Post by marylizinmichigan on Aug 11, 2009 8:13:06 GMT -5
What I learned from my lumpectomy
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was to go in for breast cancer surgery. I would have a lumpectomy (the tumor was in the right breast, just above the nipple) and a sentinel node biopsy. Here is what I experienced:
1) I was told that after surgery, I would not be able to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. A gallon of liquid weighs eight pounds. OK, I had to do all the heavy work before surgery. I finished sanding and painting the walls in the mud room before I went in for surgery, because I had no idea how long it would be before I could do that sort of thing again.
2) I was also told that I would not be able to lift my elbow above my shoulder for quite a while. The mobility of my right arm would be restricted, and I'd have to rely on my left arm for nearly everything.
3) Before surgery, I got the house really, really clean.
4) I was warned by some fellow breast cancer patients that I would need some shirts that button in front. Since I'm a knit shirt kinda girl, I got myself a couple dressy front-button shirts for church, and a friend gave me a few more front-button shirts that I could wear for everyday.
5) I bought two sports bras. That way, I could always change into a clean one when I took the other off to wash it. I was able to find a type of sports bra that had a ZIPPER IN THE FRONT. I wore a sports bra over the compression bandage that I was given during surgery (see below).
6) I also got myself two bras that buckled in front.
7) I was told that I would have to wear a compression bandage 24 hours a day, for at least a week following surgery. During the surgery, the incisions were closed with "Steri Strips," then covered with some absorbent gauze. Over that was wrapped one of those elasticized tube tops. Yes, a tube top! Except that this tube top could come apart with velcro. So it was a big rectangle that pressed on my chest at all times. Sometimes, it cut into my skin a bit. When my skin started to complain, I had to run my hands between the elastic and my skin to allow the blood circulation to come back to the surface of my skin.
Because my breasts were pressed together, sweat would trickle down between them. I ended up putting some absorbent gauze in between to stop the unpleasant tickle.
8) For the first week or so, I wore the tube top against my skin, and the sports bra over the top. I kept wearing the sports bra for another few weeks, then switched to the bra that buckled in front.
9) After you wake up from the anaesthesia, the first time they let you up to go to the bathroom, do not be scared if your urine is a very deep shade of blue. Many surgeons will use dye to make sure they are getting all the sentinel lymph nodes out to be examined for signs of spreading cancer. I also had to go the hospital the day before surgery to have some radioactive dye injected into the sentinel lymph nodes. The dye burned like a bee sting when it was injected in several places near the nipple. I had to wait a couple of hours while the dye moved around inside me, then have a few x-ray images taken, to help the surgeon find my sentinel lymph nodes during the actual lumpectomy surgery.
10) On the day of surgery, I had dinner already prepared at home. I had a good appetite, after not eating for 24 hours.
11) For my first night after surgery, I had been given some pain pills. Vicodin. I had never taken such a high dose before. 625 mg per dose. I thought I was itching because of the bandages, but when the itching started to be all over my body, I decided that I was having an allergic reaction to the vicodin. I got out the drug instruction sheet, and sure enough, itching and trouble breathing were both listed as signs of a bad reaction. I had convinced myself that the trouble breathing was because I had received an injury to my chest, in the form of surgery. Turns out it was another symptom of an alleric reaction.
I switched to Tylonol 3 with codeine, which I tolerate well. Good thing we had some already. I only needed one dose of the Tylenol 3, and then I decided that the pain wasn't enough to bother with any more pain pills.
My advice to those who will undergo surgery is to have a back-up plan in case you have a reaction to your pain medication.
12) The day after I came home from surgery, it was time to take off all the dressings and see what my breast looked like. I thought it was a good idea to have a friend stop by. She is a retired nurse. I had no idea what to expect under all those bandages. Turns out it wasn't very gory. My friend helped my husband get me all cleaned up. My skin had been painted with iodine, and it got all over the gauze, and continued to rub off my skin for about a week. So choose carefully what you will allow near your skin, lest it be ruined by the iodine. Actually, the iodine washed out of the tube top, to my surprise.
13) For several weeks after surgery, I would walk with my arm held out stiffly to the side. I had to keep the elbow off my ribs. The incision under my arm, which was made for the sentinel lymph node biopsy, hurt the worst. The incision on my breast did not bother me much at all, because it didn't move when my arm moved.
14) I recommend you shave your underarms right before you go in for surgery. Shave EVERYTHING that you usually shave, because it won't be easy to do it for a while after surgery. Might as well give yourself a manicure and pedicure, while you're at it. Pamper yourself. It's gonna be rough for the next week or so.
15) The second day after surgery, some ladies from our church stopped by with "dinner." It was more than one meal. A whole roast chicken, lots of vegetables, salad and even dessert. It was very kind of them to put that together for me, and saved me from having to work in the kitchen for several days.
16) I got up and went for walks as much as possible. Of course, I was holding my arm out stiffly while walking. That made the muscles of my arm and neck and shoulder get very, very stiff. My husband massaged it for me. That was very painful! I had to try something else. When I saw the surgeon about a week after surgery, he said I ought to be stretching. And so I began to move my arm cautiously. I tried to increase the range of motion by making circles as big as possible. I noticed that it felt as if something were going to RIP! But somehow, it always felt better afterward. Much looser. I kept on doing the stretching and exercising for a long time. I still do some, even a year later.
The single most helpful exercise -- for me anyway -- was to sit on the couch watching TV while holding a three pound dumbell, making a football throwing motion. I would move my arm all different ways, ESPECIALLY the ways that felt painful. I would exercise gently for about a half hour, then use one of those fuzzy gel packs to ice my chest and underarm afterward.
17) I was told that the tumor had been removed with "clean margins." I thought that meant I was done with surgery. But when I had a mammogram soon after surgery, I was told that there were calcifications in the breast that would have to removed with a second surgery. Also, one of the inframammary lymph nodes had swollen. (I think it was less than 10% of women who even have "inframammary" lymph nodes, down low in the breast.) So as long as I was having the calcifications removed, the surgeon would also remove the swollen lymph node.
The second surgery went much like the first. The lymph node was biopsied and I was told it was fine. Maybe just reacting to the first surgery. The calcifications were all gone. If any new ones formed, the doctors would know it next time I got a mammogram. The reason the calcifications were important is because they can sometimes become cancerous.
18) I sleep on my side most of the night. I was much more comfortable with a folded pillow between my arms as I slept. That kept my arm from resting on my chest. It was also pleasant to elevate my arm slightly while I lay on my back. It cut into my sleep to have to re-arrange pillows all the time, but it was the best way to sleep deeply, once I did fall back asleep.
19) Oh, and the anaesthesia wiped me out! Especially after the second surgery, only two months after the first. I slept HARD! I needed to heal my body. So I didn't fight it at all. When I was sleepy, I took a nap.
I think that's all I can remember that might be helpful to someone else. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, and I'll try to answer you.
MaryLiz in Michigan
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I was to go in for breast cancer surgery. I would have a lumpectomy (the tumor was in the right breast, just above the nipple) and a sentinel node biopsy. Here is what I experienced:
1) I was told that after surgery, I would not be able to lift anything heavier than a gallon of milk. A gallon of liquid weighs eight pounds. OK, I had to do all the heavy work before surgery. I finished sanding and painting the walls in the mud room before I went in for surgery, because I had no idea how long it would be before I could do that sort of thing again.
2) I was also told that I would not be able to lift my elbow above my shoulder for quite a while. The mobility of my right arm would be restricted, and I'd have to rely on my left arm for nearly everything.
3) Before surgery, I got the house really, really clean.
4) I was warned by some fellow breast cancer patients that I would need some shirts that button in front. Since I'm a knit shirt kinda girl, I got myself a couple dressy front-button shirts for church, and a friend gave me a few more front-button shirts that I could wear for everyday.
5) I bought two sports bras. That way, I could always change into a clean one when I took the other off to wash it. I was able to find a type of sports bra that had a ZIPPER IN THE FRONT. I wore a sports bra over the compression bandage that I was given during surgery (see below).
6) I also got myself two bras that buckled in front.
7) I was told that I would have to wear a compression bandage 24 hours a day, for at least a week following surgery. During the surgery, the incisions were closed with "Steri Strips," then covered with some absorbent gauze. Over that was wrapped one of those elasticized tube tops. Yes, a tube top! Except that this tube top could come apart with velcro. So it was a big rectangle that pressed on my chest at all times. Sometimes, it cut into my skin a bit. When my skin started to complain, I had to run my hands between the elastic and my skin to allow the blood circulation to come back to the surface of my skin.
Because my breasts were pressed together, sweat would trickle down between them. I ended up putting some absorbent gauze in between to stop the unpleasant tickle.
8) For the first week or so, I wore the tube top against my skin, and the sports bra over the top. I kept wearing the sports bra for another few weeks, then switched to the bra that buckled in front.
9) After you wake up from the anaesthesia, the first time they let you up to go to the bathroom, do not be scared if your urine is a very deep shade of blue. Many surgeons will use dye to make sure they are getting all the sentinel lymph nodes out to be examined for signs of spreading cancer. I also had to go the hospital the day before surgery to have some radioactive dye injected into the sentinel lymph nodes. The dye burned like a bee sting when it was injected in several places near the nipple. I had to wait a couple of hours while the dye moved around inside me, then have a few x-ray images taken, to help the surgeon find my sentinel lymph nodes during the actual lumpectomy surgery.
10) On the day of surgery, I had dinner already prepared at home. I had a good appetite, after not eating for 24 hours.
11) For my first night after surgery, I had been given some pain pills. Vicodin. I had never taken such a high dose before. 625 mg per dose. I thought I was itching because of the bandages, but when the itching started to be all over my body, I decided that I was having an allergic reaction to the vicodin. I got out the drug instruction sheet, and sure enough, itching and trouble breathing were both listed as signs of a bad reaction. I had convinced myself that the trouble breathing was because I had received an injury to my chest, in the form of surgery. Turns out it was another symptom of an alleric reaction.
I switched to Tylonol 3 with codeine, which I tolerate well. Good thing we had some already. I only needed one dose of the Tylenol 3, and then I decided that the pain wasn't enough to bother with any more pain pills.
My advice to those who will undergo surgery is to have a back-up plan in case you have a reaction to your pain medication.
12) The day after I came home from surgery, it was time to take off all the dressings and see what my breast looked like. I thought it was a good idea to have a friend stop by. She is a retired nurse. I had no idea what to expect under all those bandages. Turns out it wasn't very gory. My friend helped my husband get me all cleaned up. My skin had been painted with iodine, and it got all over the gauze, and continued to rub off my skin for about a week. So choose carefully what you will allow near your skin, lest it be ruined by the iodine. Actually, the iodine washed out of the tube top, to my surprise.
13) For several weeks after surgery, I would walk with my arm held out stiffly to the side. I had to keep the elbow off my ribs. The incision under my arm, which was made for the sentinel lymph node biopsy, hurt the worst. The incision on my breast did not bother me much at all, because it didn't move when my arm moved.
14) I recommend you shave your underarms right before you go in for surgery. Shave EVERYTHING that you usually shave, because it won't be easy to do it for a while after surgery. Might as well give yourself a manicure and pedicure, while you're at it. Pamper yourself. It's gonna be rough for the next week or so.
15) The second day after surgery, some ladies from our church stopped by with "dinner." It was more than one meal. A whole roast chicken, lots of vegetables, salad and even dessert. It was very kind of them to put that together for me, and saved me from having to work in the kitchen for several days.
16) I got up and went for walks as much as possible. Of course, I was holding my arm out stiffly while walking. That made the muscles of my arm and neck and shoulder get very, very stiff. My husband massaged it for me. That was very painful! I had to try something else. When I saw the surgeon about a week after surgery, he said I ought to be stretching. And so I began to move my arm cautiously. I tried to increase the range of motion by making circles as big as possible. I noticed that it felt as if something were going to RIP! But somehow, it always felt better afterward. Much looser. I kept on doing the stretching and exercising for a long time. I still do some, even a year later.
The single most helpful exercise -- for me anyway -- was to sit on the couch watching TV while holding a three pound dumbell, making a football throwing motion. I would move my arm all different ways, ESPECIALLY the ways that felt painful. I would exercise gently for about a half hour, then use one of those fuzzy gel packs to ice my chest and underarm afterward.
17) I was told that the tumor had been removed with "clean margins." I thought that meant I was done with surgery. But when I had a mammogram soon after surgery, I was told that there were calcifications in the breast that would have to removed with a second surgery. Also, one of the inframammary lymph nodes had swollen. (I think it was less than 10% of women who even have "inframammary" lymph nodes, down low in the breast.) So as long as I was having the calcifications removed, the surgeon would also remove the swollen lymph node.
The second surgery went much like the first. The lymph node was biopsied and I was told it was fine. Maybe just reacting to the first surgery. The calcifications were all gone. If any new ones formed, the doctors would know it next time I got a mammogram. The reason the calcifications were important is because they can sometimes become cancerous.
18) I sleep on my side most of the night. I was much more comfortable with a folded pillow between my arms as I slept. That kept my arm from resting on my chest. It was also pleasant to elevate my arm slightly while I lay on my back. It cut into my sleep to have to re-arrange pillows all the time, but it was the best way to sleep deeply, once I did fall back asleep.
19) Oh, and the anaesthesia wiped me out! Especially after the second surgery, only two months after the first. I slept HARD! I needed to heal my body. So I didn't fight it at all. When I was sleepy, I took a nap.
I think that's all I can remember that might be helpful to someone else. Please feel free to ask me any questions you might have, and I'll try to answer you.
MaryLiz in Michigan