@bigpickle Louis is gorgeous 
I’m a bit shaky but op took two hours then I was in recovery a few hours .
Now back on the day surgery ward .
I had a lovely anaesthetic team , when they realised how frightened I was they put me first on the list , I think they were scared I was going to do a runner !
I remember he’mrasking me what I had planned for when I go home but I don’t remember my answer … feeling very groggy and wobbly still .
My surgeon showed me my wound and Idid cry … I’ve no drain though…
Thank you for all your lovely support as Ithink I’d freaked out and cancelled.
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Where are you being treated? Strange some places don’t use drains. I didn’t have them last time at The Marsden. Hope you can go home soon and feel better soon. You are very brave.
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Well done @arty1 , i’m so pleased it went well for you in the end, just goes to show how a good medical team around you can help and slso the support of this lovely group.
@salbert - so pleased you have got Bella, i’m sure she was worth waiting for and you will be byable to get out on some nice walks with her.
@bigpickle what a handsome chap.
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@salbert She’s gorgeous , Is she a rescue ?
I grew up with dogs but have three cats these days. Who are all members of the “We hate dogs fan club “ so sadly no doggies right now
I’m at Great Western Hospital Swindon , my surgeon is Anoushka Choudrey who was on Liz Oriordans podcast , she’s lovely and I felt in very safe hands surgically , I have a neat half moon wound where the bottom curve of my breast was
Her assistant surgeon came to me after the op and she’s lovely too and said they didn’t see the need for drains as there wasn’t much fluid and that they double stitched it … I think she said that as I was more out of it … I have a huge clear dressing on as I’m allergic to normal surgical dressings
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Hi, Louis is a working cocker spaniel, and is currently curled up on the sofa by me.
Glad your op went well xx
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Ahh I did wonder if he was a working cocker - he’s gorgeous … I had a show cocker as a little girl x
The nurses helped me get dressed - I looked down at the empty space where one of my large boobs had sat and i cried like a baby . I do feel an enormous sense of loss , and anger too that I’ve had to agree to mutilate my body in order to try and stay alive … lots of emotions going round in my head right now
I feel temporarily relieved that surgery 1 is done. But suspect node clearance op next as surgeon said one node was “very sizeable “ . . I’m assuming they do scans if it’s in the nodes ? I want to make sure it’s not having an all you can eat banquet on my healthy body parts
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So pleased it went well. Your emotions are completely normal. I had bilateral lumpectomy and still over a year later feel ambivalent about my naughty boobs. I’m sure we’ll both come to terms with what has happened and what we have left at some point.
This forum has been so helpful.
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It’s bittersweet isn’t it … you want the cancer out but you don’t want to have to hack your body to do it .
I’ve put my post surgery bra on (got a lovely pink one from cancer research ) and popped my comfy in …breast nurse said it would help out gentle pressure on the site …
Now you wouldn’t know I’d had a mastectomy this morning
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@arty1 Welcome back! I’m so pleased it all went well. You did it! Support is so important and we are good at that. 
No doubt you will pay it forward for the next lady who finds herself here, terrified by her diagnosis and what lays ahead. I’m only too aware that there are women who will get that diagnosis today, tomorrow, next week and so it goes on. Each hurdle we get through makes us a stronger part of that safety net that I liken us to. It’s a funny thing to say but I’m also glad you had a good cry. I think it’s really important to let it all out so that you can process the emotion. We suffer a kind of loss in order to live. That should not be underestimated.
Yes, Bella is a rescue so we were expecting some issues but none have shown themselves yet and she seems an absolute sweetheart. We are smitten! You were right @naughty_boob, it didn’t take long! My cat died last month and our dog last February. We managed about a month without an animal. I find them so comforting and they provide instant happiness.
I must dash as have to go into the office before my radiotherapy class over at Maggie’s at Marsden. Next stage underway…
Love Salbert
xx
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@salbert honestly I’m so glad i found you all , I have wonderful friends but no one understands a cancer journey unless they’ve walked that path .
You are all so fantastic - I’ll no doubt be wobbling again as chemo
Looms !
Your little rescue is lucky she found you There’s no love like the unconditional love of animal companions x
It’s devastating when our animal friends die , they are so much part of the family
When my dad passed I rehomed his Newfoundland cross with my uncle in N Wales , he was lonely after the loss of his dog and now they’ve both found their forever. She’s spoiled rotten by my uncle and walked about ten miles a day . He’s in his seventies and had open heart surgery four years ago yet puts me to shame !
Attached pic of Pip
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I’ve been lurking in here for a little white, but now I feel like I have to post because all the dogs are so cute 
We’re picking up our little mini dachshund on Sunday (her name is Pickle because I just love all things starting with p, potatoes, puppies and pickles) and I can’t wait.
@isthisreal when are you starting your Kadcyla? I’m getting my port in on Thursday and starting Kadcyla next Thursday. My oncologist seems to think that I can just live like normal, so I’m hoping he’s right.
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Pickle is so sweet
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What a beautiful dog. Such great companions xx