Just wondering if there are any other ladies out there having a mx around the 17th Jan. I am booked in at Stafford Hospital for single mx and expander implant with skin sparing surgery would be good to link up with people at the same stage as me xxx thanksxxx
Pennyx
Hi Penny
I was thinking of posting a similar message, you beat me to it. Great minds, etc…
I’m waiting for a phone call today, to tell me when my mx will be. I know it won’t be until after the 14th, as I have my appointment with the anaesthetist (and a bone scan, eeek) next Friday.
So with luck (hmmmph!) it should be around mid to late January.
Cathy xx
Hi there, Im having mx in 20th Jan, with immediate reconstruction. Dont even know the proper name for type of reconstruction. Feel really scared and upset about it all actually. I know I too am having an expander implant, they’re taking a muscle from my back, and lifting up the good breast.(I didn’t really want this, but they were pretty insistant)
I was just about to start a thread, 'cos I need more info…I need to know what things I might need for hospital, how long recovery will be etc…
Hi there pre mx ladies, I am waiting to hear when I will be going in for my mx with immediate LD and implant reconstruction - should be late January, so thank you Penny for posting.
Tree, the mx you are having is LD flap - sorry can’t spell the proper term but I’m sure somebody will. Like you I was also scared and upset about it, I’ve already had 4 WLE to same place, chemo, rads and herceptin since Sept 08 all of which I can honestly say didn’t bother me but the thought of a mastectomy really scared me, so when I had to make the decision it was a very hard one to make. I had a bit of a “moment” a few weeks ago and then watched the programme about the military heroes - it put it all in perspective for me seeing the young man who had lost both his legs and had facial disfigurement and since then I have got my head around it.
I wish you all well with your ops and a speedy recovery.
Sue xx
Hi again ladies, I just had the phone call from the hospital… Jan 17th, so the same day as Penny for my mx.
And, I’ve now got appointments for tomorrow, for lung xrays and a liver scan.
Cripes, does everyone get these as standard before surgery in the UK? I’m in France, so perhaps it’s a little different here. My surgeon said that they just like to have a base-line before treatment starts, so they have something to refer back to.
All in all I’m ever-so-slightly bricking it now.
Cathy xx
Hi ladies
Just to let you know that I had a LD flap reconstruction 7 weeks ago and I have to say I am delighted and very impressed with the results - if I could post a photo here for you to see I would!! Muscle was taken from my back and an implant put in also. I have a scar which runs half way across my back which will fade and be hidden under my bra strap, a small scar from where my nipple was down the front of my breast and a scar running underneath my new breast, but both will fade in time. It did feel like a lump of clay was attached to my chest wall for a couple of weeks, but now it feels like it belongs to me. I was in hospital for 6 days and I was uncomfortable for a couple of weeks but I didn’t have much pain. The after-surgery exercises were really important and I have nearly got full movement of my arm. It does feel a little numb still and I do have some swelling, but this will recover in time. Next year I’ll have more surgery to my other breast so they both match.
I also had WLE and have just started chemo. Chemo for me is worse than the surgery!!
Good luck Sue.
I am having a tissue expander fitted at the same time as my mx on the 17th as for me that was the best option personally. I also have had alot of scans before my op they do these so they have a better idea of whats going on inside. I have a 5.5cm invasive ductal carcinoma which lymph nodes testing positive so i am having mx and full node clearance in the same op. Followed by chemo radio and hormone therapy as im estrogen positive. Cathy keep me posted on how your doing the hospital im in has wifi so can keep in touch better than staring at tv programmes that i really dont want to watch. Pinkrose im actually more worried about the chemo than the mx so let me know how it goes and any tips you have would be very much appreciated xxx Sue 496 where are you in the uk keep me posted on surgery etc… its good to know how everyone else is getting on xxx tree is sounds like your having the same surgery as me with an expander. They supply you with a wash and a wear surgical bra. Im taking front opening pjs figured make things a bit easier. Obvious toiletries a book as i get easily bored, thick socks keep your feet warm while in hospital slippers dressing gown some dry shampoo in case i carnt manage to wash my hair.
Penny xx
Eye mask. Ear plugs. Makes it easier to sleep. Water in small bottles with sports top so can pull
open with teeth as one arm will be sore from op and cannula possibly still in the other. Ask dr to write you up for a Pre op sedative thingy as mine hadn’t put it in my notes and it was too late for me to have one by the time the nurse got the ailitjoritu so
I was hugely anxious as edge hadn’t been taken off.
Vickie
thanks tors yes they all sound like good ideas xxx The pre op sedative i already requested as i suffer from panic attacks on quite a bad scale anything that helps is a bonus xx I am very nervous about waking up half way through bloody take a break stories have alot to answer for although i know its a rather irrational childish thought xxx
Penny
Ive just finished chemo (well had my last one very end of november) and I would say the same as many of the ladies on here.
It is do-able.
You just have to slow right down and listen carefully to your body. Some people manage to work, but I honestly dont know how they do that at all, but having said that I am a single parent, and still managed to keep things ticking over.
House went uncleaned and still remains a mess but, you just have to let go of unimportant things. Internet grocery shopping was also a godsend I could not have survived without it.
For me, this operation is far more scary.
Penny, my hospital/clinic has wifi, and loans out sterile laptops for patients for the duration of their stay (how cool is that) so we should be able to compare notes from our hospital beds! I have invasive ductal, and am ER++ like you.
Tree, I’m more scared of the chemo than the surgery, but that’s because I’m an insulin dependant diabetic, and the steroids that go with chemo will send my blood sugar levels hypergalactic and make me quite a sick bunny.
Vickie, good idea about a water bottle with pull-out top. And of course, ear-plugs, how could I have forgotten how much we need those in hospital?
Someone elsewhere suggested taking in a small cushion that you can use to put between your arm and your side to reduce pressure if you’ve had node clearance, and also to help you find a comfortable position to sleep in.
My hubby will be coming in with me (they’re giving him a spare bed in my room) so I’ll get him to wash my hair, and generally be my “spare arm” for a few days. Just how much do you think that he’ll enjoy that? (no, don’t answer). Poor lamb, we’ve only been married 7 months, it’s really shaken his world, although he never lets me see it.
Sue496, wow! You’ve already been through so much, but you’re right of course, there are lots of things far worse than loosing a boob.
I’m feeling so much more positive today. I had my liver scan and lung xrays this morning. My radiographer was a complete star, he checked out far more than was asked for, and told me afterwards that everything was completely normal. I’m so relieved, as I’d managed to convince myself that “IT” had spread to my chest cavity!
Love and good luck to you all
Cathy xx
I have had a date for my mx 29th January. Penny I am in Scotland and will be having my surgery at Ross Hall Hospital in Glasgow.
Thanks for mentioning about the pre med sedative - I haven’t had one with the other ops but didn’t feel as anxious about them as this.
Already have the cemo brain so can’t remember if anyone mentioned front fastening pj’s - apparently better for the nurses to check on the dressings etc.
Please everybody don’t be scared of the chemo - I know everybody’s experiences are different but I had a number of friends having it at the same time and we all coped really well. It is important to listen to your body - if I was having a rest I put a note on the back door - that way you don’t get disturbed by well wishers.
Cathy so glad your scans were normal.
My only problem now is how to loose half a stone so that they are not having to turn me over on the operating table like a beached whale!
I’m impressed with the hospital handing out sterile laptops - what a fab idea. I’ll be taking in my notepad, having been visiting the hospital every three weeks for the last two years I only reaslised on my last visit that they have wifi - all that wasted time watching day time tv and I could have spent a fortune on internet shopping!!
Hope you are all keeping well, Sue xxxx
sue 496 i know there will be some side effects but according to one of my friends the more you think your gonna feel ill the more ill your feel mind over matter and all that …we shall see im sure ill be on here to update everyone !!! kittiekat thats brill they letting your husband stay with you thats completely unheard of at the hospital im stopping at sinlge sex ward and all that And i have already discovered the beauty of asda online shopping thought id get the practice in. My birthday is 2 weeks after my mx so due to the fact i wont be hitting the town im having a house pajama party !! Well its a good excuse for me not to have to get dressed and everyone else wont feel akward if im sitting around looking like im 8 years old and stopping at a mates for the night lol. Hope your all wellxx
Penny
just wondered how your all holding up pre surgery ? I decided to spend my week decorating the living room to keep me busy !!!Take care all xx
Penny
Hi penny,
Im just trying to sort things out. I went on to half pay this month, so Ive been trying to claim benefits…argh!!!
Im a single parent, so Im trying to sort out my youngest…Its all a bit of a nightmare actually.
Also been finding out more about what the operation entails, ARGH!!!
This week I want to clean my house, properly, so thats its all nice upon my return from hospital, but Im still quite laid up from the chemo…
When will it all end…
the beneift system could do with a kick up the backside as far as im concerned ive had nothing but trouble with them !!! I have two kids 11 and 13 but they both seem to have developed a need for me to wait on them hand and foot after xmas told them to make the most of it, i know they will be extra helpful after operation bless em xx how you coping with the chemo xx hope your not suffering too muchx
penny
Thanks Penny. Chemo’s not been too bad, (its over now) but Im just still so exhausted, almost all the time.
I think if you are sick, the last thing you need is to have to navigate yourself around the benefit system. They certainly dont make it easy, but keep telling myself not to worry about unimportant stuff, 'cos I know that it’ll get sorted in the end… Trouble is, it’s hard to stop yourself.
Anyway, Ive got a new worry now, a small mysterious lump has appeared on my arm and I just wish it hadn’t.
Just one thing after another.
(sorry to be so moany)
x
i dont mind moany you should here me sometimes even the dogs disappear xx Are you going to get it checked out ?? where about on your arm is it xx
penny
I’ve had computer problems, and have been unable to connect to the internet for a couple of days (just what I need right now, NOT).
Finally managed to get it sorted by dumping Vista and installing Windows 7, so here I am again.
Tree, I hope you’re recovering from your chemo, good luck with the benefits, and get that lump checked out please.
I have been having a bit of a spring clean too(partly so that I won’t need to do it for a while after surgery, but also so that post-hospital visitors won’t be scandalised by all the dust bunnies that seem to have installed themselves since I was diagnosed).
Penny, have fun with the decorating, anything to take your mind off next Monday. I just know that by this time next week I’ll be a nervous wreck.
Cathy xx
hi kittiekat know what you mean about the dust bunnies i didnt clean for two weeks just couldnt be bothered !!! I got up one day and decided to do all the house and have a mass clear out im fine now. Decorating coming on good and yes im bricking it now god knows what ill be like next week ???
Penny xx