Realistic Expectations?

Hi Blizz and Karen,

Good luck Karen for your surgery tomorrow.

Your breast nurse should give you a horseshoe pillow which you keep it reallycomes in handy to sleep with.  I also bought a small rectangle pillow that i still sleep with today 19months later. Being comfortable is so important so hang in there girls and take one day at a time dont rush things and if yourtired sleep and if your sore take the painkillers don't be brave there is plenty of time later to do that .

take care

Vicki x

Hi Karen I'm not sure how long the swelling takes to go down Have my first appointment with surgeon tomorrow since my release from hospital The scar is quite large from what I can see and feel It is stinging although the skin either side of the scar line is numb I do find it hard to find a comfortable position to sleep I mention this not to make you worried but just to let you know what my experience is Everyone is different Do you know how much tissue will be taken as yet I hope everything goes well for you

All the best with your recovery! Sounds like you are getting well into your healing physically and mentally. 

How long is the swelling ment to last? I am feeling really clueless tonight regarding details and technical lingo.

I have to survive work tomorrow so hoping my brain comes back to get through that then surgery Thurs.

Hope your swelling goes down soon and you heal up quicker than expected!

Your experiance (like many) is why I am keeping an open mind. No one knows truely what they are in for until after the surgery.

Thanks for the good luck wishes! Only one day to go now :-s

Ive gone from trying to be prepared to simply not thinking about it! Its like a switch has been flipped in my head. You are right MLE59 - It is out of my control so I am trying to simply just go with the flow. I am still having unexpected bursts of crying but feel like I am doing ok considering.

Ive got a nice little list of questions building up and might phone them through to my breast care nurse tomorrow on my lunch break. 

Thank you for taking the time to reply xo

 

Yeah. I felt I needed to do something as well but not 100% on the cast. Decided that I would rather do it and have it gathing dust somewhere rather than not do it and regret it afterwards when it was too late!

A friend researched it and bought all the bits over to make a casting and we stuffed it up majorly! The first batch set so quick we were still mixing it before we realised. The second batch was super lumpy but went on and dried ok. I dont know the name of the stuff but it needed a plaster tape to act as a support to it as it was kind of rubbery in texture.......the plaster tape wouldnt stick to it!   Gave up in the end happy with the thought I tried and decided to take some photos the next day.

The photos feel like a better idea for me as if I need to look at them they are there but are not out and 'in my face' so I can adjust to my new body. I am just learning to use photoshop so have put a filter over them so look more like a painting than a cold hard photo. If I ever want them printed I can just do it at home so no one other than me and my husband will ever see them :)

 

Tip to other ladies - If you want a plaster mold cast go to a professional!!

You are right-just like our journeys our scars are also all different. I had been well informed by my surgeon (2x pre-op visits) and booked for a left mastectomy and sentinel node biopsy +/- axillary clearance. This meant I was unsure of how extensive the surgery was going to be when I had my op. I was still undecided if re total and partial mastectomy. My surgeon when I saw her the week before the op, told me to contact her if I had any further questions or changed my mind.

If you feel you have more questions, I would suggest getting in touch with your sugeon and asking them. Leave a message with your questions and ask her to contact you at a time convenient to her with the answers. Just because the 'system' is structured that you would not normally see her again or talk to her again  until the day of the op, does not mean you cannot.

I have also learnt there are no 'right' or 'wrong' questions; there are just questions. As we process all the information coming to us about our cancer, treatments, prognosis etc, I believe it is really normal for further questions to pop up after you have had time to digest things.

I also think you have the right attitude - being prepared does help in post operative recovery, however there is also a point that the surgeon will not be able to know for sure e.g.how much tissue will be taken until they remove the lump and get clear margins. The uncertainty of this is hard, however the reality is we cannot change that as it is out of our control.

Take care and good luck with your surgery

MLE59

Hi Karen,

The lead up to surgery can be difficult. For me about 1 week prior to surgery I had a sudden feeling that I needed to do something to have a memory of my body before it is irreversably changed during surgery. I had a bilat mast/recon so I knew my changes where going to be significant. But loosing a nipple and an unknown amount of tissue will no doubt be a significant change for you.

I had a breast memory cast made and am very glad i did.

It sounds like your team perhaps arent too sure what they might do on the day either, but scars fade and if you need a bit of a reconstrucion to restore breast shape later thats all possible usually.

I recall being told I needed to have 'realistic expectations' for my reconstruction. But how do you actually work that one out? I really had nowhere to go or anyone to speak to to work out any expectations. So I went with it and worked it out along the way.

Good luck with it on Thursday, XXXLouie