Lumpectomy

[1964-karina]

First time posting, I have non invasive DCIS and having lumpectomy next Wednesday, will I definitely need radiotherapy and how long should I stay off work after the lumpectomy? I am a ta in a primary school so no lifting involved Thankyou x

[Hidden]

I have replied privately Karina xx

[Bagrat]

I was told I wouldn't need R/T then by surgeon I probably would as quite a large area. In the event the area was smaller than they expected so no R/T needed. Can't give guidance re back to work as we are all different. Best wishes

[1964-karina in reply to Bagrat]

Thankyou

[MaryEB]

Hi Karina,

As everyone says we are all individuals so remember your experience is yours. I'm guessing from your ID you are about my age. I had a Wide local excision / lumpectomy with a sentinal node removal (we suspected might be some invasive cells in there & I wanted to reduce odds of a second breast opp) Xmas 2016 when I was 55. They removed a 25mm lump with big margins. In terms of the operation I found it and recovery straightforward. Lots of bruising - looked like done some boxing, wore soft bras, kept arm moving. But was driving locally again in 3 days and generally fine if a little sore & I rested more than usual. I was considered well enough by the medics to have a total knee replacement 8 days later which was a much more major opp. If you have understanding colleagues so can take a break if needed,won't have to do any heavy lifting of equipment and supportive people around you so not having to go home to 8 hours of housework you should be fine.

Radiotherapy is a pain logistically if you have to travel far & can be wareng, and treatment makes you tired towards end. But OK. treat it like a job ( you go to every day) ideally arange some treats around visits ( excuse for a lunch out) and it often marks the end of your journey. I had mine after the knee opp. & Chemo so "a good place to get to". The thing to always remember is that you / doctors can't know everything till it happens, so the best preparation is "be prepared for change"! Put one foot in front of the other, you will get through & be prepared for the "low" when it's all over & you are back being in charge after spending quite a time with Doctors etc. directing your life.

Hope my experience helps.

Good luck

Mary X

[Iknitandstitch]

As previously said "everyone is different" no one can tell you how long to stay off work your body will tell you - you may feel great in the morning but a couple/three hours in you may wilt try not to get ahead of yourself get the op over with and see what is what at your consultation afterwards - all I can offer is take one day at a time - it's like a treadmill you are going on and you will get off it eventually no 2 people are the same you could have same as someone else but your bodies will react differently

Hugs and good wishes for a favourable outcome after next week do keep us posted

Diane

[pegomh]

May I suggest if they do find it in your lymph node, which was my case, to have a MammaPrint test done to see if chemo will help. I learned a lot about BC and this was one part. The good news is it is very treatable.

[anrean]

It is pretty much standard treatment in the US to do radiation after a lumpectomy. I had it for each breast, and for me it was 36 sessions for each occurrence. It sounds like a lot, but it goes quickly. You may not want to work during radiation - it can make you progressively fatigued and at the end very fatigued. Some people get that tired, some don't. Wishing you the best!!

[1964-karina]

Thankyou all so much for replying, it’s lovely to be able to ask people who have been there what to expect! Will let you know how it goes 💐💐

[scotlassie]

Hi, I had a lumpectomy &sentinel lymph node removal on Dec21st, I started radio on 28th Feb and returned to work on phased return on 29th April.

Don't think about rushing back to work, even though you say your job is not physical, your body will undergo a lot of trauma and will have a lot of healing to do. You will need rest and recovery, physical, mental and emotional...also you don't want to risk infection of your wound, as to whether you will need radio, if you do, you must give your body time to get over it. I had to go every weekday for 4 wks and its draining having to go back and forth to the hosp, also the radio makes you very tired and you can get sore. It got worse a few weeks after the radio, I felt completely knackered.

My advice would be to take all the time you can...wishing you all the best with your op and treatment xx

[1964-karina in reply to scotlassie]

Thankyou 🌻