Hope everyone is having a positive day x
Hi Mary grace
I was diagnosed with tubular on 22nd December and will also be having a WLE and SNB on the 25th Jan after the wires and radioactive dye. I am also a single mum with two teenage boys in fact my youngest son wants to make me cry after the op so he can see if my tears are really blue from the dye they use in theatre! You have probably read all the same stuff as me and I can’t offer any personal insight into the treatment as we are at the same stage but your thoughts and feelings certainly mirror my own. I just want to have the op over and done with so that I can start moving on I think the waiting for the treatment to begin is agonizing and I will start to feel even better about things when something concrete is happening. I consider myself to be lucky in that the prognisis is really good for our type of BC and even luckier that I was 50 last year and got called in for my first mammogram! Keep thinking positive we can get through this blip in our lives and come out the other side with a spring in our step x
Modbird, I don’t know about the tears, but it’s really bizarre looking in the loo after a wee - looks like toilet duck!
Good luck both of you with your surgery.
Marygrace, I’ve just read back on this thread and said I’d PM you, but I completely forgot, I’m sorry. (I blame that brain removal that the surgeon swears she didn’t do but I’m not sure I believe her…)
I think I was very lucky with the surgery, which I had last Monday. I hope you will both have as good a result. I had WLE and SNB, with immediate results from the SNB which said my nodes were clear, so no further armpit surgery. I woke up in agony but did get some painkillers of some kind or another which took the pain (and my brain!) away. Because I was last on the surgeon’s list for the day I didn’t go under the anaesthetic until nearly 4pm so I stayed in overnight as I really wasn’t fit to go home that evening. Went home the next day and then just went to bed. I had a meeting on the Tuesday evening, arranged from before I had the surgery date, so I got my other half to drop me off and another friend to take me back again, though if I’d felt bad I would just not have gone. I was pretty tired by the end but it was only a couple of hours and it was a voluntary group I belong to and the others are lovely, so it wasn’t like a work meeting. Had another appointment on Weds afternoon, this time for my daughter, (physio, nothing to do with cancer) so we walked the mile to the hospital and then back again - think that might have been a bit silly as I was knackered after that and then went back to bed again. But by Thursday I felt great, and because I’d been 48 hours after anaesthetic, had full movement of my arm and felt confident I would be able to perform an emergency stop, so I started driving again on the Thursday, and felt so much better for being mobile. I haven’t done any long journeys or anything, but it’s good to have my transport again.
Co-codamol did have the usual side-effects so although they were effective painkillers I found the constipation really uncomfortable, so next time I need surgery, I think I’ll just stick to paracetamol!
Because I didn’t have to have node clearance, I found that I didn’t have restricted movement of the affected arm, which was a good surprise. My surgeon also advised getting a very firm sports bra to wear day and night for three weeks, and that has been a godsend. I didn’t bring one into the hospital so the car journey home was rather uncomfortable so we stopped off at M&S on the way home and the sports bra really made a difference.
Hope that lot eases your worries a little. I realise that I have been very lucky to get through the surgery so easily and not everyone is as lucky, but sometimes the forums have reports of things people are having difficulty coping with, whereas I’ve been fine.
Hi Girls,
had my wle/snb on Xmas Eve.
Just a note, dont be concerned if you wake up & are not blue (not that we want to be) as i was given all the leaflets telling me what to expect & BCN went through possible side effects etc but when i actually came round i couldnt find a trace of blue anywhere & was advised that they hadnt needed to use it as surgeon found sentinal node straight away from mapping injection the day before surgery, so no blue wee or boob for me 
Also on the pain front,I like CM have been really lucky & have also already got full use of arm back, I didnt have to take any pain relief after surgery so am assuming that they dosed me up well when i was asleep, I took 1 nurofen (just in case) when i got home & havent had to take any pain relief since but have had days where valium would be useful (whilst waiting for surgery results).
Good luck & hope all goes well.
Sarah.xxx
Hi girls,
I had WLE on 30/12 and wee was lovely shade of blue, faded to green by day 3 ,my girls wanted to see so took piccies and they thought it was seriously cool, gave us much merriment!!!
My anaesthetist told me before that they now give a good dose of painkiller during the op to help with post op pain but I did wake up in lots of pain and had 2 lots of morphine IV into the venflon in my hand, which was great as I am seriously cowardly where needles are concerned, mind you after having had soooo many needles the last few weeks I am begining to just grit my teeth and let them get on with it and an grateful if its not boob or armpit!!!
My breast is still there, its got a space at the botton and 2 and 1/2 inch incision lines fom mid chest to nipple and in my armpit that are very tidy and healing nicely, it looks a bit mis-shapen when I put my arms up, but down apart from the scars it looks pretty darn good so far.
Unfortunately as 2 out of 4 nodes affected have to have full clearance now and they have told me the incision will be twice as long and have to have chemo and hormone treatment as well as radiotherapy.
But I have to say that the surgery part has been not nearly as bad as i expected, post op tired and sore but doing well.
I will be having the next surgery on 28/1 and results they say on 4/2 so keeping fingers crossed. BCN has said it will be more sore as they will take as many as they can find and will have a drain this time and will probably develop seroma so am not thrilled, last time sore but had almost full movement and was fine to drive after 4 days for local journeys which made me feel much better. really fed up to go into surgery so soon, but can’t be helped and will worry about the rest as it gets nearer as I can only cope with 1 thing at a time.
Still singing loudly, keeping as busy as I can and eating cake!!!
Best wishes and hugs, Bev x
Thanks to all of you for the support x
Hi, MaryGrace have been thinking of you and 25th is in my diary! If you think yu wil throw up after surgery ask anaesthetists to make the cocktail heavy on anti-emetics - they did for me. Barbara
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Marygrace, don’t rush to come home if you really don’t feel up to it. If you need to stay in overnight, just give in and stay, you’ll feel better for it and let your jailbreaker look after the kids overnight.
My surgeon made the incision around the areola so I’m expecting it to be very unobtrusive. I think it’ll be about that long but I can’t tell you yet as it still has the steristrips on. Still have a pale blue patch which looks green because of the yellow bruises, but the shape looks fine. Mine was almost central about 5cm above the nipple and even though it was in the smaller boob, they’re still a reasonably matched pair.
The underarm area is more uncomfortable than the boob itself, I feel as if I’m holding a small golfball under my arm at the moment, but I suspect that will calm down after a while. It’s only a week since I came out so I shouldn’t expect so much. I have also replaced the padded dressing as the high side of the sports bra I was told I should wear is at just the wrong place for the incision. But the mobility and everything is fine, but I only had sentinel nodes removed so didn’t have the more common problems that happen with axillary clearance.
Keep posting, that definitely helps!
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The worrying seems to be worse than the actual treatment so far, and since the biopsies the tests haven’t been too bad either. Just had day of xrays, liver scans and bone scans, the radioactive injection was in the arm and was less painful than having bloods done so came home a happy bunny. Have no idea when the results in but have just been referred to oncs but no appt yet.
I’m more worried about the gastroscopy I am having on friday that is to see if pains I am getting with my lovely gallstone are a stomach ulcer if that makes sense? Did ask to have it after the full clearance of lymph nodes but they specifically rushed it for before, makes you wonder if they think something else is going on! Mind you every ache pain or twinge makes me paranoid at the moment.
The wounds have healed beautifully from WLE and SNB but the pain has got worse. The result aesthetically at this moment is left boob slightly smaller with gap under in the middle where they removed the tissue, not obvious till I lift my arms up then pronounced, but actually am really pleased with it and if it stays like this wont want any plastics or filler done later. The incision lines neat and both are about 3 inches long. Just have to see what rads do to it! Hoping your results are at least as good, and will be thinking of you girls having your surgery on 25/1 , I have my next surgery on 28/1, results back the following friday, so fingers crossed for all of us,
Best wishes Bev xxx
Marygrace, excuse the personal question, but are you fairly well endowed in the boobage department? If so, you may find that they can do it in a similar way to a regular breast reduction, and then they offer to reduce the other one to give you a matching pair. That might be something to ask about, if you get the opportunity to speak to your surgeon before the procedure. There have been others on here who’ve had that and have been very happy with it.
Dizzy, I have a friend who had a gastroscopy a while back and she was given massive amounts of something or other that meant she simply didn’t give a monkeys about what they were doing and doesn’t really remember much about the procedure. Hopefully you’ll be too zonked to be terribly bothered as well. Good luck with the procedure though, it’s never nice to be prodded and poked so much.
Good luck to everyone having ops next week too xx
CM, I have already requested as heavy sedation as they do as they won’t put anyone completely asleep, so I’m sure it will be fine and will just be really dozy hopefully they will put me to bed for what be my best sleep since surgery before new year! Thanks for the encouragement!
Mary Grace, the gap is not too noticeable till i lift my arms and i think chicken fillets might be a pain, moving, falling out etc, look perfectly ok in lightly padded bra so am ok for now, tissue really lumpy and more sore this week tho and have had to take pain relief by bed time so probably swelling. My BCN said as its second surgery underarm having lymph nodes removed i will most likely develop seroma certainly, and need it draining regularly, which as you can imagine really cheered me up and that it may be a whole new incision that is done rather than going back through the first one. Frankly at the moment if it means no futher cancer developing my attitude is do what it takes but there are no guarantees and we can only keep careful watch continue to check ourseves and get rapid help for anything we find and keep our fingers crossed! I am just putting one foot in front of the other and trying to live a life between tests, results, surgeries and treatments and hoping that the side effects are not too bad, or they can help with them. Also maintaining a sense of humour to help keep it all human and as pleasant as it can be. Best wishes to you both, and anyone else following this thread
Bev x
Pre op done today and pronounced “fit and healthy” for surgery.
Mary grace I am on the morning surgey wires @ 8.00am nuclear @ 9.30 my onsultant said if I feel well I can go home that day. My ex is being my chauffeur and and staying to look after the boys if I stay in o/night and looking out for me if I come home. i have been a single mum for 14 years and I think this is the first time I have wished for a partner to be around to help etc, but I know that even if one magically appeared between now and Tuesday I would want him gone when I was well again. Lol.
I have been told I will have some slight deformity to the side of my breast but it won’t be neccessary for cos.surgery but to be honest i can’t even think that far ahead let alone worry to much. I think i have made more mistakes at work this week than I have since I was pregnant I can’t concentrate on much at all at the moment but I figure that’s normal.
Best wishes everyone xx
Best of luck to everyone xx
You will be fine, it’s ok and you will be on the other side in no time at all, do the post op exercises they help. You will be sore but some painkillers will make a big difference! Best wishes and hugs,
Bev x
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There is a booklet you can download from this site called *Getting fitter, feeling stronger*. It is aimed mostly at women who have had mastectomies or lumpectomies with lymph nodes removed and the goal is principly to keep shoulder moblity, although I think a lot of us agree that there are other benefits.
I haven’t had any trouble with mobility, but as I had a frozen shoulder several years ago, I am using these exercises mainly to maintain mobility following lymph node clearance. For example, instead of walking my arm up a wall, I raise it as far as is comfortable and then stretch. I don’t have as much reach behind my back, but then I never did.
You have to have your arm out of the way during radiotherapy, so it’s easier if it isn’t too stiff. Any flexibility exercises will help.