Feeling a little lost
Hi Ladies, I was diagnosed with locally advanced triple negative IDC last October. Started chemo in November and just finished the last round on Friday. Chemo started with paclitaxel weekly + ca...
Forum Discussion
Hi @ilovewhenitrains your thoughts sound very familiar! I wanted to know exactly what to expect too.
In regard to surgery, I had a lumpectomy that took 1/4 of my breast, which apparently was quite a lot for a lumpectomy. It wasn’t nearly as bad as I feared though. It only hurt if I moved, and it got better quite quickly. There was a plastic patch over it that stays on for at least a week, so you won’t need to see the result until it heals up a bit and you adjust to the idea of it. You will be able to choose whether it’s a temporary flat chest or not after you have lived with it for a bit - that’s good I think.
I had a day or two off work , still responding to email queries on my phone but then got up and worked full days from home. It was lockdown so that was normal.
I only had the sentinel lymph node removed, but that was enough to cause cording a bit later on - you can get a soft “lymphodoema ball” to roll over the whole area which seems to help a lot. (After the scars have healed a bit, maybe a few weeks.)it’s just a squishy ball like a tension release squeezey ball.
As to radiation that doesn’t hurt at all. You just lie on a bed every day and they zap you with a big machine. You can’t feel it. It’s like having a scan. Keep rubbing in the creams a few times a day to protect you from peeling/skin breakdown . with a mastectomy they might give you a big silicone patch to protect the skin. You might feel a bit drained towards the end and afterwards for a few weeks.
As to radiation that doesn’t hurt at all. You just lie on a bed every day and they zap you with a big machine. You can’t feel it. It’s like having a scan. Keep rubbing in the creams a few times a day to protect you from peeling/skin breakdown . with a mastectomy they might give you a big silicone patch to protect the skin. You might feel a bit drained towards the end and afterwards for a few weeks.
Then once it’s all done, keep all your appointments and scans and if it comes back you will deal with it. But you know - anything can happen to anyone at any time so you just have to accept that illness happens to everyone at some stage and look after yourself to reduce the chance of recurrence of this particular illness.
Everyone gets scanxiety after their initial treatment, but in a way I look forward to the scans, because I’m more afraid of them not finding something early enough. If they find something they can treat.
I was lucky enough not to have to have chemo, but from others reports I would imagine it’s the worst part and you are already over that. I’m sure it would make you less emotionally resilient too, so as you get stronger after it you will probably feel less teary.
I hope that helps and I wish you all the best with the rest of your treatment, feel free to ask questions! 🤗
Everyone gets scanxiety after their initial treatment, but in a way I look forward to the scans, because I’m more afraid of them not finding something early enough. If they find something they can treat.
I was lucky enough not to have to have chemo, but from others reports I would imagine it’s the worst part and you are already over that. I’m sure it would make you less emotionally resilient too, so as you get stronger after it you will probably feel less teary.
I hope that helps and I wish you all the best with the rest of your treatment, feel free to ask questions! 🤗