The Big Day

It’s been a while since I posted. I had radiation for 30 days and then my husband and I went on a two-week cruise to Hawaii, but now I’m back!

My last post covered my surgery decision, so now I'll cover what it's like to have your breast and five lymph nodes removed.  I wasn’t nervous or scared going in, for some reason I look at surgery as a way to get a really good nap. Yes, I know that’s strange, but that’s me.  My husband Mike was with me, and that was really nice; he also stays really calm during these situations. It also helps that I knew the CNA, and I have complete trust in my surgeon, Jill Ties; she’s amazing!

What I wasn’t really expecting was to be injected with a radioactive dye, which was Smurf blue, to help guide the surgeon to the lymph nodes that had to be removed. I knew the more nodes they took, the more likely I could end up with lymphedema. I knew they would take two for sure and possibly up to twenty; I was really happy with five.

When I went back for surgery, the anesthesiologist told me she was going to put a nerve block in my chest that would last for about four days, and boy was I grateful for that.  I was completely out within 30 seconds of getting situated on the table.  When I woke up in recovery, I had bandages wrapped completely around my chest area and drain tubes coming out under each armpit.  And believe it or not, I was starving!  I hadn’t had anything to eat or drink, and it was about 2 pm.

I was so fortunate to have a wonderful friend come to see me who’d also been through TNBC and a mastectomy.  She brought me a mastectomy pillow and more shirts with drain holders.  I’m so grateful to Tanya for all her support!  I’m also grateful for my nurses and the tordal they gave me to help with the pain.  

When my surgeon came to check on me the next morning, I was ready to go home.  The nurses taught me how to empty and measure my drains, yuck! And I had Mike there to help me get dressed and wrap my bandages.  Dr. Ties said I was doing great, and she got me out of there by 11 am, yay!! When she went over the care I needed to do at home, she mentioned the pain block in my chest and told me that I might never have feeling in my breast area again.  That was a shock to me, but she was right. To this day, I still do not have any feeling in the area where my breasts used to be, and that’s taken some time to get used to.

I don’t regret my decision to have a double mastectomy, and I’ve come to terms with not having feeling in my breast area.  It hasn’t always been easy, and it’s still been a long road that I’m still navigating.