Mastectomy and Chemotherapy
I had my mastectomy on June 1 2011. I had to wait six weeks from being told I would need to have my breast removed to the operation. It felt like an eternity but it was probably a good amount of time to get my head around the loss of my breast and to grieve for it.
I went through every stage of the grieving process. I even had a ‘bye bye booby party’, I know it sounds quite weird but it was the best way I knew how to say goodbye to a part of me that had nurtured my three children and had been such a big part of my life.
We had plates of titillating food; I said thanks for the mammeries; and people had to come up with an unusual use of my new breast prosthesis. There were some downright hilarious ones, such as 1st place when the kids in the back seat of the car get tired, I can just pop out the prosthesis and they can use it as a pillow. 2nd place was don’t use a prosthesis and use the bra space as a convenient small handbag for storing keys, phone etc. 3rd place involved cutting the prosthesis up if you run out of chicken fillets when preparing meals.
The actual mastectomy went well, but I lost a lot of blood and required three blood transfusions and stayed in hospital for a week. I had to have excess fluid drained twice a week for two months. Thankfully the area they used to put the needle in had no sensation as the needle was huge. I even found a release for the stress of excess fluid; the doctor, my hubby and I would take bets as to how much would be drained. I never won but the doctor was good and I often took cakes in to pay my dues.
I went away on holiday before I started chemo. This was a good break between the mastectomy and the chemo, I had a great holiday with my cousin and we made a pact that we wouldn’t mention the ‘C’ word.
Chemotherapy, a word I never thought I would ever need to utter again after my dad had to endure it, was not something I was looking forward to. As everything happens I experienced chest pain during my first treatment of FEC100 chemotherapy and ended up in hospital for the night. Great! The next day I had a stress test and found out that it was the chemo drugs that had probably caused the chest pain.
I have endured four treatment cycles of chemotherapy so far, with two remaining. After the third cycle I caught the flu, not just a cold but the real influenza which meant that chemo had to be pushed back a week as I was still unwell.
This treatment, the fourth, has been the roughest so far. I have experienced nausea, lack of taste sensation and my body just aches all over.
I have a great family support system, my hubby is fantastic but all of our friends have stayed away in droves as if they will catch it or something. I feel sorry for my hubby as he has no-one to offload his worries and thoughts other than to me and vice versa. The children’s’ school has been wonderful with school mums’ delivering meals and bringing home children when the weather has been inclement.
Does anyone else had friends that have turned the back on you when you need support? I just can’t understand why they wouldn’t even call to see how we are going? It is frustrating and hurtful to say the least.
