Pre- assessment appointment for mastectomy

Hi Ethlyn

Had my CT scan today. Easy as anything, think it was about 3 minutes long in total! The next thing is getting the results which I am terrified about...

Any news about your surgery date yet?

Thinking of you

Jo

xx

Hi Jo, 

Awww fabulous x sending hugs x don't worry you've got this.

Sadly no date yet in fact they've rescheduled my pre assessment from this Thursday to the 28th of October. She said it's because I don't have a surgery date yet so she didn't want it to be done too early, but if I get a surgery date in the meantime they'll move it up.

To be fair they're working around my dad's funeral on Friday and the st Thomas list as they need the obstetric staff too.

I'm going to be patient and trust in them.

Ethlyn x

Gosh Ethlyn, that is a long time to wait. Hopefully they will move the surgery forward as it does take its toll, waiting and waiting.

I hope your Dad's funeral goes smoothly and you get through it with lots of support around you. It's been a devastating time and I really feel for you.

Take care Lovely

Jo xx

Hey Jo,

Thank you for your well wishes. I just can't wait for it to be over now, it's so stressful.

They've moved my pre-assessment to the 30th of September so hopefully soon after that I should have it.

I hope your surgery went well and that you recover beautifully.

X

Hi Ethlyn

• Just thought I'd let you know that I'm thinking of you and hope you are dealing with everything OK.

I'm recovering well from my surgery. Had the dressings off yesterday so I can finally have a shower, whoo hooo! I was minging, that's for sure!

Good that they've brought your pre-op forward, hopefully surgery will follow shortly afterwards and you can start the road to recovery

Take care

Jo xx

️

Hey Jo,

Awww that absolutely warms my heart to know that you're thinking of me. I'm ok I'm just letting everything sink in. My dad had a beautiful send off, which was star wars themed as he was a massive fan of Darth Vader lol

I am so happy to hear that you are recovering well. I'm sure even if you were minging you were fabulous doing it x

I am extremely happy that they moved my pre-assessment forward, I think I'm more worried about the pain after surgery when the anesthesia wears off more than the surgery itself. Are you finding the pain manageable?

I'm thinking of you too and hoping you continue a smooth recovery.

Sending you all the love and hugs xxx

Ethlyn x

Hi Ethlyn

I'm so glad you gave your dad a good send off! Star Wars themed sounds fabulous, perfect! Hope you are recovering from the day as it takes a lot out of you even if you don't realise it straight away.

Still recovering well from the op. Doing my arm exercises regularly and feeling it getting looser each day. Pain-wise it has been fairly easy. The first few days I managed with paracetamol and codeine but reduced down to paracetamol and ibuprofen about a week later, and 12 days later I'm on no pain meds whatsoever! It's still sore around my armpit where they took the SLNB but apart from that it's now quite manageable. I think during the first few days it's uncomfortable because of the worry that you might injure the area so you take extra precaution and shuffle around like you're 99 years old! But that is all in your head. I'd say give yourself a week to recover at your pace, don't do anything silly, keep warm, sleep when you want to and you'll be absolutely fine.

Regarding surgery, I had morphine injected whilst I was asleep and when I woke up they gave me some codeine and paracetamol which took away any pain. It's really not that bad so please don't worry.

Sending hugs and keep in touch  

Jo xx

Hey Jo,

Aww good to hear that you're still recovering well and thank you for shedding some light on the pain lol. 

My pre assessment went well, my blood pressure was borderline high so she said to just keep drinking more water.

Still no surgery date yet, but I had my spr appointment today and she gave me a softie to take home just in case I wanted to wear one after surgery.

My gosh there's alot of literature that she gave, but now I need to go and find a post OP bra. Apparently it's VAT free if you purchase from m&s!!

I'm good though overall and baby is doing well. I have a scan next week where you can find out the sex, although I may ask the sonographer to write it down and put it in an envelope as my niece and nephews and son want to do a gender reveal party lol.

I'll give them till next week to let me know a surgery date, otherwise I'll be on to them.

Lots of love and hugs and thank you for making this journey a little bit easier for me by sharing your journey. I really do appreciate that.

Ethlyn x

A gender reveal party sounds lush! Something positive to celebrate after all this nightmare.

I bought some post-op crop tops from M&S which I found more flattering than the post-op bra tbh. The front opening hook and eyes were not easy for me with the bra. I prefer to just wear the crop tops that are back fastening. All you need to do is do them up at the front and spin it round to your back, slip your "bad" arm through the strap and use your good arm to pull it up over your chest. Easy! They are already VAT free so fairly cheap compared to normal bras. Every cloud!!

Good luck when your date actually arrives. You will be fine. Any questions about the SMX, just ask and I'll try to help you xx

Hi Jo,

I hope you're well.

Yh a gender reveal will be a nice distraction.

Ah I didn't think of post OP crop tops, I got a pack of 2 post OP bras from Asda. They're lovely and soft with the hook eyes at the front so hopefully they'll be ok.

Well I had a call from the service manager today and he said that they've had a cancellation for this Thursday to do my SMX. So pending on some other things he needs to sort out. Fingers crossed I may be having surgery this Thursday.

Awww thank you I think I'm just wondering how you sleep after the surgery. Do we sit upright?

Ethlyn x