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Lukady's avatar
Lukady
Member
11 years ago

Life sucks :(

Hi, This is my first ever post on something like this so it's all a bit new and feels a bit weird but here goes .... I found a lump last month just poking up at me one morning when I woke up (I sleep naked- thank god I do or I would not have found it so soon ) was operated on last week breast conserving surgery and auxiliary clearance .. Op went well however I now have milky fluid draining instead of blood ... Turns out my thoracic duct was damaged during surgery and is leaking into where the drain is -the medial term is called 'chyle' ... It has had the nurses and doctors baffled for a week as it is apparently very rare - only 0.5% of cases .. I tell my kids I'm a "special kind of special". I would be interested in hearing from anyone who may have had this or know anything about it . i have been put on a very high protein diet as all my protein is being drained from me. And will most likely have drain for quite a few weeks (240mls per day at present drainage) I have an appointment with oncologist on Friday 13th Feb! I'm finding the fear of the unknown ( not knowing what is next) is really hard to deal with. Emotions up and down constantly which I'm sure is normal .. I tend to deal with it by going into my shell for a little while and shutting everybody out ... Hate hate hate loved ones hurting because of me .
coping
emotions

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  • mica2704's avatar
    mica2704
    Member
    11 years ago

    Once he had the chyle repair, his energy levels pepped up very quickly!
    Hope things go well for you xx

  • mica2704's avatar
    mica2704
    Member
    11 years ago

    Hi Lukalady,
    So sorry to hear about your diagnosis. One minute you are happily going about life normally and then it's like a breast cancer bomb's gone off in your life!  Fortunately there are lots of wonderful ladies here who are very supportive and will understand what you are going through.

    That time between diagnosis and finding out your operation results is a very dark time - hard to eat, sleep, concentrate, sick with fear etc., so the way you are feeling is totally normal.  Will be crossing my fingers that your results come back with the best news possible. Once you know what's going on you at least feel like you have a semblance of control.

    Regarding the Chyle leak, my father also had this when he had part of his lung removed - we were told it was a leak from the lymphatic system and he was put on a special diet too (although I think his was a very low fat diet?) which they hoped would help the duct repair itself. He ended up having to go back into surgery to repair it in the end.  Having the chyle draining out seemed to quite exhaust him so hope your energy levels aren't affected too badly. 

    Get well soon
    xx
    Michelle