Forum Discussion

Susan_Linda's avatar
Susan_Linda
Member
12 years ago

Tips for helping drainage

Has anyone out there got a solution to reduce swelling after a mastectomy and reconstruction. Very tired of full boobs and can feel a trickle inside happening but not eough! Should I wear a bra - will that help? Massage helps a little but after almost 4 weeks I thought it would have settled. Any advice please?

5 Replies

  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago

    Oh Susan. My heart goes out to you. Well all I can say is hang in there. My mum always says things are sent to try us. But I think this years things have been sent to drive us up the wall!

    I do hope this 'not so small' hump is fixed and you can concentrate on wellness.

    Love Janey xxx

  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago
    You were young. Yes my daughter was told that she shouldn't really have mammograms until aged 40. I will mention ultrasounds to her though and she can check with our GP. J x
  • Susan_Linda's avatar
    Susan_Linda
    Member
    12 years ago
    Just got your message. Nice to wake up to. Still swollen today but see the breast care nurse tomorrow who may wave a magic wand. Greg and I got married very young, had 3 babies by 27 and were grandparents in our mid 40's. We also retired young and this bout of bc has been an inconvenience but I worry more about our daughters and grand daughters. My GP recommended ultrasounds from the mid 20s for both girls as mammograms aren't so reliable for young breasts. Hopefully you and I will be advocates for breast cancer research so our children will be fine, Have a good day. I am back on Wii fit this morning holding on to the. Boobs!
  • Janey235's avatar
    Janey235
    Member
    12 years ago
    It makes me sad to think of young women going through this bugger of a disease. I still think of myself as young though too and no one should have to go through it. I never really checked my breasts, just relied on mammograms when I reached 50 and never thought it could happen to me. I am drumming it in to my 25 yo daughter though to be proactive and regularly check her breasts. She's too young to have mammograms just yet so she will need to know her body. She's sensible enough not to panic though and is taking a pragmatic view on this. We didn't think gene testing was necessary in my case as the nearest relative I have who had it was my aunty on my mum's side. She was diagnosed two years ago and at 78, my surgeon didn't think it was relevant. There are quite a lot of distant female relatives in my line who have had it and I was quite worried about that but my oncologist said they were too distant to be of consequence. I do hope your 'bricks' settle down and you can get on with feeling happy about your new boobs. Love Janey xxx
  • Susan_Linda's avatar
    Susan_Linda
    Member
    12 years ago

    I have just caught up on your story Wow, a few swollen boobs is really very little to complain about. I would just like to feel comfortable again! I feel ike I am carrying two very tight bricks around instead of my pre second roundof cancer tiny droppy bags of marbles! I guess we just have to be happy that each day brings us closer to being cancer free. I have a young niece having a mastectomy tomorrow and our own daughters are really freaking out. Looks like gene testing will be coming up. In my family my great grandmother. grandmother, 2 aunties . me and 2 young nieces. It is a bad family history.