Hi, i had a lumpectomy and a sentinel lymph node biopsy 3 weeks ago, and just received the crappy news that my margins had cancer cells ,so another surgery, and this time the nipple is being removed
plus cancer cells are in my lymph nodes. Has any one else had their nipple removed ? I feel so peed off , and angry then worried about the pain, then frightened about lymph nodes and what that means in regard to it spreading further . Any advise on how to manage these feeling?
Thank you for reading this far xx
Hi Wintersunshine6db2c6 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community and I was also diagnosed with Stage 1, grade 3 breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and 2 sentinel lymph nodes removed, of which 1 had a small deposit of cancer cells in it. This meant that I was offered, and took, chemotherapy. My margins were clear, so I don't have any experience with having a second operation. Hopefully others will pop on and respond with their experiences of a second surgery.
I wasn't sure when you said that your nipple was being removed if you meant that you will no longer have a nipple or whether it will be reattached. When I had my surgery my nipple was removed but it was reattached.
While you're waiting for replies, it would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
Hi Wintersunshine6db2cb
Welcome to the forum, I'm Daisy53 one of the Community Champions on this forum. I'm sorry to hear that you were diagnosed with breast cancer and that you didn't have clear margins after your surgery and that you had cancer in your lymph nodes.
Like you I had to have a second operation over two years ago as they found cancer in my lymph nodes. I was given a ct and a bone scan to see if the cancer had spread, luckily it hadn't though they did find a recurrence of my first bout of breast cancer. I had all the lymph nodes removed from my right arm. While I did have a little pain I didn't suffer too much and I took painkillers when I needed to which wasn't very often.
Try to keep yourself busy and try to get out for a walk in the fresh air even if only for a small one as it will help take your mind off things. If you have a Maggie's centre or another cancer centre why don't you give them a call or call in and their will be someone to talk to about how you are feeling. They can even arrange counselling for you if that's what you'd like and they can also arrange for you to do some therapies like Reiki or reflexology. I've done both and I found them helpful. I also had some counselling which helped. You could also give the Macmillan helpline a ring on 0808 808 0000 to talk to someone about how you are feeling, they can also arrange some counselling for you.
Wishing you the best of luck with next operation.
Best wishes
Daisy53
