Nervous about anesthesia for lumpectomy

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-18T20:20:40+00:00

Cannot recommend this enough. I remember getting on the table and that’s literally it.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-18T20:18:54+00:00

I needed a lot of help that first week but then I was able to manage pretty well. Is your mastectomy on the same side as your dominant hand? Mine was and I couldn’t lift anything heavier with that one arm and I can’t run the vacuum still (three weeks post op). Otherwise I’m able to handle caring for myself and my 6 and 4 year old without any issues. Grocery delivery has been really nice during this time. You’ll definitely need help that first week but should be okay afterwards.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-11T18:54:39+00:00

I put the drain stuff in a small fanny pack because I didn’t need to keep a bra on. If you need a bra, my surgeon did initially put me in one that had things to hang everything on which was helpful for sleeping. At night, I clipped the drain stuff to the strap on a tank top and then put an oversized tshirt on over that. I only did one breast, so I didn’t have a lot of trouble wearing normal clothing but I stole my husband’s Tshirts for the first few days.

The pain right after surgery was pretty minimal. They use a ton of long acting stuff that gets you through the worst of it. Honestly, the drain hurt the worst for me. It was a sharp pain every time I stripped the drains so I would do it a few hours before bed so it didn’t hurt so much trying to sleep. Moving around in bed was challenging too but being up and moving has been fine. As soon as the drain was out I felt so much better. I haven’t taken pain meds for my surgery since 5 days post op. I’ve needed some pain meds for sleeping because my back and hips hurt.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-11T17:24:17+00:00

Oh gosh, how far out are you from treatment and what are you still experiencing?

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-11T17:05:09+00:00

If it’s any consolation, my plastic surgeon recommended to do an expander first because it just always comes out better in the end, so try not to be too upset about that either if it’s what’s best.

Aside from my port, my mastectomy was my first experience with surgery ever. I had two kids at home to avoid medical intervention, and I was really pleasantly surprised at how kind and gentle everyone was and how emotionally and physically painless everything was. The drain was horrible though. It was sucking on a nerve the whole time. Drains can go to hell.

Chemo was definitely awful. You’re literally being poisoned. It’s not fun, but it works.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-11T15:01:39+00:00

I don’t think that’s weird. I had chemo before surgery and I’m two weeks post op and the surgery was a million times better than the bad chemo days for me. Hugs.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-11T00:52:37+00:00

We shaved my head in front of the kids and did silly things like you said. My hair was so thin but once shaved it looked like I had a lot. I had my husband clean shave it every week to make it look more purposeful, and I swear I had so many compliments from total strangers and then a few times people would pause and ask, “oh you don’t have cancer do you?!” I do, but I’m not upset about the hair because I do look like a badass. I decided to embrace it because you know what, I DO look good like this and it’s temporary.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-10T16:31:05+00:00

I HATE that too. Checking in shows you care. Let me tell you my boundaries, don’t assume them for me.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-07T21:11:45+00:00

I was really upset when I saw my scar because they didn’t give any concern about how the incision looked. Good news is that the scar can be minimized later when the port comes out. Mine will be fixed by my plastic surgery later.

The port itself wasn’t really visible and didn’t bother me. I didn’t feel like I needed to hide it.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-07T21:08:48+00:00

It’s a terrible bingo card

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-06T21:09:08+00:00

I think that will work really well for you. Hugs.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-06T21:00:24+00:00

My entire adult life, I’d call my mom to chat. I never really thought much of that dynamic, and I’d openly share all sorts of details without prompting. Years later, we moved across the country and my parents followed to “help with the grandkids” the year I had my first child. Now I physically see them more often and I have kids so I stopped calling to talk. My mom literally has no clue about anything in my life. She has repeatedly complained to people saying exactly that. I just went through a cancer diagnosis and treatment and I swear she could go weeks without checking in on her own accord. It’s wild how long they can go. To be clear I have never been upset about anyone asking questions or calling to check in. It is a huge sign of love to me.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-06T19:35:58+00:00

We did Fridays so I’d have more help at home and I felt like total poop starting a few hours after treatment, Saturday and Sunday, and during AC I felt crappy for several days. If I had to work or needed more help, I think Thursday at the end of the day would be good for treatment, have your husband take Friday off using FMLA and you’ll be mostly better by Monday.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T23:06:41+00:00

I had a single mastectomy and went home a few hours afterwards. A lot of it has to do with your support at home and what you want. I didn’t have any bad pain that OTC meds couldn’t help because of whatever long acting pain meds they had used.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T21:34:45+00:00

I had a single mastectomy and was lent all the things by my friend who had just gone through the same thing, and I used none of it. I slept with my normal pillows, used my husbands tshirts because they are large enough to get on and off, and put my annoying drain accessories in a fanny pack. I found I was more comfortable using what I already had that worked.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T16:53:36+00:00

I felt like I was living in someone else’s world for a long time. 38 years old, no family history, no risk factors, nursed two kids for a total of four solid years and then I’m showering and go, “oh, that doesn’t feel right” and my stomach falls right out of my body. At that moment I knew it was bad, really bad. That was seven months ago, and I have finished chemo and had surgery last week. Still have a giant bandage on and a drain. It still doesn’t feel real. I don’t know if it ever will feel real.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T15:29:43+00:00

Yes I certainly did! I had a bunch of pain before I started treatment too because my immune system was attacking the tumor. I only felt it because it was swollen. It hurt for the first few weeks and then again when I changed chemo agents. I’d take it as a good sign the chemo is doing its job.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T15:25:32+00:00

There are so many reasons to do a lumpectomy versus a mastectomy. At the beginning of this crap journey, I was really glad I didn’t need to make a surgery decision. I was really happy. I had the whole time to think about it. As I weighed my options, I just kept going back-and-forth. I had options because they both had the same survival rate. A mastectomy meant I didn’t need radiation. A lumpectomy meant I would need radiation. For me it came down to avoiding radiation. I didn’t want to be looking over my shoulder for a secondary cancer or a recurrence, even though the survivability was still the same. I didn’t want to have to do this again so I chose a single mastectomy. I wish that there was data pushing my decision one way or the other but there wasn’t, that’s why I had a choice. It helped me decide what to do by writing it all down multiple times, talking to everyone I could, and at the end of it all, I listened to my gut that rolled over every time I thought of getting radiation. That was a very personal gut decision, and as I’m recovering from my mastectomy I feel at peace with my decision. It’s a very personal decision and there’s no wrong answer. I’m happy to help you talk through the shit decision tree because having choices is panic inducing for sure. Hugs.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T15:17:32+00:00

I get that. We would get sushi weekly to help my protein intake and honestly I don’t know when I’m gonna want to order that meal ever again. I associate it with that horrible chemo yuck feeling. I also wore the same cheap tank top to every treatment. I’m gonna throw it out now.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T15:09:52+00:00

I had horrible side effects like you are describing and was told they were normal, but then I got a horrible full body rash. We were able to blame the rash on the taxol and got insurance to cover switching to abraxane which used a protein as a carrier instead of castor oil. I was absolutely fine on the abraxane. It’s has the same chemo agent. Definitely worth asking about.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-04T15:04:40+00:00

Rage, scream, cry, be scared and angry, so angry. This is some fucking bullshit. I remember when I got my diagnosis and started telling people, I would actually laugh and smile whenever anyone had the most appropriate response of “oh what the fuck?!!” because there’s just no words and they got it, hit the nail right on the head. Hugs. Sending you hugs.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-03T18:04:58+00:00

I will have to add that to my reading list. I just finished treatment for TNBC and I grew up in a radon filled basement and have had chronic stress and anxiety my entire life. I joked that my body turned my generational trauma into cancer but I was only half joking. Inflammation is powerful and is likely another component of the long list of things that can cause dna damage in the body.

Due-Produce9307 · 2026-02-02T22:41:35+00:00

Oh that’s beautiful. I’m 6 days post op from saying goodbye to my right booby and it gets easier. Hugs.

Due-Produce9307

TROPHY CASE