mastectomy

mastectomy

mastectomy I was diagnosed with breast cancer on 4/5/07. I had an operation to remove what was thought to be a small tumour and some lymph nodes. The tumour turned out to be twice the size and I needed another operation last week to take a clear margin. Today I was told that the cancer is deeper and next friday I will have to have my left breast removed, then 6 months of chemotherapy followed by radiotherapy. I’m 43 years old and it’s all happened so quickly and it’s all very scary. What’s even scarier is that if I hadn’t found a cyst in my breast back at easter and was given a mamogram and ultrasound the tumour would never had been found. My consultant said the tumour was in such a place it could not be felt as a lump. I feel like I’m having a nightmare and that hopefully I will wake up from it soon and evrything will be ok.

diddly

Resources Pack Dear Diddly

I am sorry to hear of your recent diagnosis. I am sure you will receive lots of helpful advice and support from the other forum users.
Breast Cancer Care have recently published a Resources Pack which you may find helpful to read, it is filled with information to help you better understand your diagnosis, test results and the various treatments available. You can download it from the following link or you can ask for a copy to be sent to you via the helpline:

breastcancercare.org.uk//content.php?page_id=7514

I hope you find this helpful.

Kind Regards
Forum Host
Breast Cancer Care

Sorry you’ve joined us Hi diddly,

sorry you’ve had to join us! The support you will get from this website is fantastic though and I’m sure you will find it a great help.

I’m sorry to hear that you’ve already had to endure 2 ops and are now facing a 3rd next week. I was diagnosed on March 19th and was told that as my lump was so big the only option for me would be a right mastectomy. I had this the following week, on march 29th (I rememeber it well!!). As with you it all happened very quickly for me and my head was all over the place. It felt very surreal, and to be honest, like it was a nightmare I would soon wake up from. There was so much to take in. One minute I thought I had a cyst and the next I’m being told I have breast cancer and need an urgent mastectomy. I was 34 when diagnosed and naively thought I was too young! (Although I know Kylie and other younger ladies do get it,and much younger than me sadly).

I found the mastectomy to be really ok and nowhere near how I imagined it. I hope you have the same experience. Be sure to do the exercises the physios give you, at least 3 times a day. Don’t want to sound like a nag but it really will speed up your recovery. Also, I ordered the ‘exercises after breast surgery’ booklet from this website and took that into hosp with me too. Its fantastic and I found it complemented the physios exercises nicely.

Like yourself I am also having chemo and rads. I started my chemo last month and had my 3rd on weds. I am on E-CMF (all will become clear when you see the oncologist, there are a couple of different varieties of chemo and you onc will decide whats best for you). I am taking part in a trial called TACT2, where some of my chemo is accelerated. My chemo is due to last 5 1/2 months after which I’ll be having rads then hormones. Deep joy!!

I wish you all the best for your mastectomy next week and a speedy recovery. I hope the rest of your treatment also goes well. Please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing,

Take care,

Kelly
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Hi Kelly,
Thank you for your reply, Today I have been very tearful and very scared at the thought of losing my breast. I’m frightened that I will feel less of a woman and even though my Husband is very supportive, I’m frightened of how I will look to him. Even though he is constantly reassuring me that he will love me and that I will still be “me”.

I am normally a very strong person and since I was diagnosed a couple of months ago every body has told me how positive and brilliantly I am dealing with things, but now I think I might fall apart.

Everything has just happened so quickly, in 2 months my world has been turned upside down.

Dee

hi diddly Hi Diddly sorry you have joined us but you will get great support from the ladies on this site I had a masectomy in December it wasent as bad as I thought it would be I didnt have a lot of pain afterwards I have just had my 6th session of chemo so I have only got 2 to go thank god. I was worried when I came home about my husband seeing me with one boob so what I did was I had a dressing on mine so when it was time for the dressing to come off I asked him to help me take it off and he did and that was it over and done with. So maybe you could do the same. I do hope everything goes well for you Please let us know how you get on and you Take care Love Lindaxxx

Hi Dee Hi dee,

I just wanted to second something that Linda said in her reply. I was v.v.worried about how I would look after my mastectomy and was terrified at the the thought of my boyfriend looking at me. He’s young and gorgeous and I was convinced he would run a mile and just think ‘I can’t be dealing with this!’. Thankfully I couldn’t have been more wrong! I always knew we had a strong relationship but I had no idea exactly how strong until I was diagnosed. Anyway, when I got out of hospital I needed my dressings changing and I couldn’t manage them alone. I felt I didn’t want to pressure him but he was more than happy to help. He was totally unfazed when he saw me for the first time and actually remarked on what a nice neat scar it was! Involving him in changing my dressings was prob the best thing I could’ve done and I think he was pleased that I ‘let him in’ if you see what I mean.

I know exactly what you mean about everyone commenting on how strong you are and yet feeling like you could fall apart. I was exactly the same! I have felt despair, fear of the unknown and all manner other horrid things since I was diagnosed. Thankfully though, as my treatment progresses, I am finding that I am more able to adopt my previous positive outlook. I Still have lots of down days but I now have far more ‘up’ days. I hope this can be the case for you too as you start your treatment.

Take care and stay in touch,

Kelly
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I too had 3 x ops - message for Diddly I too had 3 x attempts to remove the tumour but had to have a mastectomy in the end. I had chemo first and the scans showed a reduction in the size and eventually the scan was clear. How wrong could they be - it was still there when they operated. Once I had seen the surgeon for the results after the 2nd attempt (could not get enough clearance), we discussed what to do next and i was just relieved to make the decision to have a mastectomy. I just wanted a finish to the whole thing and my husband’s attitude was great and, in his words, we decided to “whip it off and get a new one”!! I had three operations in two weeks and things moved veyer quickly for me also.

Now awaiting date for reconstruction.

Good luck with your op - I know ladies have said it before but it really isnt as bad as you fear - honestly.

Karen xx

Hi Diddly, i had some lymphs removed on friday, got to wait to see if i need rads, if i don’t i will have my masectomy on friday the 29th of this month,with reconstruction done at the same time, i’m having the back flap done, but if i need rads then i will have to have a silicone implant put in whilst i have the rads, then i will have the back flap done then i will have my chemo, all very scarey, and like you, i am 44 years old, i thought at first that it was vain to want to have a recon, but its not, is a recon not an option for you? i know my husband would rather have me with no boobs than not have me at all, and i did consider just having the masectomy,( a lumpectomy wasn’t an option for me), but i’m going for it, as i hope to one day feel whole again. take care of yourself, talk to people about it, it is scarey, and the women and men on here are fantastic, also, the telephone service is second to none

loves and hugs

Alison

Hi Hi Diddly,
This time last year I was like you.
I was dx on March 14th 06 and had two ops both with unclear margins so had to have the mast to get rid of the cancer for good. So on July 7th last year I had a mast with tram flap recon. (See profile).
It’s nearly the 1st anniversary of this op and I can’t believe how fast the last year has gone by. At the time I though having treatment would never end as I went on to have chemo, rads and started herceptin for a year last December.
You will get through all this and I send you my best wishes for your op and recovery.
Michelle.

Hi Diddy Just read your post and thought i would add my bit if that’s ok? I am just home after having a mastectomy last Friday(15th June) and it was nothing like i thought it would be.To be honest,i had more pain last month when i had wide local excision and lymph glands removed. My hubby was just as shocked as i was when we where told they had found another 2 tumors in the scaping of the first op,so the next “safest” step for me was a mastectomy and my hubby has been fantastic,(like most of the others on here it seems). I am 40 and still waiting for my life to begin…as they say!! I have spent most of my time in hospital since turning 40,but done it with a smile,(my way of dealing with it all).I am not supressing my feelings at all,just wanted rid of this horrid disease and get back to some kind of normality,for me,hubby and our son! Still got chemo and rads ahead,but bring it on,i am ready to beat this thing once and for all.The support on this site is amazing and i am so glad i found it. Take care of yourself Diddy and hope all goes well for you .Please let us know how you get on. Take care.
luv Del x :slight_smile:

Hi Didly im so sorry to hear your news, i havnt posted on this site very much but the such kind words and support from the members have made me feel comfortable sharing my partners expierence. I hope everthing goes okay for you. I just wish this desiese never existed its definately turned my world upside down.

God bless
Love
Little1

Hi Diddly Dear Diddly

Just wanted to add my support as well. I understand so much what you are saying. It goes so fast - in my case diagnosis on 16 April, left mastectomy on 22 May and now facing 6 monhs of chemo startng next week. The op is nowhere near as bad as you think. It isn’t even really painful - just uncomfortable really. I have a Becker implant which was put in at the time of the op, so am also looking at a few months of getting that inflated. Lovely!

To reassure you, my husband is better at looking at it than I am. Think the worst thing would have been to hide it away from him. And do share how you are feeling. You can be brave most of the time but you wouldn’t be human if you didn’t have a good cry every now and then. I do! And I still half think this is happenng to someone else. But you will get on with it because there is no real choice. And you will make some fantastic friends on here. People are a real lifeline.

Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Love

Dilys
xxx

post surgery Hi everyone,
Well I went into hospital last Friday 22nd and had a mastectomy on my left side. I can honestly say it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I thought I would be in floods of tears before and after the op but I wasn’t in fact as soon as I came round I looked under my gown to have a look and was ok. It was only the following day when the nurse helped me on with my bra and put my “softie” in that I had a few tears because then I felt different. But amongst the tears I cracked a joke and then we were laughing. All my friends and nurses have said that my humour will see me through. All the medical staff at the hospital were wonderful. I’ve got to have a body CT scan tomorrow 28th June, I see the breast care nurse on Friday then next Monday 2nd July I see my consultant for the histology report on the op. My husband is dreading this as each time we have been to see him he has had to give us bad news.
Well onwards and upwards from here as they say and I wait to hear when I start my chemo.
diddly

Hi diddy Hi Diddy,
so glad to hear everything went ok for you and that you found the op not as bad as you had expected. I have had my “softie” for over a week now and it still feels really alien to me,but i suppose it will take time getting used to it? I go see my consultant tomorrow,as i have had few probs with the wound,but get my histology results next Monday. I too am dreading going,as like you, everytime i have been for results,they have been bad news…so am keeping everything possible corssed(for us both) that we get good news this time?? My humour has helped me through all of this and i am still smiling,despite everything and that is what works for me and obviously you too?? Waiting to hear when the chemo will start…bring it on hey??
Wishing you all the very best for results,chemo,“softies”(LOL) and everything. Keep us updated with your progress please and maybe we can let each other know if we had good results for a change instead of bad ones??
Take care
love Del xx :slight_smile: keep smiling

Hi Diddy, well i’m off for my masectomy on friday, with recon included, so hoping that it goes as well as yours has, hope tomorrow goes well for you and that the histology report is good.

lots of love and hugs

Alison

Hi Diddly,

I am soooo glad to hear that your mastectomy went ok. Its good to hear and I hope you are continuing to recover well. I hope all went well with your CT scan today. I found it really weird when I had mine and they injected that dye in. They warned me beforehand but it still made me jump when I got an overwhelming urge to go to the loo!! All the best for your appt on Mon, please let us know how you get on. I was dreading my histology report, and although the news could’ve been a whole lot better than it was my consultant was very positive and left me feeling that there was lots that could be done. I totally understand where your hubbie is coming from as my OH has felt exactly the same!

Anyway, hope you are taking things easy and being waited on at home! Take care and be sure to let us know how your appt goes on Mon,

Kelly
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Hi,
I had my CT scan yesterday which was a bit grim as I have very poor veins due to circulation problems so they had real problems getting the cannula in. I must admit I got very upset as this has made me even more worried about what I will have to go through with the chemo. I will get the full results of my scan next week so fingers crossed eh?
Dee

Hi Dee,

Sorry to hear your CT was a bit grim. Hopefully the nurses who will give you your chemo will be much better equipped to handle your dodgy veins than the radiographers (no offence meant to them!).

I have my fingers and toes crossed that your scan results come back good. FYI, I had 25/28 lymph nodes infected and both my CT and bone scans came back clear, hurrah!! I know this may change in the future but for now I am happy. The waiting for the scan results was absolutely the worst, I worried myself sick, especially having so many nodes involved.

Take care and let us know how it goes,

Kelly
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drains!

Hi diddy

Sorry to hear about what your going through - youre at the best website there is at the moment! I had a double mastectomy on 20th june and boy what a shocker that was! I was diagnosed on the 1st June so everything has been moving so very fast I havent had time to think about it. My worst thing was the drains - I came home with 3 (Friday) and then 2 were taken out (monday) then I had another week with my “shopping bag& drain” I almost pulled it out twice when I stood up and trod on the tubing …ouch. I saw the consultant for my results yesterday and I need radiotherapy and chemotherapy. I wasnt HER2 and I’m not sure what hormone therapy I will be on but im sure I will find out when we visit the oncologist on friday. It is so surreal one day your perfectly healthy and have a great life then it changes in a second. Hang in there and remeber the more support you have the better you find the energy to deal with it. This website is a lifeline for me, it gives me all the info I need. Keep in touch and let us know how you get on.

julie g