Hello all.
I had a mastectomy in March and now following chemo therapy require a lymphnode clearance which is booked for two weeks time, Just wondered if anyone wanted to share their experience and any advise would be welcome.
Thank you
Hello H,
I had a full ANC at the same time as my TM op at the end of May, they removed 21 nodes, apparently everyone has a different number, some as few as 5, or up to 25…!
I think you will find the after effects of the op similar to your mastectomy, I had a drain but that was probably because of the TM, too…It was uncomfortable at first, yes, and the numbness in the upper arm and armpit is strange, I felt weirdly like I had a book or something under my arm for the first few days, strange! The numbness does not go away completely, so I’ve been told, but these days I don’t really notice it, you do get used to it…
Exercising the arm and shoulder, when you can, - (I was given the leaflet from this site)…is essential to get the full movement back, but please remember not to do what I did, I completely forgot to be careful, and stretched my arm out to turn off bedside lamp, two days after op…ouch…so painful, and it led to some cording, which eventually disappeared on its own, thankfully! It may help to put a small cushion under the arm to help with reducing swelling, I didn’t do that as I wasn’t aware of it at the time.I used Vit E oil when I safely could, to reduce scarring, worked well for me, or whatever helped you with your mx scarring?
You will need to be careful of your arm after node clearance to avoid Lymphoedema, too, there is lots of advice on here, and a leaflet on dos and donts - but don’t worry too much about it though, you just need to be aware, and not get over-anxious ! Remember, if ‘gentle massaging’ of the arm is recommended, that it has to be very gentle, almost feather-like stroking, enough to ripple the skin, and no more.
You will be fine, it’s just another thing to get through…loads of steps though, aren’t there, as we’ve all found out…?
I do hope this is of some help, please don’t hesitate to ask any more questions, - there are lots of ladies who’ve been through ANC also, who I’m sure will come along to give the benefit of their experience too…I found this sharing of info invaluable, it helped me such a lot…
Take care, hope it all goes smoothly for you…(it will! ?)
Thistle x