Quietly Freaking Out - Lumpectomy in less than two weeks

JodieMaree

Hi. Diagnosed mid October with invasive ducal breast cancer, early stage 2. Decided to have a lumpectomy followed by radiation. Surgery in two weeks and I probably should not have googled results when I couldn’t find anything about the outcome on this site. For those that have had a lumpectomy, does it leave you deformed? I’ve got a 2cm tumour at 2 o’clock. Is it keyhole or incision surgery? I have an appointment with the surgeon on Thursday, last visit was information overload and I only really heard half of what he said. TIA

Julez1958

Hi @JodieMaree
Freaking out is normal!
The best advice my GP gave me when delivering my BC diagnosis was to take a trusted person to all important medical appointment to have another set of ears.
I took my hubby who luckily was retired and this worked well.
There were funny moments like when the plastic surgeon showed us the various implants and then took me behind the curtain to examine  me.
Hubby said he was dying to feel the various implants but was worried he might be caught and look like a pervert!
I had mastectomy as my cancer was so big but it all depends  in your situation.
Everyone is different but we all have a certain commonality.
This website and forum is a great resource.
The emotional impact of this diagnosis is just as important as the physical stuff.
I found the Charlotte Tottman  podcasts on here very helpful .
Take care🌺

Afraser

This is scary stuff and we all have to deal with it the best we can. Part of that is to hold yourself in high esteem. Think well of yourself and your body. So disfigured doesn’t figure. Scars, probably. Chances are, they’ll be your record of surviving cancer. A badge of pride, like duelling scars used to be, although duelling was optional and cancer doesn’t give you too many choices! With any luck and a thoughtful surgeon, they’ll be small. Fear not, we are still who we are, scars or no scars, boobs or no boobs. Very best wishes. 

JodieMaree

@Julez1958 Luckily my hubby has been able to come to the appointments, I think with the first surgeon appointment we were both still in shock. I’ve written down some questions for this week’s appointment. Thank you for the reminder about the Charlotte Tottman podcast. I remember reading about her podcast but couldn’t remember her name. 

@Afraser I like the idea of referring to the scars as a badge of pride. I didn’t think this would worry me as much as it is now. 

AnnieMichelle_123

Hi Jodie, My name is Ann and I live in Melbourne. I am sorry to hear that you have received this diagnosis after the testing and now on a treatment pathway. I had a similar diagnosis and my lump was ten o'clock on my left breast. The lump was excised in mid July and I had three weeks of radiotherapy in early September. With good advice from my breast care nurse, surgeon and the radiotherapy nurses, I learned to look after the scar and the skin during radiation, In my case, the breast looks the same as before surgery and only the scar remains on my left breast and a faint scar where my lymph nodes were removed. Hold on to the positive and to hope. I was also very worried that my breast may have been disfigured. However, this is not the case and I am full of gratitude to the expertise of breast conserving surgery. Using information from BCNA and Cancer Council was helpful and not going down the unending path of Dr Google. All the very best for your surgery soon. Contacting a breast care nurse may be very helpful at this time. 
Cheers
Ann

Leach

Hello @JodieMaree, 
I had 3 (large) lumpectomies within 5 weeks recently.  

Other than the scar , I didn’t even notice the loss of breast tissue. I do have large breasts and my surgeon did say that breast tissue is “very forgiving”. I noticed a bit more of loss after 3rd, but only marginal and not noticeable with bra on.
Unfortunately I have extensive DCIS and am now preparing for bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. Something I would’ve freaked out about when I was first diagnosed, but now adjusting to it and seeing the benefits. 

You will adjust and cope more as time goes by as you get this behind you. Hit your surgeon up with all the questions. All the best on your journey xx 

arpie

Hi @JodieMaree - great that your hubby is with you at your meetings - also consider recording your appointments too - so you can go over it again later one, as you noticed, it is very difficult to remember everything that was said xx. Specially after your surgery when you get your results.

Try not to get ahead of yourself & it is best to stay away from Dr Google .... as a lot of the info is old & outdated & probably not relevant to your own diagnosis xx. 

Re how 'tidy' a lumpectomy can be - I am VERY happy with my result - I believe most Breast surgery would be by incision.  Mine was also in the 2 o'clock position and my surgeon basically 'lifted' my nipple & did everything from underneath it - including removing the Sentinel nodes.  He also 'moved around' some spare breast tissue to fill in the 'hole' and then reattached the nipple. So I have VERY little scarring.  (I'd never noticed that that boob was bigger than the other one!  So now they are the same size!). It all healed beautifully with virtually no scarring.  My Rad Onc often had to look twice, to see which one she needed to examine! 
I was advised to buy some 'scar reducing' gel to rub on the scar once the stitches were removed called Keto-Cote -and I think that really helped reduce the scarring.   It is only a small tube - but you only need a tiny dab as a little bit goes a long way.

I call mine 'battle scars' & a battle that I have won!     Definitely, listen in to the Charlotte Tottman podcasts ....  here's the link on Soundcloud .... start at No 13 & go down, then back to the top for the most recent series! 


Take care & all the best for your appt this week. 

Have you been assigned a breast care nurse yet?  They can help you with many queries too. 

cranky_granny

Hi @JodieMaree welcome to the site that it full of helpful information and support. 
everyone is different it all depends on size and location. 
i had my lumpectomy/ breast conserving surgery in 2017. Everyone is different i do have a dent where my tumour was removed but its not usually visible mine was at 9 o’clock the bugger had attached to my skin, muscle and chest bone they did know that going in. The surgeons were very pleased with the job they did and I’m not unhappy I’m still here 6 nearly 7 years later with my battle scars. 
take each day as it comes never dr google only use reputable sites like here and cancer council just to name 2
best wishes for your upcoming surgery and do keep us updated on how its all going