Hi guys
So, my lumpectomy is scheduled for Tuesday 31 March. Just wondering what recovery time to expect and when do they usually start radiotherapy. Im the type of person who likes to be prepared and have a rough time frame so I can organise myself and my work commitments. My boss is very understanding and says not to worry about work and concentrate on getting better, but I need to be organised. Any insights would be appreciated.
Irms I had my radiation start about 7 weeks after my breast surgery (wide local incision). Which was a bit more than a lumpectomy. At staging they noticed a small infection which delayed the start. While I had a course of antibiotics. I knew i was having radiation. Hopefully the lumpectomy will heal quickly. My lab results changed the amount of radiation sessions. The public hospital cancer clinic I attended gave me a printed sheet of all my appointments. Starting with the chemo sessions before then once surgery was done the same for my radiation and specialist appointments. With radiation I attended 9 days a fortnight for 25 zaps.
it took longer to get there and set up than actually time getting zapped. I had left side breast cancer so did the deep breath and hold which took a bit of setting up with my snorkel device. All of that was sorted at my radiation planning session.
Positive thoughts for you on the upcoming surgery and radiation any other questions just throw them at us. We can usually answer from experience remember everyone is different but the same.
Irms - In my case I had a lumpectomy and sentinel node biopsy (on my dominant arm side) as day surgery.
The next day my arm movement was limited but with care I was able to use a keyboard and mouse and do basic things. I used my non-dominant arm for a lot of tasks such as putting away dishes, brushing teeth, etc. I was a bit tired.
By day 4 I was driving a bit but getting out and about made me tired.
By day 8 I went back to work. I have a physical partly-outdoors job so I had to make sure to get my colleague to do any heavy lifting, and I took moments to sit inside and recover after walking around too much. A few times my legs felt a bit wobbly. It was hard and tiring but it felt good to be moving and doing normal things.
There were a lot of weird sensations that happened in my armpit and arm so at times I had to grin and ignore it while face-to-face with customers.
As for radiotherapy, the Optimal Care Pathway says that radiation therapy should begin within 8 weeks of surgery for patients who do not have adjuvant chemotherapy.
In my case, two months after the first surgery I had a second surgery to remove more lymph nodes - the surgery would have been sooner but my surgeon had holidays booked. The recovery from that was more intense and I was off work for two weeks.
6 weeks after the second surgery I began radiotherapy - that might have been a bit sooner too except we'd hit the Christmas/New Year's period.
