Hello, this is my first post. I was diagnosed at the end of August, unfortunately my cardiac conditions and lack of communication between hospitals and to me mean that my original operation date in mid September has been delayed by almost 4 months. I will finally be having the mastectomy on Wednesday under local anaesthetic (strike permitting). Getting my head around a mastectomy was bad enough but I am very scared about being aware during the operation. I have had a couple of 2 hour long heart procedures under local which were unpleasant but bearable and I was concious throughout. The anaesthetist has told me I will be able to follow instructions but won't know what is happening. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who has had this done.
Thank you & best wishes
Hi JPL68
Welcome to the forum and I am sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with breast cancer and that you have to be awake during surgery. While I haven’t the experience you are looking for I noticed that you haven’t had any replies yet so I thought I’d reply to you to welcome you to the community. I haven’t heard of anyone having breast surgery while awake. I suggest you put your question in the “Ask a nurse section of the Macmillan website, though you will need to wait a day or two for an answer. Alternatively you can ring the Macmillan helpline on 0808 808 00 00 to talk to one of the volunteers at the end of the line.
Wishing you the best of luck with your op and,with whatever comes next.
Best wishes
Daisy53
