immediate reconstruction on the 23rd Jan I am terrifyed, I have read most of your posts and realise that I am not alone feeling scared I am going to have diep flap recon, I am very hard of hearing and cannot use the phone so I have had no support from the breast care nurse at all. I found out a week before xmas
Lorraine
Advice fro chrissie Hi Elaine,
my name is Chrissie and I had a mastectomy and reconstruction march 2007 for DCIS. I am feeling very well, am back to work and am doing eerything I did before the op. I did not have chemo or radiotherapy nor did i have to have Tamoxifen.
A few tips:
go to Marks and Spence and buy a bra with a pink ribbon in it - a cup size bigger then you have now. I started to wear a bra very quickly (2 weeks after) and these are really comfy. You may find your old bras do not fit or are too uncomfortable.
I also bought some soft strapy tops in diffferent colours to wear ( M and S see nightwear section)
I took large doses of Arnica a week before, during and 4 weeks after surgery and id not get 1 bruise. You will need to check if you can have this with your GP and Breast surgeon. It was great though.
I took a bottle with a teat on into hospital so i could get a drink without having to pour it out into a cup. Handy.
I bought a v shaped pillow for when I came home for hospital this was great.
I made great efforts to eat healthily and I am an avid gym goer so i went a lot before surgery. four week later I was doing an aerobiking class but not everyone is that fit so take it easy post op.
I took Bees Propelos (from Holland and Barrett) before during and after surgery - it did help with my immune system.
Good luck - you will be sore for a while but it is worth it. I have had my nipple reconstructed and my aerola tatood and I now wear a bikini and you cannot tell. It even looks good with my clothes off!!
All the best Chrissie x
Advice from chrissie Hi all
I am posting this to bring the thread back to the top following a post from chrissie.
Kind regards
BCC Host
had the op and now chemo Hi all,
Well had the op and all went well and now 3 weeks post op and doing very well, the only down side now is they found bits of the lump had started to turn cancerous so now 4 rounds of chemo then 3months radiotherepy 
not looking forward to the chemo start it on monday, been told the chemo is a precution to make sure it does not come back they have started shuting down my overies so no more babies and plenty of hot flushes, I just keep my fingers crossed the chemo is not to bad.
Anyone got any advice about chemo please help
Thank god for this site its another life line for me at the mo.
Bye for now xx
Hi
Had been wondering how you were doing. Bad luck having to have the chemo and radiotherapy. I had a small area of invasive cancer in amongst the DCIS but as my lymph nodes were ok they decided to do nothing more so I can’t tell you anything about chemo. I too think this web site is brilliant but in my area we also have group meetings for young women with breast cancer and they also had a morning of exercise, yoga, badmington,swimming etc for anyone with breast cancer I found that being able to talk to people there a great help. Unfortunately it was during the day so now I’m back at work I can’t go. I’m sure there will be plenty of people on this web site who will be there for you during your treatment. I will think of you on Monday.
Take care of yourself
Beverley