Just had my follow up to WLE & ALND surgery and the Histo report has changed things somewhat.

13 replies
323 subscribers
3556 views

Hi all,

I had my surgery follow up yesterday and the histo report has changed things for me (Surgery was 27th April: WLE, 19 Lymph nodes cleared of which 2 contained metastatic carcinoma, largest node 28mm)

My consultant now recommends a mastectomy to Left breast as he found lots of what he calls 'baby cancers' which could not be seen on MRI or Mammo.

I've been offered a DIEP flap reconstruction at the same time, and am off to meet with the plastic surgeon today.

I think the length of the op is rather daunting (up to 8-9 hours) And as for recovery time, quite a while I imagine as the extra fat will be removed from the tummy. However, I have some extra to spare, so this may be a good thing in the long run:)

Or I can just have the mastectomy and return at a later date for the recon.

I would love to hear some pros and cons from the forum?

PS, I'm a grandma, 65 years old and pretty active usually.

Thanks x

FormerMember over 7 years ago in reply to Londongal

That's great news! No radio.

All the best & quick recovery

Keep all my digits crossed

Verity74 over 3 years ago in reply to Londongal

Hi Londongal.

It seems you had your treatment 5 years ago. How happy were you with Charing Cross? I would be grateful if you could share your experience - the good, the bad ..

Thank you.

Verity

Londongal over 3 years ago in reply to Verity74

Hi Verity,

I just arrived at my 5 year anniversary! Back in 2016 I opted for the DIEP flap reconstruction and all went well. Unfortunately I developed an infection in the reconstructed breast and after 10 days went back into hospital for further surgery to clean out the infection. The result was that I was left with some lumpiness and deformity. I never got around to further cosmetic surgery and now I'm 70 I don't think I'll bother as I'm happy with the way I feel.

Charing Cross Hospital was excellent, I did have chemo and radiotherapy later in the year, and there were some hiccups along the way with the treatment (nobody's fault, it's just the way it affected me), but the hospital care was excellent and everyone was so thoughtful and kind. I still have an MRI and Mammography each year and I'm in touch with my Oncologist every 6 months.

The chemo clinic waiting times can be very long, but they do prioritise according to urgency. If only they had enough trained staff and resources I'd give them 10/10.

Maggie's centre at Charing Cross was brilliant too for easing back into normal life with free yoga and exercise classes.

All best wishes to you!

Londongal

More from this forum

Just had my follow up to WLE & ALND surgery and the Histo report has changed things somewhat.