This all came upon us very quickly. She had a mammo a couple weeks ago, always had benign cysts before, but got a not-so-benign one this time which we heard about last Thursday. Given a choice, she opted for a mastectomy, which she wanted ASAP–and they scheduled it for tomorrow. She is in very good spirits and just wants to be rid of the problem once and for all. They do not believe that it has spread into the lymph node.
The surgeon has about 30 years of experience and we know him already, so we feel good about his work.
I’ll be in and out of here if I can, but of course I will be busy this week attending to the patient.
Thanks. She is 82.5 and did not want the lumpectomy/radiation/chemo option, and the nurses and others in our circle of family and friends think she is doing the right thing.
They must have worked. She did well, had some normal pain afterwards but nothing that couldn’t be managed, has a drain, even sat up and ate as much as she could of her dinner–normal diet. I brought her fresh fruit from home, and I will rest up now since she will be having family visit her tomorrow.
I had just gotten back from a harrowing “vacation” and didn’t have much rest even before this mess, so I will take it easy so I can be a good caregiver.
She’s lucky that you’re nearby to help, Viva. It’s good that everything went well. IANAD, but her decision was the right one, given her age. Chemo is really hard to handle, even for young people.
Mom came home today (she wanted to). She has been up and about a lot, eating very well, talking on the phone, receiving visitors, but also had a nice long nap.
She sees her surgeon tomorrow. No complications and not much pain either, remarkably.
My mom, at 80, opted for a lumpectomy, and then radiation. She viewed the whole experience as a lark, I swear. She loved the attention from the doctors and nurses, she hadn’t been in the hospital since I was born in 1957, so the whole experience was novel and interesting. She had to have a second procedure to get better margins, but since then everything is fine. She sees the oncologist one more time, next year, and then she is considered a survivor, not a patient.
However, that said…the whole thing has kind of knocked the stuffing out of her. She was never a really active woman, so it’s hard to tell how much of the slow-down is arthritis and age-related, and how much due to surgery/radiation/Tamoxiphen, but she is much weaker physically, and much frailer.
I hope your mom continues to do well. Women that age are much tougher than we give them credit for!
She did well, had some normal pain afterwards but nothing that couldn’t be managed, has a drain, even sat up and ate as much as she could of her dinner–normal diet. I brought her fresh fruit from home, and I will rest up now since she will be having family visit her tomorrow.