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| Mr Kieran Horgan |
Everything seems to be healing well, the infection I had in the new breast has cleared up although I have something called fat narcosis which presents part of the breast as hard and tender from what I understand this is where the breast has not had as much good blood supply but is not of great concern as it will either leak out or be absorbed back into the body over a period of time. It's a bit uncomfortable and tender at times. I also have a seroma on the side nearest my arm, my understanding of this is that it's a build up of fluid due to the surgery and should also be re absorbed back into the body over time.
We also discussed something else I have, this is known as auxiliary web syndrome ( cording ) the surgery to the underarm and chest area traumatises the connective tissue that encases nearby bundles of blood vessels, lymph vessels, and nerves. This trauma leads to inflammation, scarring, and eventually hardening of the tissue. This hardening can spread down the fibres of the connective tissue, which causes the cords to form. The cords can be painful and tight, it makes it difficult to lift my arm any higher than my shoulder or to extend my elbow fully. The cording runs from under my arm, all the way down the inside of my arm even putting on and taking off a cardigan can feel painful. Gentle exercising, stretching and gentle massaging of the cords will help if no better in a couple of weeks to see a physiotherapist.
Next was to speak with the oncologist to discuss my treatment plan. After a long discussion with lots of statistics, numbers, percentages, side effects, tests etc my head was swimming in what felt like very stormy seas! The outcome is that I'm to have chemotherapy a different one this time called docetaxel a stronger one than the one I had last time but only four cycles instead of the six that I had before with EC 90. This will be followed by hormone therapy instead of tamoxifen which I took last time for six years, this one is called arimadex and it is to be taken for 8-10 years!
After three and a quarter hours in the hospital we finally got to leave!
They plan to start treatment mid June but they also said this may need to be delayed as at the moment I have an infection in my tummy button. When they re sited it during my surgery the blood supply wasn't very good so now the top layer of flesh has died, they are and have been reviewing it since I left hospital and need to determine whether or not it is superficial in which case the flesh underneath will still have a blood supply therefore the dead flesh will come away and new flesh will re grow, on the other hand if it is dead throughout then it would mean a further surgery to remove it and make a new tummy button! Friday I'm back at the plastics dressing clinic where I shall be seen by my plastic surgeon who will be giving her expert opinion as regards my tummy button!
The card you showed me from a complete stranger is amazing. In those wobbly times, re-read it. You are an inspiration and I look forward to seeing you soon xxx
ReplyDeleteIt was a really thoughtful thing to do, I had only known this lady for a couple of days, she took the trouble to write some lovely things about me that touched my heart x x Paula if your out there somewhere looking in at my blog I'd like to say thank you so much for your very kind words you have a very kind heart x x
DeleteGood to hear things went reasonably well at the hospital. Thinking of you as ever,
ReplyDeleteLove Cherrie
Yes thanks Cherrie, I have been doing my exercises and it's been going well, started on the more advanced ones today and that has been quite a bit harder. I guess the more I do them the easier it will get!
ReplyDeleteHi Mandy — Sandra here (wife of Beau / Trevor)
ReplyDeleteSomehow or other, Beau came across your blog and passed it on to me. I’m writing to say that I’ve had cancer too, and have some idea of how you might be feeling. However, it sounds to me as though you’re being very positive and not giving in to this thing!
In November 2009 I was diagnosed with a small lump in the left breast. It was thought to be benign. Cutting a l-o-n-g story short, the lump was removed but turned out the be malignant. I then had a second op to remove the surrounding breast tissue and the ‘sentinel’ lymph nodes. They’re the first ones along the ‘run’. Cancer cells were found in one of the sentinel nodes, so back to the hospital for another op to remove all the lymph nodes from the left armpit. They turned out to be all clear, so the cancer hadn’t spread beyond the first few lymph nodes.
After that I had radiotherapy but not chemo. As the tumour was oestrogen sensitive, I was given Arimidex for five years. Because the Arimidex turns off oestrogen, and because there was osteoporosis in the family, I was also give Alendronate (alendronic acid) to reduce the rate of bone loss. I took calcium tablets as well.
I was lucky: I had no problem at all with any of my tablets. Arimidex is well tolerated, but some people have trouble with Alendronate. I didn’t.
I’ve had annual mammograms since 2009 and everything has been clear. In February of this year, I came to the end of my five year régime of prescription tablets. That was a definite celebration day!
<< I also have a seroma on the side nearest my arm, my understanding of this is that it's a build up of fluid due to the surgery and should also be re absorbed back into the body over time.>>
I don’t know anything about seroma, but I can tell you that nearly four years after the surgery I developed lymphoedema — which is also a build up of fluid due to the lack of lymph nodes to drain it away. It’s mainly on my torso, just below the armpit, and there’s a tiny bit on the inside of my upper arm. Luckily, I guessed what it was pretty quickly and found myself a therapist. I found her via this website: http://www.mlduk.org.uk/about/ She’s been brilliant — not only with the treatment but also with advice re bras, etc. As I hadn’t had a mastectomy, I’d just continued wearing my usual bras, but Alison felt that the under-wires were not a good idea, and more importantly, the under-band was cutting right across the site of the lymphoedema. She advised me what to look for, and when I bought something, I took it to her for approval before taking the tags off. I can tell you more if it comes about that you have lymphoedema. Hopefully not!
Anyway, I just though I’d let you know that I’m here if you want to have a chat or anything. If you email me at sandramidgley1@gmail.com, I’ll give you my phone number — or you can give me yours.
Keep smiling!
Sandra.
Thank you Sandra for your lovely post. It's always lovely to have people comment on my blog and it's something I always look forward to. It's nice to read peoples thoughts and comments and also to hear other peoples stories and experiences too.
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