Having had two surgeries recently, still recovering from #2, I am now really dreading the one that is planned on my breast. Partly this is because I am finding the idea of yet another round of pain and sickness hard, but a lot of it is because I don't feel yet that I know enough about what's coming.
No decision has been made yet on whether it's going to be a mastectomy or breast conserving, so I am slowly researching both. However, dry “information sheet” type data is not enough. If anyone here is willing to share from their own experience of breast surgery, things such as how many days you had to stay on the ward after surgery, how long and how did it go about regaining good use of the arm on the side involved, did you have to go home with drains – anything, really.
I know some of us would have healed faster and some slower, our pain thresholds are not the same and so on, and so I hope to get a broad picture. This will help me adjust my expectations which in turn would negate any anxiety that is due to mystery, and leave me only with the hopefully-reduced anxiety of anticipating something that I feel I can define and face.
Hi GreyCats
Is it you deciding whether you need a mastectomy or lumpectomy? Or is it your team seeing if they can carry out breast conserving surgery? I had my operation just over 4 years ago and had 8cm taken out of my breast - I was just so relieved that as I was 38D they could carry out breast conserving operation with sentinel lymph node removal.
I understand exactly what you mean about having had surgeries before and getting so fed up with them. I had a road accident at 17 and stopped counting my operations after a dozen and seem to be constantly at the doctors because of complications with the injuries I received. I had MRSA in my wound in my leg at the time I was diagnosed with BC, so although I went into the hospital early in the day to have my wires inserted, I didn't have my operation until last thing due to the MRSA. On a positive note, because of the MRSA I was given a private room 
. I went home at 7.30pm with paracetamol and ibuprofen and this was enough for me for the whole of my recovery.
One thing I wish I had been told is that I would definitely have a large dent in my breast earlier I was repeatedly told you "might have a dent" until the day of the surgery when the surgeon came and spoke to me shortly before the operation and he said "you will have a dent". If I had been aware of this, I would have asked them to carry out some form of reconstruction at the time. Although when I asked my BC nurse on my sign off, she said I could have reconstruction later, I like you don't want any more operations! So, if they'd told me at the time, I would have asked the question about reconstruction being done at the time of the op.
The most painful bit for me was the insertion of the wires ready for the op. I had more than one and one came out, so she had to re-do it which was unfortunate,
The other thing that surprised me was that it was about a year after my operation that it stopped hurting completely when I lifted anything heavy with that arm. (shopping bags as an example) - It really isn't like a broken bone and takes a lot, lot longer to get back to normal. Still now, if I lie on it badly then it can hurt a bit. But don't worry, this is normal and I've had 3 annuals all being clear. It might be because I had such a large chunk out of my breast as to why it took so long to stop hurting on exertion. I did my exercises religiously and recovered really well - so much so that I had the operation on the Wednesday and was back at work on the Friday. I was driving 4 days later.
If you have all lymph nodes removed, then drains will be needed, but doesn't seem to be needed for the sentinel nodes removal.
I hope this helps a little.
Best wishes, Lesley
