Yesterday I had breast cancer surgery. I had hoped to post about it then, but I largely rested and/or slept for the rest of the day.
The day started very early. We were instructed to arrive at the surgery center at 6 AM, so we woke at 4:15 AM to leave at 5:20 AM. The night before, we set out our outfits and packed a bag with everything we’d need, so as not to have to do it in the morning with 4 AM brains. That helped the morning go smoothly.
We arrived around 5:45 AM and waited in the car until just before 6:00 AM. We went inside then and waited in the lobby for the surgery center registration office to open. There was one patient before us.
When the surgery center registration office opened, we moved into their waiting room. It wasn’t long before we were called up to register. It was an easy process. I just answered a few questions and told them Paul would be staying throughout surgery and driving me home after. They gave me a hospital bracelet and we returned to the waiting room. A little while later, they let me know the nurses in the surgery center were ready for me.
Paul escorted me upstairs to the surgery center. The door to the surgery center stays locked and you have to ring their doorbell to be let in. We rang the doorbell and my pre-op nurse answered. Paul wasn’t allowed in at that point, so I went in and he wandered off to wait somewhere.
My pre-op nurse, whom I absolutely loved, escorted me to a pre-op “room,” which was really more of a bay with a curtain for privacy. She asked if I still get my period and I said yes, so she gave me a urine sample cup for a pregnancy test. As expected, it came back negative and we were good to go on that front.
The pre-op nurse asked me what procedure we were doing and I said “lumpectomy of the right breast.” They definitely know, but they continue asking as a way to confirm they’re doing the correct procedure on the correct side.
She explained that I would need to get fully undressed and put on a gown with the opening in the back. There were also grippy socks for me to wear and a bonnet to cover my hair. Apparently they don’t play with outside germs in the operating room (OR). She also brought me a blanket that had been warmed to snuggle under once I was changed.
She closed the curtain and left me to change, which I did. The big bag that contained the clothes I changed into doubled as a bag for my belongings, so I put my clothes, shoes and bag into it and settled into the pre-op recliner. When my nurse returned, she labeled the bag and my cane with stickers containing my information and took them away for safe keeping during surgery.
She then asked me if Paul would be okay being in the room while she set up my IV access. They were waiting for more tourniquets and she didn’t want me to continue waiting alone. I told her I assumed so and she got in touch with the registration office to track him down and send him upstairs to me.
Once he arrived and they let him in, they led him back to my pre-op bay and he settled into a chair next to me. Then it was time for my IV. My nurse explained that the anesthesiologists and surgeons prefer the IV to be inserted in my hand. She tried to get the veins in my hand to pop up but eventually declared them too tiny for this purpose. I showed her the vein in the crook of my left elbow that always works and she was able to set up the IV access there. It’s such a reliable vein but since everyone uses it, it’s beginning to scar from overuse. She told me to stop telling people to use that vein, but where else will they go? The crook of my right elbow doesn’t have reliable veins. 😆
My nurse took the opportunity to hold my hand and tell me some tips about cancer treatment, especially as related to medical cannabis and how it can help. She also talked about how bad chemotherapy can be. Apparently her sister has gone through it. She wasn’t trying to scare me, she just wanted to explain it as a way of supporting her hope that I have a good support system for this disease.
Once I was ready for surgery, my surgeon came in to go over my medications one last time, ask a few questions and give me an opportunity to ask questions of her. Then the anesthesiologist came in to introduce himself, explain the anesthesia plan, ask a few questions and also give me an opportunity to ask questions of him.
Right on schedule, my OR nurse came to get me around 7:30 AM. She asked my name, date of birth and what procedure we were doing — “lumpectomy of the right breast.” She untied the back of my gown and put a fresh warm blanket over my shoulders for coverage.
Carrying my IV pole, she led me to the OR, which was bustling with several people already in the room. She asked again my name, date of birth and what procedure we were doing — “lumpectomy of the right breast.”
She assisted me in getting situated on the surgical bed. (Not sure if that’s the correct terminology.) She warned me to be careful because the bed was narrow — and it was. It was just about as wide as my body and had a long, thin platform perpendicular to the bed on each side for my arms. It was roughly the shape of a cross.
The OR nurse helped position me so that I wasn’t lying on my hospital gown at all. My surgeon came over and had me scoot to the right a little bit to improve my positioning.
At that point, the anesthesiologist was ready to do his thing. He stood at the head of the bed and said, “You’ll be feeling relaxed very soon. I’m sure you’re nervous and that’s completely normal.” I told him with a wry chuckle that I was definitely quite nervous. He added something to my IV via syringe and placed a blood pressure cuff around my forearm. And that’s the last thing I remember of surgery. No counting down or anything, I was just out.
I awoke in post-op and it felt as if no time had passed. I love that about anesthesia. Rather than using heavy anesthesia, my anesthesiologist used sedation and my surgeon used local anesthesia. The combination was enough that when I awoke, I was in no pain — except for my lower lip, which was painful and swollen in the center. Apparently, I bit down on whatever was in my mouth during surgery (breathing tube?) and my lip thoroughly disliked it. It’s definitely still swollen today, but it’s a bit smaller, and it still hurts pretty badly.
For the sake of transparency, I will tell you that I edited those photos to minimize my giant pores. 😂
My post-op nurse introduced herself to me when I was once again conscious. Much like my pre-op nurse, she was excellent. She pinged Paul to let him know that I was awake and he could come be with me.
My surgeon visited to tell me everything went very well and that she had removed only one lymph node — but that they stick together so it could turn out to be more than one.
After my surgeon’s visit, I asked the nurse if I could drink water and eat now and not only did she say yes, she provided me with ice chips and saltines (they also had graham crackers and pretzels). I felt badly because she opened several packets of crackers for me but I was only able to eat a few before being discharged.
I asked her if I had sworn much after surgery and thankfully she said no. I’ve had anesthesia twice before and was told both times that as I was waking up, but before I could remember much, I said “fuck” a lot. Not maliciously — exuberantly. I remember my mom laughing a lot while witnessing it the first time. 😂 But I do worry about offending people before I’m even aware of what I’m doing. 😆
Once my nurse was convinced I was awake and feeling alright, she told me I could get dressed and go home. She gave me the choice of having her help me get dressed, having Paul help me get dressed or getting dressed on my own. I had Paul help me even though I mostly did it on my own. I got a couple t-shirts that snap apart into separate front and back pieces, which makes it possible to get the shirt on without having to lift my right arm. I put it on snapped apart on only the right side and I did need Paul’s help with all those snaps.
When I was ready to go, Paul left to bring the car to the surgery center’s drop-off/pick-up area and the nurse asked me if I wanted to use the bathroom. I definitely did and guess what?! My pee was super blue! I had been warned a couple times that the blue dye the surgeon injects during surgery would turn my pee a shocking blue, so I was prepared for it, but y’all. It was shockingly blue. I almost wish I had taken a photo for you, since it looked nothing like pee! It was like toilet cleaning stuff blue. So blue! 😂 It has lightened with every pee since and is, disappointingly, already back to its usual boring pale yellow color. 😆
After that, the nurse put me in a wheel chair and wheeled me down to to pick-up area, where Paul was waiting. I got in the car while thanking the nurse profusely and we were off.
Before making our way home, we needed to stop at CVS to pick up my Percocet prescription, some Tegaderm and some stool softener (just in case, because opioids). My post-op nurse had written us a little list so we wouldn’t forget anything. I went with Paul to CVS because we weren’t sure if he would be allowed to pick up a controlled substance for me. It turns out he could have, he’d just need to provide his ID. Now we know for next time. While we were there, I found myself anxious about the potential for people to bump into me, since I was in pain by then, but I made it through the store without incident.
I didn’t have enough water left to take the Percocet in the car, but I took it as soon as we got home and have been taking it every 6 hours since. I have enough to last me through tomorrow and then I’ll be switching to Tylenol.
Since I’ve been home, I’ve been taking my meds on schedule, sleeping frequently but not for long durations, watching some TV, getting on social media when I can stay awake, trying to stay hydrated, eating things that are easy to eat, trying not to use my right arm/hand and saying “ow” a lot.
Staying awake is proving a challenge. While I am tired, I think the Percocet is making me extra sleepy. Like Benadryl-level, can’t-keep-my-eyes-open sleepy. It’s probably a good thing for healing but I never love sleeping my days away. I’ve had to write this post in little bits between naps today.
Another challenge I’m having is with the bandages. I’m covered with some strategically placed padding (to protect the incision area) and a very tight binder. I have to wear it until tomorrow morning. At that point, I can take it off, care for the wounds, add new padding (a hand towel is the doc’s suggestion) and put it back on. The challenge is that I have dermatographia and possibly mast cell activation syndrome (MCAS), so my skin hates everything. My skin is quite irritated under the edges of the binder all the way around on both the top and bottom — and it’s very itchy. At least in the morning I’ll hopefully be able to give my skin some time with the binder off so it can at least momentarily recover.
And perhaps the challenge I’m having that is most relevant to the surgery is overusing my right arm. I’ve learned that if I keep my arm close to my body (close to my side and then wrapping my forearm in front of my belly, just under my breasts) and don’t tense the muscles in my arm or right pectoral muscle, there is less pain. I’m thinking about grabbing a sling from Amazon so I can secure my arm to my body without using my muscles. I know they say it’s important to keep moving the arm so you don’t lose range of motion or develop cording, etc., but it’s too soon for me. It hurts too badly still and I’m terrible at not using my right arm.
The last thing I want to say is that my husband is being an excellent caregiver. I’m so grateful to him for that. ❤️
Anyway, I think that’s all I have for you today. Hopefully you’ve made it all the way through this very long post! I’ll do my best to keep you updated about my recovery. Currently, we’re waiting for test results from the tumor. That should take maybe a week or two. Thank you for reading, friends! ❤️