Hi,
I’m just wanting to connect with any others here who are having surgery in the very near future? I’m 54 with 3 older children. Having 3 Sentinal nodes removed on 8th January and having a mastectomy of my left breast with DIEP reconstruction hopefully very soon after.
Are there any others out there who are due to have surgery very soon too?
Thanks and hoping to hear
Sam
xxx
Hi Sam
I am due to have surgery in January 2020 but I don’t have a date for it yet. I had a lumpectomy on 19 November and a sentinel node biopsy. However, due to the size of my tumour and no clear margins it has now been recommended that I have a mastectomy (pathology showed it was bigger than MRI indicated otherwise I would have had a mastectomy in the first place). I have opted not to have reconstruction at this stage for various reasons. I am also having an armpit node clearance at the same time as the SNB indicated that one of my nodes had cancer in it. I have just turned 56 and also have 3 adult children. I had hoped by now to be clear of surgery but unfortunately not.
Hi there. I am having a mastectomy and lymph node clearance in jan too. When is your op?
Hi to all on the thread,
I am booked in to have a mastectomy and axillary node clearance very soon - this Thursday in fact (2 January). I had my final pre-op blood tests at the hospital today and have got my hospital bag packed, so my upcoming surgery is now feeling very real! I have been having neo-adjuvant chemotherapy for my HER2+ tumour over the past five months, which has been very successful in that it has completely dissolved the tumour and cleared the one lymph node which was affected. Due to the size and location of the tumour, I have known from the beginning that I would always have to have a mastectomy, and I have chosen (for the moment at least) not to have a reconstruction as I have already been off work for six months and am keen to try to return to a more normal life as soon as possible. After surgery I will still have to have 14 cycles (every three weeks) of herceptin and perjeta infusions, but thankfully this is not chemo and does not have too many side effects. I have already had four cycles of these infusions together with the chemo drug docetaxel, and before that had two cycles of EC chemo.
I am feeling a bit nervous about the surgery, but if all goes well it will involve just one night in hospital, after which I will be discharged home with a drain for a few days. I have been given a useful goody bag from my BCN, which includes a drain bag, a heart-shaped cushion on which to rest your arm, and a couple of softie prostheses of different sizes. I will be fitted for a silicone prosthesis in about six weeks. I have been told by the BCN that the axillary node clearance is likely to cause the most pain/problems after the operation, and she has emphasised that the risk of lymphoedema is high after an ANC, so it is particularly important to do the post-op arm exercises.
Good luck to everyone who is about to have surgery. Hopefully we will get through it without too many problems, and will be one step further on towards our recovery.
Blackcat xx
Hi ladies
I’ll be joining you guys having surgery in January. I will be having a mastectomy and DIEP reconstruction on 29th. I was diagnosed 12/12 with DCIS and a small invasive cancer in my right breast having had a total duct excision on 26/11 to find out why I was having a nipple discharge. The results were a complete shock.
It’s rubbish that we are having to go through this but I take comfort in the fact that I won’t be going through it on my own.
I have a CT scan tomorrow to check the blood flow in my tummy for the DIEP, never had one before and no idea what to expect. Any tips? Do I need to wear a gown for it?
Good luck January peeps.
Laura x x
Hi everyone on this thread.
This is my first post.
I have completed neo adjuvant chemotherapy followed by lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy December 2019. Unfortunately margins were not clear and now require mastectomy due 13th January. Am anxious having 2 list of surgery so close together.
Hope all that have had surgery are recovering well.