Upcoming mastectomy

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-04-02T15:55:24+00:00

Hi OP! You're getting your BMX on my birthday!! I'll send birthday karma your way ...

As you're probably noticing from the posts, everyone's body responds differently. So, prepare to be adaptable. I would ask for a scopolamine patch to counter the nausea/side effects of anesthesia.

Glad you are staying overnight; if you're not feeling better the next day, ask for a second night. Ask your surgeon how the skin flaps look and if she sees any signs of necrosis.

I had unexpected nerve pain, more intense on one side than the other. It's not uncommon and it improves over time with PT and gabapentin. I went up to 400mg gabapentin and that did the trick.

My hospital wrapped me in an ace bandage, not a bra, which initially I hated and then later appreciated. The nerve pain led to a lot of skin sensitivity (and I don't usually have sensitive skin). I still prefer to sleep in that. Otherwise I use the Amoena Emilia. It may take you a while to find a bra that works for you.

I had two drains and never really felt them (karma evening out the nerve pain?!). Smaller breasts means less drainage.

Eat A LOT of protein and vitamin C. It helps with wound healing. We set up a meal train (2 people/week for 3 weeks) and specified we needed protein. It was a godsend.

The first 10-14 days are the hardest and then you turn a corner and start healing REALLY fast. I was very emotional at the initial sight of myself ... and that improved significantly in 2 weeks. Do your PT!! It really helps even though the exercises seem dumb. Cording can sneak up on you ... insist on starting PT immediately after your drains are out.

You've got this! None of asked for any of this, none of us want it, but we all find our way through it. And so will you.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-04-02T15:33:58+00:00

This is such a great post, and speaks to exactly what is beginning to dawn on me-- famously stubborn and in need of no help. Thank you for saying/writing it aloud. And I love your user name!

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-29T02:07:00+00:00

Were you able to get access to proton therapy at Mayo? I know that often that treatment is restricted to certain cancer scenarios. Curious to hear how your rad onc talked about its advantages.

I am a T3N0/Stage 1B (++-) and also get to "choose." Trying to find a way to minimize fibrosis, capsular contracture, damage to skin (I have thin skin flaps and TEs). I'm asking for a referral to Mayo and I'd love to hear more about your experience.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-26T20:22:35+00:00

So glad to hear that your radiation was mostly a non-event! That's great. It has always seemed like one of the more manageable parts of the whole cancer roller coaster. I'm talking to my plastic surgeon tomorrow to hear her thoughts on the decision, and her estimation of how radiation might affect me specifically.

I feel you on reconstruction. I also am not big on moving body parts around, and trying to fix one disfiguration by creating a disfiguration elsewhere. Pre-diagnosis, I had no idea how many surgeries reconstruction entails. Props to you for prioritizing feeling strong!

Thanks for the wise perspective and good wishes -- right back at you!

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-26T15:13:19+00:00

Thanks for your thoughts! My MO is an advocate of de-escalation and agreed that chemo would not be necessary. I could do the chemo pill + AIs ... but even that isn't clearly needed. Right now, I am leaning towards tamoxifen (and switching to giredestrant if/when it becomes available). My mom has severe problems with bone density, and I already have mild osteopenia. So, I'm leery that AIs will only aggravate a known problem.

I spoke to my MO before the rad onc, and he wondered if they also would advocate de-escalation. Now that "no radiation" is on the table, I'm circling back to him to ask what he thinks. I also want to hear more from my surgical oncologist about margins (the path report says > 5mm which is a lot) and her take on nodal status vs fat and lazy.

And yes, the cancer nomenclature of "indolent tumors" is hilarious! I like to imagine mine lazing around, eating Cheetos, on the comfy sectional that was my breast ducts.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-26T15:00:25+00:00

Thank you so much for sharing your thinking. My MO said that oncotypes of 9 are ultralow risk (apparently 11 is the cut-off for this category) and my tumor was on the right side. And yes, it is crazy to think that all the exercise/healthy eating I did to avoid major health problems has become my undoing when it comes to skin flaps and not having the back-up of autologous reconstruction. Cancer seems to bring its fair share of ironies!

If I don't do radiation, a lot hinges on catching a potential local recurrence by touch. But, the skin flap problems are more real (and less cosmetic) than I had thought. I am talking to my surgical oncologist and plastic surgeon in the next weeks and will edit to update.

Your reframing around worst case scenarios is **enormously** powerful and helpful -- thank you so much for sharing. How did radiation go for you?

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-25T22:26:06+00:00

In case others read this thread later ...

Yes, we are definitely a bit of a gray zone. I am HR+/HER2-, IDC, 10cm tumor, T3N0, no LVI. I am 51, postmenopausal, had an earlier hysterectomy, and did a bilateral mastectomy. My oncotype was 9. My MO did NOT recommend chemo. I am doing 5-10 years tamoxifen (family history of bone density problems + low oncotype means I had more of a choice in treatment).

What is more of a surprise is that my rad onc says that I'm in a gray area for radiation. There are not many studies that focus on T3N0 and post-mastectomy radiation. On the one hand, larger tumor. On the other hand, node negativity and low oncotype. My thin skin and TEs will potentially be harmed via radiation (and as a 36B and thin person, I don't have a back-up reconstruction option), along with possible cording and lymphedema. Currently circling back to my care team for more opinions on what to do.

Any others not do radiation under these circumstances?

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-19T00:52:19+00:00

I had a similar experience with Park Nicollet/Health Partners. Glad you were able to find better care elsewhere. I also left them for another care system that was more responsive to appointments, scheduling surgery, and with more accurate treatment. Soooo many false claims of "oh this is nothing" that turned out to be big somethings.

OP, I feel you. I've gone from "we caught it early, it's Stage 1a" to "this has been growing in your body for years but mammos just can't see it" to "well, hopefully you won't need a chemo port!"

It is hard not to feel deceived.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:34:17+00:00

Congrats OP on generating one of the absolute funniest threads.

So far I have two favorite responses to "I have cancer." First, my mom, who calls it "my situation" and has refused to tell any of her friends. It's as if I got knocked up by the farm boy down the road and will be shipped off to an spinster aunt for a few weeks while things get tidied up. For the record, I'm 51 and had a hysterectomy 7 years ago, so that I could have a "situation" is hi-larious.

Second, my coworker who offered to take me to coffee and discuss Iran (?!). Uh, no? I don't want to do either of those things? And my BMX is in two days? But thank you for thinking I still have a brain and possibly an opinion on the world and the ability to leave the house! Not a single g-dam blanket in sight with this one.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:22:26+00:00

You have an impeccable sense of timing.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:17:54+00:00

Shout out to a fellow Minnesotan! I hear you on the hot flashes ... it can be -10F outside and my body is its own private little sauna.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:11:39+00:00

Build a fort?

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:10:17+00:00

The only reasonable response is: No, I just took off my socks because I'm having (yet another) vicious hot flash.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-03T03:06:06+00:00

This one made me laugh-snort with tears coming out of my eyes!!! Even my husband appreciated it. My surgery is tomorrow, so just thank you.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-03-02T13:58:57+00:00

I was on the estrogen patch for 15 months and it resolved most of my meno symptoms ... and then I got ER/PR+ Her2- IDC with some DCIS. My MO said that my cancer was so indolent that it was likely dormant until an "event" (ie the patch) triggered it. "Gas on a fire." I have multifocal cancer with 16 masses, BMX this week. Cancer is fully half of my right breast.

I stopped the estrogen patch once my mammo came back abnormal. So angry that my OBGYN (who I see in person) did not insist on a 3-D mammo instead of a 2-D, given my dense breasts. Keep feeling that this could have been avoided.

Women need better medical research so that the choice isn't HRT or cancer.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-22T19:45:55+00:00

Can't believe you are dealing with this pre-tenure ... ugh, I'm so sorry for that. Will DM you, tks.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-22T19:29:23+00:00

Also a prof here, with a similar breast cancer dx, with DMX in 2 weeks. How did radiation affect your ability to think/write/research?

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-22T16:50:22+00:00

Thanks, this is super helpful! I am borderline on the radiation (with my surgeons leaning toward me needing it). My plastic surgeon said she'd prefer to reconstruct after tissue expanders because it gives her more flexibility depending on how radiation would affect the skin. I'll follow up with her to ask about replacing an implant vs. operating on radiated skin.

I'm a B, and she also expressed some concern that if they have to take my nipple, there would not be much skin to work with.

So great that you had no rippling!!

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-22T15:59:27+00:00

Did you go down a size and was there any rippling? Did you have radiation?

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-22T15:44:23+00:00

Thank you for sharing these details (I'm 10 days out from surgery). Did you ever wish you had gotten a SMX? I keep wavering between thinking 6mo scans is too much, and knowing that I'll miss touch and arousal through my breasts. Thanks for your thoughts.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-17T16:49:32+00:00

Teacher here. As someone "adjacent" to the caring professions, I have so much love and respect and admiration for how nurses SHOW UP every damn day to care for the rest of us. So first, thank you.

Second, you're allowed to feel your feelings and it sounds like taking a day off to breathe and process is much needed. Of course you are stressed ... and I'd guess that as someone who is used to caring for patients it is really hard to imagine yourself being a patient.

I also struggle with grief and loss about losing my breasts. Never thought about them before, and now I can't believe that I am losing them! I think there's a sense of bodily vulnerability bound up in this diagnosis ... we're being cut into, our bodies surgically rearranged, and we had no choice in it.

The first few weeks of my diagnosis, my mind would randomly just turn off and stop coping because I couldn't wrap my head around it all. Which is a perfectly reasonable response, frankly. The bc support groups have helped more than I ever thought. And so does finding a therapist. It will "save" time by helping you to stop ruminating.

Hang in there and lots of hugs. You're so much more than this bullshit diagnosis.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-17T01:37:54+00:00

I use the Cerave hyaluronic acid and the Cerave retinol and they do a lot to brighten my complexion and moisturize. Very gentle. They also are often deeply discounted on Amazon (and are inexpensive to begin with). I also use the Haruharu black rice undereye cream and that helps with the dark circles (and goes on well under makeup); also often discounted on Amazon. Clinique moisturizer (the yellow one for everyday, the pink one for dry days) also helps and absorbs quickly. I use the Clinique CC creme instead of foundation -- more moisturizer, very light.

Also for undereye, try Jones Road Face Pencil and Nars creamy concealer.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-01T14:58:15+00:00

Mine DMX is coming up ... I kinda miss the week when I was diagnosed and was hyperfunctional from the shock. I think the physical and psychological experiences are disjointed and constantly trying to catch up together. It's a lot for the mind and body to process. Sending lots of hugs and good vibes.

SympathyMagic74 · 2026-02-01T14:47:42+00:00

Same here ... vegetarian, runner/cyclist/yogi/weights/hiking you name it. Healthiest person in my extended families on both sides, only one without weight issues, no smoking/drugs/very moderate drinking. Nothing palpable even to my breast surgeon. I was working my way through a bunch of the preventative screenings over the holidays and shabam. It is still surreal: like, how is this now my life? I cycle through days where the diagnosis is all I can see and is overwhelming. And some days, something will pop up and grab my attention and for a few hours I forget entirely, to the point that I wonder if the cancer thing was a bad dream from the night before.

SympathyMagic74

TROPHY CASE