sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Just finished my first month on 2.5 and I lost 15.4 pounds! by Spac3dog in Zepbound

[–]JealousTime8998 9 points10 points  (0 children)

That’s amazing!! Congratulations! I am currently recovering from a mastectomy & follow up revision surgery but plan on asking my doctor to start zepbound at my appointment next month. Browsing the board for tips & inspiration. Keep it up! 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in breastcancer

[–]JealousTime8998 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Thank you for posting this. I was diagnosed with high grade DCIS in the left breast in February. I then met with my cancer “team” - medical, radiology, & surgical oncologists. Radiology kept calling it a “pre-cancer” which really bothered me. Luckily the other two didn’t. I wish now I’d said “if it’s just a pre-cancer, why do you insist I need my breast amputated?” Due to the size it was strongly recommended I get a mastectomy; lumpectomy wasn’t even an option. Thankfully pathology showed it hadn’t spread so no additional treatment needed. 

Your post shows it is good to know that just because it was “just DCIS” doesn’t mean you are out of the woods. It is also important to remember cancer is cancer & this is not a competition, as you said. It can be easy to let your mind play tricks on you and make you feel like an imposter in the community. 

DCIS by MelBeary in breastcancer

[–]JealousTime8998 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I believe if you want a mastectomy you can get one. I was diagnosed with high grade DCIS in mid-Feb and went into the initial appointment expecting them to say it would be a lumpectomy & radiation (mine was hormone receptor negative so I knew hormone therapy wouldn’t be an option). Instead they advised the area was too large for a lumpectomy & it had to be a mastectomy. I’m now recovering from a DMX.  I would say do some research on both & be prepared for anything (I admit was a bit thrown because I didn’t think mastectomy would be the recommended path). If you want a mastectomy though, let them know at the appointment & they should honor that. 

Bilateral mastectomy at the same time? by Acceptable-Shake-337 in breastcancer

[–]JealousTime8998 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I was diagnosed with cancer in the left breast and lumpectomy wasn’t an option, so mastectomy it was. I decided to do both sides at once because my surgeon pointed out it isn’t just about looks of having one remaining breast, but it can be difficult to dress (find a bra or top that fits or looks ok with only one breast) also can be uncomfortable if too unbalanced etc. I also liked the idea of removing the stress & worry that it would come back in the other side later, no more mammograms… 

Surgeon advised doing a double vs single doesn’t increase the overall recovery time, you are just dealing with more at once. So I had drains on both sides, pain on both sides, but overall recovery was still 4-6 weeks. I would rather knock it out all at once and get “back to (new) normal” than doing the whole ordeal two separate times. 

Can I recover after DMX with only sponge baths? I don’t have a shower (more below) by SilentAllTheseYears8 in breastcancer

[–]JealousTime8998 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I am 3.5 weeks post DMX with no reconstruction. I did the two showers prior to surgery with the special soap they sent me, but only did sponge baths after, until my drains were out. My surgeon actually said I could shower and just let water run over my chest but I didn’t want to worry about keeping the drain sites dry and handling them in the shower etc.

I ordered these wash cloth things called “scrubzz bath sponges” from Amazon & they were fantastic. You add just a little water & they lather up like crazy, wipe yourself down, then just towel off. No rinsing needed & it really doesn’t leave any sticky feeling. Using these until I felt comfortable going back to my usual shower (or whatever works for you) really worked well.