@MrsG1962 and @essexgirly2 Seconding what @Magsv said -- and I hope you are recovering well today! I also hope any pre-surgery jitters have settled. I know I certainly wouldn't have signed up for this particular life event, and I'm feeling nervous, too. I think that's totally natural with such a major surgery -- major, no matter how much tissue is removed, because of the underlying reason for it as well as the effects the surgery has on both mind and body.
@crochetaddict How did your meeting with your consultant go? I hope you got all your questions answered. It seems we'll be the two in this thread having surgery this week -- though, of course, some late-comers might join our party. I'll be thinking of you on Wednesday.
@Pulapula Our journeys seem to have been somewhat similar, with neoadjuvant chemo, then some choice between a very wide WLE and a Mx. And I, too, work for myself from home, and recovery was a factor -- though for me, it was more a factor in considering whether to go for immediate or delayed reconstruction. I just felt I'd like to try immediate, since I knew I wanted reconstruction and I'd prefer one big surgery to two. We'll see if my body agrees to that plan!
Apologies for being so quiet this week -- I've been busy consenting to surgery and going through pre-surgery assessment, with this coming week no better, with more pre-surgery bloodwork, Herceptin injection (first post-chemo), follow-up with oncology, and check-up with ophthalmology (for an inflammation in one eye that seems to be a side effect of chemo) squashed into Monday through Wednesday. So I may be quiet again til I'm discharged home next weekend. I'll be thinking of all of you and eager to hear reports when/if you're ready.
As to me, I've signed on the dotted line for the lumpectomy on the left and the mastectomy on the right with immediate reconstruction using a prepectoral implant. Fingers crossed, the implant will take and my margins will be clear, and at most I'll need a little lipo top-up surgery to balance things up in late 2019 or 2020. At this point, though, I'm prepared (as much as I can be) for any turn of events.
@Magsv Thanks for your packing list. I think I've now got my list sorted, but I'll have to pare back a bit in order to fit it into a suitable bag: button-front PJs, thick nonslip socks (cold feet!), front-closing sports bra (probably not required in my case), drain dolly, earplugs, eye mask, toothbrush & toothpaste & hand sanitizer & moisturizer (for my post-chemo care regime), throat lozenges, dandelion tea bags, book, mobile phone & charger & extra battery & headphones, and thank-you card for the nurses on the ward (my mother was a nurse, which is why I do this). I'm hoping to wear in what I wear out, but if my shirt doesn't fit over the swelling and bandages, my stretchy jersey PJ top should.
I got some post-mastectomy pillows from the fabulous Jen's Friends (if you're having surgery, I highly recommend them -- they were great after my sentinel lymph node biopsies in the summer). However, I don't know that I can fit them in my bag, so either my OH half will need to bring them to me in the ward after surgery, or I'll just leave them at home. (I have to report at 7:30am, so I'm going in on my own -- my OH is not a morning person.)
One nice early present: I found out that I'll only have drains on the mastectomy side, and I'm being given a type that I don't empty myself: they're vacuum-sealed, so if they get full, I have to go into the hospital to have them emptied. I'm going to have to be sure I know what to do if they need attending to on the holidays, especially as both my surgeon and my breast care nurse will be on annual leave. Tis the most wonderful time of the year!
