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The anaesthetist should be able to give her something prior to surgery if she is anxious. Also, don't forget to let him/her know if she has suffered from nausea after anaesthetic in the past. My other big tip is to keep up the pain relief, but also make sure that constipation doesn't get the slightest look in. And if she's staying in a couple of days and the hospital has a garden, take some easy slip on footwear and a decent dressing gown - you're supposed to get up and walk and it's much nicer to do that in a garden than it is to do laps of the corridors (make sure the surgeon gives permission).1
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Hi All,
So sorry I’ve not been
back earlier, just been head down and busy supporting where and when I can.Thank you for your
wishes and thought, the 158th was a long day for all but all went
well, Karen has had the procedure as described with an area of around 80mm
removed, the node however were a tad deeper than expected and as such took a
bit more to take away. Karen received the best of care from everyone and only
needed to stay in the one night (as expected).We took some of the
suggestions mentioned earlier in this thread and the weekend prior enjoyed some
time out and hit the shops, some food joints and just had a good time. Now we’re
on the other side an d a couple of weeks post-surgery Karen is feeling much
better about things, she is sore as expected however more so from under her arm
pit as this was also a drain site due to how deep they needed to go to get a
couple of her nodes but as from today is much easier to deal with. Karen is
back to being herself mostly and whilst still having discomfort she seems to be
dealing with her diagnosis in a more positive attitude still however worried on
the post-surgery visit which is scheduled this week to find out from the lab if
all was removed and / or this has spread any.I’ll keep you informed on her final results and if all good, the next
stage will be radiation therapy for a number of weeks and medication which was
all as expected. The treatment team here in WA are fantastic, caring and
supportive and we pass huge thanks for them to date, I ended up setting up a “Go
Pink” site highlighting that whilst we all know about this issue and donate,
support, help etc when we can, you never really understand how involved or how
many are effected from this and asked my friends and family to pass around my
link to friends and family and see what we can raised to help this foundation.
One of Karen’s best friends donated $250 in one hit and while she lives 600KM’s
away she has been a wonderful support for Karen so much so she jumped on a
train to come down the weekend before surgery to spend a couple of days with
her as we hosted a birthday party for our 23 year old and had a dress up event
and had a ball.Love to you all and our thoughts to those having to experience
this worry as a newly diagnosed, it does get a bit easier.
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Thanks @lrb_03 well yesterdays visit provided some great news and some not so great. So summarise its a bit of dejavu:-
Two steps forward and one back, received the lab results
from the post-surgery breast tissue with some great news and again not so great
news.Good News
The five nodes removed from Karen’s armpit have come back cancer free. We guessing
and very grateful the cancer cells have not spread.Not so Great
The results from the breast tissue examination has given small indicators that
some cancer cells remain, this means a second surgery is needed however it was
recommended an MRI be completed first to see how much more tissue might be
needing to be removed. This has brought us down a tad, but we will get back up
and push through, the processes Karen went through prior the first surgery won/’t
need to be done again before a second operation, it would however mean, opening up the same
scare and cavity removing more tissue.At this stage the MRI Appoint 20th
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Hi Gavin. That happened to me as well. It's disappointing and frustrating, but it didn't cause any problems with the scar. K xox1
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Hi @GavinCh Sorry to hear that. It is something I had to go through as well. It is not at all uncommon for people to have to do this. It will be easier as no nodes will be taken and a quicker recovery. Once I had my re excision and they got results back I then had an MRI where they then found high grade DCIS ( cells in situ ) so then after chemo I had to had to have a Mastectomy. Touch wood for you both Karen only needs the re excision and you can both move forward after it. Thoughts are with you both xo1
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It really is often the node surgery that is the hardest to deal with as there's the nerve complications - disheartening but not at all unusual to have to go back for a second op1
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For me, we have received some great news.
Whilst we have taken a step back I’m so
thankful at where we’re at right now. Karen has agreed and knows it, but still
it is a bummer.We will see what the MRI has to say and take
the needed steps from the results.Thank you all for your support, I so thankful
I joined this forum.And for those asking, yes, I’m fine (Karen
checks in on me as well “lol) but I’m not over doing things and ensuring Karen
does a bit (the things she is able) around the home so she keep moving around
and exercises as such
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Yesterday was the day we would know the MRI results, a day Karen was
dreading, this was to find out how much more cancer cells were still to be
removed.Karen was again in tears, however tears of joy, happy tears as she was told
that, even though some cells still need to be removed this was the first good
news we had received since the start of Karen's Journey, we both quietly
expected the MRI to show a large number of cells needing to be dealt with
however this time we were informed Karen didn’t have a huge amount to go, the
MRI has shown there is little left to go.Karen is scheduled for a second operation and booked in for Monday next
week, she won’t need a drain like last time and will be in and out the same day.
She’ll need to take care post-surgery again but it won’t be as hard on her as
the operation last month. So to recap, Karen has clear nodes meaning no spread
of cancer, she’ll have the last of the BC cells removed Monday.Post-surgery we will head be back at Fiona Stanley around two weeks later to
get the beast tissue results again (will be clear, I just know it) then a month
after surgery Karen will be needing radiotherapy, we were advised yesterday for
three weeks however before that it was give, so unsure how long just yet.
followed by medication (tablets) for five to seven years.I'm hoping this positive news will provide some inspiration to those
currently waiting for information or treatment, please don’t give up, be
positive and fight the good fight.BTW, I’m “Going Pink” next month to raise
both awareness and funds to help however I can, I have the full backing of the
company I work for and our HR General Manager has emailed to all 15 entities
within our business which will reach 1000’s of our staff.
Not going that fast or high right now, but the message is out there.
I know this post has been long winded, but I wanted to keep all our details /
story in the one place and will bring all up to speed in a couple of weeks.Once again we thank you guys for your support for Karen and
pass love and thanks.
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Interesting question Patti J, this had me
reading the original posts again and was mentioned on page one, She didn't wish
to join the forum. Not sure I understand why the question sorry, my main reason for reaching
out was because my wife struggled to accept her situation due to her aunt
passing with BC. I also needed an outlet as Karen didn't wish to talk about BC,
even after the paperwork provided about it through WA Breast Care, still finds
this road very hard. Being able to share has also allowed me to better
understand this disease, hoping this provides enough reasoning for you.4
