Bi-Lateral Mastectomy

On January 4, 2011, I went to surgery for a bi-lateral mastectomy with sentinel node dissection and reconstruction. The surgery took seven or eight hours, I don't remember which. I was suppose to stay over night and then go home the next day, but the doctors decided that I should stay another day. I actually stayed two more days for a total of four days in the hospital. Most of my stay I was in a drug induced sleep.

My family talked me into staying at my brothers while Geo worked for a week. That way they could take care of Georgie and I could rest. The first day home was a Saturday, so Leonard was with me most of the day. He made sure I ate a couple of times that day but I was asleep for the better part of the day. That night I tried to sleep in the bed but repeatedly awoke with a head ache, racing heart and heaving breathing. I realized that I was going so sound to sleep that I would stop breathing. So I went down to the easy chair.


By Sunday I was ready to get up and fix my own meals. Mom had taken Georgie to church and a family get together, so I didn't have to worry about him. That night I tried to sleep in the bed with Georgie again but this time I had the weirdest dream. At first I just saw really bright rays of light, then there was a lady that I recognized but didn't not call by name, she was really beautiful and kind of a golden color. I asked her what was going on and she said its OK but its nothing like what you have been told your whole life. Then I was in a truck and was watching the clean up of a horrible accident where a horse trailer had been mangled. They were using a back hoe to pull a horse out of a ditch. I awoke standing next to the bed, with a terrible headache, racing pulse and breathing heavily. I am not sure what got me out of bed but it probably saved my life. I didn't try to sleep in the bed again.

On Monday I was suppose to call the plastic surgeon, I wasn't sure why, he had just left instructions for me to call. The receptionist told me that I was to or have someone with me remove the pain pump from my chest. Since no one was home, I got to pull two tubes 18" in length from my chest. They wound around where each breasts had been. It hurt a little doing it but the rest of the day was intense pain and I am so very grateful for modern drugs.

I went to see the surgeon on Wednesday. He had gotten the pathology report back. He spent several minutes explaining to me that they had a hard time finding where the tumor had been and how they had to get radiology to find where the markers where so they could then dissect that section to see if they could find any cancer cells. At this point I could tell that he was trying to tell me something but wasn't sure why he was so upset. Then he said that they found scattered cells on the anterior margin. He was going to present it to the tumor board and he wanted me to see the radiologist and the plastic surgeon before the tumor board the following Wednesday.

I went to see the radiologist, who said that radiation would only kill microscopic cells and that these cells were too large to be effected by the radiation. He suggested that they remove the skin. The plastic surgeon felt that I am so "redundant" that there would be no need for skin grafts. I am guessing that redundant means that I was huge and have plenty of skin. So I go back to surgery at the end of the month to have 5 cm up my chest removed.

I came home after my meeting with the plastic surgeon on Tuesday, January 18,. I am getting around really well. I can even drive. I rarely take the pain meds now. If I do it is at night when I have less energy to fight the pain and Georgie. I have several exercises to do everyday to get the mobility back in my arms. I still have drains in each breast area. I think they are planning on leaving them til the next surgery and then they will remove the right one and reset the left one, which is not draining very well. I do not miss those huge boobs, but I am really tired of been in pain. For the most part, I think things are going great.