Hi @ 55Jlz - your lumpectomy is one year to the day after mine.I too was worried and fearful but found extraordinary care and support by all medical and non medical staff . I felt cocooned with kindness.I did not find preadmission diffficult as I was expecting. Once the lumpectomy and I guess sentinel node biopsy is done a pathology report is available to provide a conclusive diagnosis usually a week or so later. If you are having a lumpectomy the current opinion is it is early stage breast cancer and the node biopsy is to diagnose if it has spread to determine if chemo and / radiotherapy are needed. I had microstasis in one node so a course of radiotherapy was recommended.Also my path report revealed the surgical margin was not clear so I had to go back in for re-excision which then provided clear margins.The path report will also reveal size and type of breast cancer - mine was er+ and that means 5 years of hormone therapy. Pain management after surgery was basically paracetamol.They supplied me with a free Berlei post op bra which I didn’t find that comfortable and also a great little pillow to tuck between my arm and the wound which helped greatly.I was also instructed not to lift heavy objects for a while eg shopping , washing - think was a week or so. Re bras the ah bra given to me by a friend was great - no seams and you step into it. They are sold as a type of sports bra in lots of places like K Mart , Target , Best and Less - they are cheap too .The hospital too will probably give you a huge amount of information pamphlets on many aspects of breast cancer - far more than I was able to absorb so a book is not a bad idea. It is a busy time but you will be managed by experts who will guide you through.TBH the worst time for me was when treatment ended and I no longer had the flurry of activity. Being tired might be the norm for a bit so plan for it a bit if you can. XO
