Best wishes for your surgery on the 7th, I hope it all goes well for you. Although it is difficult, try not to worry too much. As the ladies above have said you probably have been through the worst with the chemo but I do understand that anxiety can set in at various (& sometimes every!) stage of this ordeal :-)
I found surgery for my lumpectomy (and later my mastectomy & axillary clearance) to be OK. Endone for the first few days and panadol thereafter kept any pain at bay. I stayed in hospital until my drains were out which saved having to worry about them. My tips include: 1) making sure you do the physio exercises until you get good movement and strength back in your arm (some weeks later), the exercises don't take long and they really do help and, 2) try to get hold of the Zonta cushion that supports your underarm in the weeks after surgery (your breast care nurse will know about this and as Tonya mentioned, can also order your Berlei post surgery bra). Walking around the ward (& around the block at home), deep breathing exercises and resting when needed were useful things I did to aid my recovery. Coffee dates with good friends was also high on the agenda! Warm wishes, Jane
I agree with the others that you've been thro' the worst of it already with the 7 rounds of chemo. I haven't personally had chemo, because my type of breast cancer was assessed as not benefitting from it. But I had already looked into what is involved & had heard the experience of others, However, a few months before I was diagnosed I had open heart surgery to replace a congenitally malformed aortic heart valve. Then I later had a lumpectomy.... which was followed, a few weeks later, by a mastectomy to avoid radiation therapy which would've affected my new biotissue heart valve underneath. And, honestly, none of that surgery was too bad at all. So many things were the same. Like pain relief came from keeping up doses of 2 panadol every 6 hours. The trick the medical staff told me was to keep any pain covered & not wait for pain to push thro'. Seems that helps healing better, too. Also I used the same QV Soapless wash & white cotton facewashers to keep the wound area clean. The nurses were brilliant with their help in all cases. There was basic physio afterwards , too. I can honestly say I was never in pain after any of those 3 procedures .... only hurt a bit for a while if I moved my arms sideways (heart surgery) or upwards (breast surgery). Not that I want any of them.... but it'd strike no fear into my heart if those surgeries had to be done again. So chemo, for me, would be an entirely different challenge from surgery & you've been thro' that. Maybe, as someone else said, you're feeling a little fragile after that treatment so far. Warmest best wishes coming your way.
Hi, Joey.... How are U?
I believed that your tumur cell was too large for surgery from the beginning, and that's why you came through chemo first, to shrink it smaller and you may go through surgery.
How was your feeling during chemo? It's true the worse stage you went through.
You may be a bit weak now after chemo. However the surgery was quick and easy to fix from the Specialist, especially nowadays technology. You may feel bad 1st couple days, but for sure Panadol could help to ease the pain from the wound. You still have 2 days to go. Waiting is killing I know. Best to keep yourself pleasant and positive, doing exercise, eathing healthy. Reward yourself from completion the mission of Chemo, by doing something you like the most with your beloved one, friends, family..relative etc.
Dont' stress yourself, deep breathe and relax, it will gone.
Take care (hugging)
Rosanna
