New to the forum and bc and a few questions

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Reading through all the helpful info on this site helps a lot, but I have some questions.    I feel lucky in that my bc was caught through a routine mammogram in early June- I was called back for a second screening where I had ultrasound followed by 3 biopsies.  Got my results 3 days later - 2 tumours in left, but nothing in the lymph nodes, saw the surgeon 2 days after that, he wanted me to have MRI to double check that there was nothing else.  Two days after I had an MRI scan, and I saw the surgeon again 3 (working days) after that, at which time I was advised that I needed a left mx with delayed recon and a snb, and that my date for surgery would be 29 July.   The speed at which things happened was amazing, and the treatment I’ve received from the NHS makes me so grateful that we have such a fantastic service.

 

I do feel lucky that a) my bc was caught early, but also because at my follow up appointment after surgery I was told that the snb had shown nothing in lymph glands and that I didn’t need to have either chemo or radiotherapy, but because all 3 tumours (they found another on the MRI and also a chunk of pre-cancerous cells) were strongly HR positive, I would be on tamoxifen for 5 years.   I’ve been offered the option to have recon, but didn’t want to decide right away, as daft as it sounds, I feel quite squemish about the recon, but am def considering having the other side reduced.

 

Now comes the questions which I’d be really grateful to have answered, as I don’t like pestering my bcn too many times.

 

I had one wound (healing well so far) from the mx, and don’t have a separate wound under my arm from the snb - is this normal?

 

Is it normal not to have radiotherapy or chemo?    (Everyone I know keeps telling me how brave I’ve been, but now my mind is worrying why I didn’t need these)

 

The arm and shoulder exercises - I’m now on week 5 and still can’t get my arm flat against the wall - and reading about cording, I’m beginning to think I might have this, but wonder if I’m becoming a hypocondriac!   When raising my arm, from armpit to elbow it feels like a piece of string that’s just a bit too short?

 

Is it normal to feel as though there’s something under your arm - some days it feels like an egg other days more like a french loaf!

 

Now for the really daft questions!!

 

Is it ok to shave under your affected arm?

 

How long should you wait to use deoderant under the affected arm ?  (Because of the tamoxifen I’m rather hot a lot of the time, and very concious that I might be a bit pongy!

 

From reading some of the posts, I can also say that the mx itself was a surprise, I didn’t have the pain I thought I would have and just had paracetamol as pain relief.  I had a couple of days in the second week after the op where I felt yuk, but I’ve just gone back to work today one calendar month to the day after the op on a phased return (shorter hours) with the proviso that I can play it by ear and leave earlier if I’m not feeling too great.

 

Sorry for the length of this post, I’ve been reading through some of the threads for a couple of weeks now, and waited until now to join, so quite a bit of stuff to get off my chest (no pun intended!!).

 

 

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Hi JB and welcome to the forum.  One of the golden rules here is ‘there is no such thing as a silly question’ so ask away!  To be honest you are more likely to get replies in the ‘surgery’ section of ‘going through treatment’ but I’ll do my best to answer them (I am three years on from dx)

 

One scar only - yes, it possible for node sampling to be done without the need for a separate incision if they are doing a mastectomy.  Surgeons and hospitals vary.

 

Each person’s case is treated in the way judged best for you.  Some people will not have either radiotherapy or chemotherapy.  Don’t worry unduly, but feel free to ask your surgeon when you see him/her if you want them to clarify their logic.

 

At five weeks it is entirely possible you won’t have full movement yet, just keep perservering.  I haven’t had cording but what you are describing does sound like it.  Mention this to your BCN and I’m sure you can get some physio to help.

 

The rolled-up newspaper or rugby ball sensation is pretty normal and is partly down to your poor skin and nerves being confused by what’s been done to them.  It does ease off - one day you will realise it’s not there anymore!

 

If you have had node clearance (which you haven’t) they advise you to use depilatory creams or electric shavers only; otherwise, yes you can shave, but be careful of nicks as infection may get in and even node sampling carries a small risk of lymphoedema.  Just keep away from any sore bits.  The skin on your upper arm/under your arm may be permanently numb, so it is important to keep an eye on it and to keep it moisturised.

 

You can use deodorant.  Some people prefer to use one that is paraben and/or aluminium free (some potential links to cancer) so Pitroc, Biosen or Sanex 0% are often chosen.  Again just be careful near any wounds or sore skin.

 

As you say, a mastectomy is surprisingly low in terms of pain for most people.  Once the nerves start to mend you can get ‘electric shocks’ which are a bit weird, but they do stop.

 

Hope this helps a bit - you will soon adjust to life after surgery and find that you don’t have so many questions whirling round in your mind.

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Thanks JB and Revcat, you have both answered questions for me x

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Hi welcome to the forum. I had cording after my wide local excision , and lymph node clearance. Breast care nurse told me to be more vigorous with excercises as I would need arm above head for radio therapy . I did the excercises every day but instead of circling shoulders only I lifted arm and circles while arm was uncomfortable at first but after about two weeks cording was almost gone , just pushed that wee bit harder every day. Hope this helps x

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Thank you Revcat, your reply has really helped to put my mind at ease, and especially the info about the feeling coming back into the area and for the advice to keep well moisturised.   I’ve been advised by a colleague who had lumpectomy just over a year ago, to use Bio-oil on the scar.

 

Thanks again to everyone on the forum, some great tips and advice, and good to have somewhere to ask questions or share worries - my OH has been fantastic since my diagnosis and helped change dressings when I first came out of hospital.  He’s continually reassuring me, but he was so upset and worried during the whole episode, having lost his mother many years ago to leukemia, I’m determined not to give him any undue worry.  He heard the word cancer and thought he was going to lose me - I guess most women have friends, colleagues or relations who know someone with breast cancer and so know of many “success” stories, but probably our menfolk don’t have that network. 

 

I met some lovely ladies in hospital, and both my OH and I were uplifted by some of the things they told us, but one piece of advice in particular came from a young lady’s father.    They had a family history, and her mother had had a mx some 20 years ago.    This gentleman came and sat with me and my OH on the day of my surgery and asked me to make sure that I didn’t shut my OH out.   That stuck with me, and that’s another thing I’m determined not to do.

 

Thanks again everyone

JB

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Hi JB

Normally you would have a scar under your arm if you had a lumpectomy as the tumour is often further away from the nodes, but with an mx and even a lumpectomy in some cases the snb can be done through the same incision… I had a lumectomy and only one incision here they could reach the tumour and the nodes.

If you have a lumpectomy its routine to have radiotherapy afterwards to sterilise the remaining breast tissue, however after a mastectomy its not routine as there is no breast tissue… But in some cases may still be given eg if the tumour was near the chest wall or has a high chance of recurrence.

Chemotherapy is normally given to some of the following groups… high grade tumours, large tumours, positive lymph nodes or Her2 positive tumours… Until your full pathology results are available they cannot say for certain what your treatment will be but generally they are able to give you a good idea of what your treatment plan is likely to be.

I have had cording after surgery on 3 occasions… I did walking my fingers up the wall exercise and chinese burn type exercise twisting my skin… Which helped a bit. I also had kenesio taping which didnt help for me but can help some people… Mine eventually got better on its own after a few months… If you have a bc physio ask to be referred.

I had a bit of swelling under my arm too… I had a wee bit lymphoedema following one of my surgeries but its did reduce a bit in time… Although the other side also ad surgery and sunk in the way so they are both completely different.

I shaved and used deo under my arm pretty much all the way through 3x Bc and 4x surgery and 3x radiotherapy.

Good luck