Lumpectomy: Share your questions, experiences, advice

Hello @Maryquitecontrary‍, thank you for sharing your lovely poem with us!  How did your appointment at the clinic go?

Has anyone else here undergone a lumpectomy? Can you share your experience? What was the procedure and recovery like? If you haven't do you have any questions or concerns about it?
@Lindanaude69‍ @KarenK62‍ @NaturalApproach‍ @Nannycakes‍ @Ponytail‍ @Bluebird295‍ @Angiepops‍ @Snowie36‍ @Susanmiller‍ @Mandymoo5467‍ ‍@Bronners‍ @Trifle‍ @Angel-1402‍ @Jill780‍ @Xxlisa‍ @Shulabelle‍  

Don't hesitate to share here!

Take care,
Courtney

@Courtney_J  Hi I’m new to this forum. I got diagnosed with what they thought was DCIS back in October after my first ever mammogram.I was in complete shock and my mood was badly affected as were my anxiety levels. This lead to surgery/ lumpectomy call it. I had to have wires inserted for the margins as I had numerous sites. This was a painful and traumatic experience and I was in tears throughout the procedure - I have to say the staff were fantastic and if they could have hugged me I have no doubt they would. I went straight down for the op after this. I was petrified as had never been in hospital for anything other than childbirth before and had never had an anaesthetic. The nursing staff in day surgery were not the most sympathetic to be honest but the surgeon and anaesthetist were very patient and answered all my questions. All I remember about having the anaesthetic was asking what they were putting on my head ( monitors for brain activity apparently) and the next thing I remember is waking up with lots of people round me. This really freaked me out especially when they kept telling me to relax ( I think past issues from childhood didn’t help) my pain was awful and I was given loads of pain relief. I was in tears once I had come round enough to know what was going on around me.It felt like the nurse was in a hurry to get me discharged so I felt rushed into having a drink and something to eat which I really couldn’t face but did as I was told, then a trip to the toilet and I was told to get dressed so my husband could take me home. For me recovery was slow, partly due to the pain and partly due to my mood and anxiety. I was taking co-codamol which didn’t help and was very wobbly and shaky as well as having panic attacks when we even stepped outside the front door. My gp was brilliant and offered lots of support and reassurance. I had an infection and an allergic reaction to the surgical glue which didn’t help.

unfortunately when I went back to the consultant for my results I was told that they had discovered invasive ( cancerous cells) and it had spread past the margins that were taken. I had my second surgery on 8th December to remove more breast tissue and some lymph nodes to make sure it hadn’t spread. My experience this time was totally different. The nursing staff were amazing and could not do enough for me. The surgeon was the same as last time and again was patient and explained everything as did the anaethetist. I had a nerve block to help with pain this time which did really help. I was calmer when coming round and the nurses in recovery were great - my blood pressure spiked for some reason but they explained what was happening and kept me calm. Once it had come down I was monitored for 3 hours on the ward. Where I was given a sandwich and a drink. This time with no pressure to do anything. Because I had lymph nodes taken once the nerve block wore off the pain was different from before - hit needles in my armpit and the feeling that I have a cuff round my upper arm- my fingers and hand tingle and go numb every so often. My armpit is numb to touch as is part of my upper arm and elbow. The surgeon said I probably have nerve damage as he took 6 lymph nodes rather than just 2 so I am taking gabapentin which does help but I am still sore and get a lot of pain if my arm is in the same position too long so trying to sleep is tricky even with a pillow under my arm. I was told they got all the cancerous tissu this time and it wasn’t in my lymph nodes but the cancer is HER2 positive so they have recommended chemo. I have an appointment with the oncologist tomorrow to discuss this and have so many questions. My biggest worries are whether it has spread without going to lymph nodes and whether our two daughters could get it. Has anyone else had similar experiences ?

@Courtney_J‍ 

Hello again. Hope you had a good Christmas!  Thanks for the comment on my poem.  My hospital appointment came and went - results showed clear lymph nodes but they found an extra DCIS as well as the invasive tumour.  It saved me having to have a second op so was grateful to the very thorough surgeon who searched and found it as she said she had a feeling there was more.  Started Exemestane straight away with calcium and Vit D supplements. No chemo required thank goodness. Had my Oncology appt last week and have a radiotherapy planning appt on the 4th Jan to mark up ready for treatment which will happen sometime in January or early Feb. It’s all happened so quickly I’m very grateful to our amazing NHS that so many criticise.  I still have lots of fibromyalgia pain so wouldn’t notice any Exemestane side effect bone pain but I have started having a few hot flushes in the evenings. Otherwise I feel very well.  My scars are completely healed so I’m using E45 to moisturise.  That’s about it really so thank you for asking.  I’ll report back on my radiotherapy experience. 

@Jedbear I just wanted to say - I had breast cancer back in 2014 followed   by  chemo and radiotherapy. I had these because mine was triple negative - which is more unusual and can be linked to family cancers. To make sure  there was not a - gene - in the family - we went for tests - which they can do - and thankfully there was no family gene. Wishing you all the best with treatment - my advice is - just get through it. M 1 

Just had date for my lumpectomy/lymph node removal 20th Jan. Dreading the sentinel node injection/dye on the day of the op. Never had an op so pretty terrified. Believe it is Stage 2, Grade 3 ductal invasive, started on estrogen inhibitor already