After being in contact with a few other members, thought it would be a good idea to start a thread for those undergoing surgery early March so that we can hold each others hand and get through this together.
I have had my surgery confirmed for the 2nd March. I am having a mastectomy on my right side, immediate reconstruction using DIEP flap and full node clearance. I am really nervous, have even started having dreams about the operation, but have full confidence in both of my surgeons. The length of the operation worries me as I have never had any sort of operation in my life and don’t really know what to expect.
Hi Namar82
I am having a sentinel node biopsy on March 6th followed by mastectomy and diep flap after that (no date yet).
I, too, am pretty nervous but my Mum had open heart surgery last year and her op lasted 9 hours and she is bouncing with health now and in her 70th year.
I figure if she can do that, how much easier for us to do a 6-8 hour op and us being younger?
They paint worse case scenarios to cover their backs but it seems to me that the majority heal quicker than they expected to and are very happy with the results.
I think we just have to close our eyes, take a deep breath and trust. The very best of luck to you. x
hi guys
can i join your thread? technically i am feb cos am having my op tomorrow 29th (but if it wasnt leapyear tomorrow would be March 1st!).
you ladies are having far bigger ops than me - so feel a bit of a fraud asking to join - I am having a re-excision of margin to hopefully get a clear margin this time (had my last op in Jan 2012)
i have dcis which was found by accident when i had a fibranoma removed. staying in 2 nights with drains etc
Anyway this time round i know the drill a bit better - white surgical stockings blue gown, same surgeon, same anethiatist same hospital ward which was absolutely spotless)
i was only in clinic on mon 27th getting mri results and he offered to put me on theatre list that afternoon which was a bit too quik but this time tomorrow will be done
so Sid it 6th March for you
and Namar 2nd march for you - i will give you my good wishes now and positiv vibes as i will still be in hospital when you go in - ask loads of questions about everything, no,one minds–as a great philosopher once said ‘knowlege is power’. for example it being my first op in jnsn i though machines would breathe for me cos they put a breathing tube down yout throat but that was a myth as was told thats only there just in case and i would be doing all my own breathing (im quite ashamed to admit that as im a nurse - not in theartres tho!!! still sxcard of antestetic although was told in theatre that i more chance of being murdered than owt happen to me in theatre given my build, health etc so that kinda puts it into perspective
well only 3 more sleeps for you Namar and 7 for you Sid
take good care - will be off radar ti saturday - just thought this time next week we’ll all be post surgery , Wahey!!!
Cath
We’ve spoken before, I am due for mx and ANC on 1st March. Getting really nervous now and it’s affecting my sleep (does it show!). Not looking forward to this at all, have only just finished chemo 3 weeks ago on Thursday but glad to be getting it over and done with as soon as possible. Never had an op before so not really sure what to expect. I will have good company though as keepthefaith is also going to be the having her op on the same day so we will really be holding hands!
I wish you well for your op and anyone else who is going to join this thread.
hi everyone
hope you dont mind me joining this thread im having my 2nd operation tomorrow to get clear margin i had my first operation wle and snb on 18th jan so im not nearly as frightened this time but still pretty nervous
hi weme good luck tomorrow we can hold virtual hands together i will be thinking about you
hi cath good luck today im having same op as you tomorrow will be thinking about you we can recover together
good luck sid it wont be long for you
Good luck Namar82 will thinking about you i was terrified of going to sleep but it wasnt bad at all and i was home that night
good luck to you all
lots of love tracy x x
Hi,
I’ve recently been diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer.Had a routine mammogram as part of the ‘under 50’ programme where women are called up for screening from their 46th birthday at random. So I guess I was lucky, tho’ it doesn’t feel like that at the moment. Initial area was 2.2 cms but had MRI and another area close to the first has been found so total area 4.4cms grade 2. Surgeon says area too big to do a lumpectomy, so have appt tomorrow to see if a therapeutic mammoplasty is an option and if not it will be a mastectomy. Having a sentinel node biopsy at same time to check lymph nodes. Whatever surgery I have, it will be in March. I’m terrified but trying to be positive- tho’ I sometimes think that if one more person says that word to me I shall scream!
Good luck to everyone else who is having surgery in March or at anytime.
Hi can I join too? I’m having a WLE and SNB on March 6th. I’m 43 and went to my GP with a lump I found at the end of January. I’ve an 18mm Grade 2 tumour with as far as the ultrasound could tell no lymph node involvement.
Hope all goes well with those who have their surgery tomorrow.
Hi girls - hope I can join you all … I have my second surgery tomorrow as I have to have some lymph nodes removed, not sure how many. I had lumpectomy a few weeks ago and margins are all clear but small traces in lymph nodes… consultant says better to remove some and check… am dreading going tomorrow but I know they are only doing their best for me. I am eating all I can now before I wont have any food for hours!. Last time I was in hospital for 7am and didnt have my surgery until 3.30pm … was a long day. I shall try to post tomorrow if they let me home, hopefully they said I should just be a day patient.
Take care
Suzy
I can’t believe how many of us there are undergoing surgery of some sort during March.
I wish you all luck and will be thinking of you all. Please don’t forget to come back and tell us how you got on, how you are recovering and what the next step for you is.
I have been in for my pre-op assessment today and all is fine. Have a quick visit to hospital tomorrow evening for a blood thinning injection and then in on Friday at 10am for a 12.30pm start.
I will be in hospital for 7 days so I may not get to post on here for a while.
Remember, no matter how scared we are (believe me I am bricking it) this is a step closer to recovery and I am sure we will all be doing some virtual hand holding.
Love, hugs, luck and wishing you all a speedy recovery
Hi everybody
had my second lot of surgery on 29th as planned. The surgeon said he had cut deeper and wider round the scar tissue from taking out the fibranoma in January; I have a follow up appointment on monday 12th march to get results - hopefully there will be clear margins from the dcis that was attached to the fibranoma cos the thought of a 3rd op…
i stayed in 2 nights because of drains but to be honest i felt so rubbish from anestetic and/or morphine so didnt want to move - even now i still feel ‘woozy’ but 1 day at a time eh.
I can feel a bit of an indent in my breast but the surgeon went through the scar from jan - have got steripstrips+++ then a big dressing so cant tell if scar is any longer yet.
Sid and Girafe…good luck for nexr tuesday, hope all goes as planned, not too long now, but bet it’ll be a long weekend for you both.
Namar…hope all went well today for you.
Weme and Tracy - hope you both feeling a ‘little’ better on day 2 post surgery.
Tracy - i too was not nearly so bothered about the actual surgery this time round. i had the same surgeon, same anethitist and same nurses so felt in safe hands.
Carrie - i too am trying to think i’ve been ‘lucky’ by having had a benign tumour removed that was the only thing to revael any cancer. its the only way i can be positive cos the rest is too overwhelming just now isnt it?
last but not least Suzy…hope your surgery went as planned…there’s a few of us having 2nd ops eh…hope you were early on the theatre list and didnt have to wait long…
Well day 1 post surgery. Drain still in place draining and still in hospital. I was really groggy and sick post op but feel much better today. Good luck to those having surgery soon. I hope those having surgery today have come through the other side ok.
glad it all done now for you and on road to recovery- the sickness is awful isnt it? cyclizine injections worked for me in hospital and i brought the tablet form home with me today - hope you’re home soon.
Hello everyone, hope you don’t mind me joining in. I had surgery on 28th February - a mastectomy, after having a lumpectomy, I opted to go for it rather than keep having hopeful operations and being one step behind all the time. I’m keeping my fingers crossed now that the surgeon has got it all. I have to have both chemo and radiotherapy because of the type of cancer it was. The waiting was agony, I never knew I had such imagination before. However, I haven’t had any problems with pain on my chest, its sore under my arm where they removed the lympe nodes but I’m following instructions and doing all the excersises. Its very frightening, but we don’t really have a choice, so am trying to keep positive, but its not always easy, everyone keeps saying I’m such a positive person and I just want to yell, no I’m not, I’m really scared! Its good to hear you all getting through everything, best wishes to you all. Marian
Just an update from me … had surgery on Thursday at 10am I was number 2 on the list and I was home at 5pm with drain attached ( not a very pleasant fashion accessory I dont think it will ever overtake Prada handbags on most wanted list ha ha). I feel a bit sore today but I am able to do the exercises and I am now just awaiting visit from district nurse. Hope you are all keeping smiling and we will fight this between us girls!
Speak soon
Hello ladies, I think this is the best forum for me. I have surgery on Monday (5th) for a lumpectomy and am feeling quite scared now, although I have been really positive for the past 8 weeks since first referred. I am hoping that maybe we can keep in touch via the forum as we are all going through this together? It is hard speaking to loved ones and friends as they are all so worried on my behalf that I have had to remain strong for them - I feel as though I have become their one man support group! Had my first meltdown at 3am this morning. OH asked me what was wrong!!! I wanted to scream “WTF do you think is wrong?!” but an “everything” had to suffice. It is surprising how much better I feel for just having written this down. Thank you for reading : ).
I do have a question: for the past week or so I have had an ache / pain in my breast near my lump, and under my arm etc. is this a real pain or simply psychosomatic? A bit late if it is a real pain, but I think this is where most of my recent worry has come from. If anyone can advise I would be grateful.
Good luck to all of us having surgery in March 2012 x
its really overwhelming isnt it when you get diagnosed and you cant stay strong all the time (not even most of the time) you wouldnt be normal if you did, so don’t even try, and with your op so soon its more worry isnt it. Just spend the weekend doing nice things with people you love, it wont take your mind completely off stuff cos at the moment i expect you’ll be living and breathing BC.
If it helps any I defo feel better after this op cos even tho I dont know yet for certain if all dcis is gone, I feel like i’m another step closer to getting well. I really hope everything goes well for you on monday, will be thinking of you…let us know how you get on when you feeling up to it
Thank you cath. I am going to have a good tidy up (almost feel like I am “nesting”) and then get ready for a last night out with the girls. I will post as soon as able on Monday. Very best wishes and thank you.