Second part of this triple negative cancer journey involved having a lumpectomy to remove the remainder of the cancer. It had shrunk from 2.7cm to 0.5cm by the end of chemotherapy. Originally I was having a double mastectomy, but due to poor timing my plans changed to fit in with my surgical team. So next step was to have a lumpectomy to remove cancer and surrounding healthy tissue along with the removal of sentinel nodes. The sentinel node biopsy is a used to determine whether the cancer has spread beyond a primary tumour into the lymphatic system. The cancer is also tested to see if it is still active or if it is pathologically cancer free (PCR).
I arrived at radiology at 8am in the morning to undergo the first part of this procedure. They needed to put radioactivity into my lymph channels. This was the most painful part of any procedure I have had to date with breast cancer. The lovely nurse (who I knew) placed the needle directly into the areola and it felt like a bee sting that lasted for a good 20 seconds. It really hurt but I breathed through the pain. I then had to wait an hour for it to make its way through the lymph channels so that my sentinel nodes could be identified and marked.
I had a bit of an overwhelming moment when I realised that a really good friend of mine who passed from cancer over a year ago was definitely looking out for me. Two weeks ago I had to have a mammogram to help identify the cancer for this procedure and my friend’s (who had passed away) daughter was there to help do the mammogram after not long completing her uni degree. Was lovely to see her. Anyway on the day of this procedure the nurse introduces herself and I see a tattoo of the letter N in between angel wings on the back of her arm which is representing my friend as an angel. I realise that the nurse who is doing this procedure is the girlfriend of my friends son. When I put all of the dots together, I realised it was a sign that she was looking out and protecting me.
After the sentinel nodes were marked, I moved onto the next part of the procedure which was placing the hookwire into my breast as a guide to find the cancer for the surgeon. My cancer is situated in a really tricky spot as it is quite deep and sits back towards my chest wall. The hookwire had to be inserted through the use of a mammogram machine as an ultrasound was finding it hard to locate it because of it’s location. I had to sit on a chair with my right breast placed into the mammogram machine and then held firmly in place, with my right arm up above my head, my lower back slightly twisted and my head back. It was highly uncomfortable. The needle was inserted from the side to numb the breast and it was painful as I felt it go in deeper and deeper. Not as sore as the radioactive needle but I started to fill very sick as a wave of heat came over me. The nurse took my beanie and mask off to get some air in while the doctor got the hookwire put into place as quickly as she could. As soon as the procedure was completed they laid me back in the chair and the nurse fanned me with a fan. As soon as I was out of the uncomfortable position I was feeling a lot better. The hookwire acts as a guide for my surgeon to find the cancer and I had more of the wire hanging out of me than in me.
Final stage of the process was heading to surgery. I got onto the surgery table around 4pm. It was a long day. I was slightly worried about coming out of anaesthesia as I normally feel really ill. Surprisingly, I came out not feeling sick at all, however I did have vision issues and couldn’t focus on anything. Everything was moving vertically like a waterfall. It came right after a half an hour.
I was able to leave the next day after talking to the breast care nurse and my surgeon. The surgeon commented on how deep the cancer was and tricky to get to. I received my exercises and follow up appointments and headed home around lunchtime.
There was an 86 year old male opposite me who had surgery for breast cancer. Goes to show anyone can get breast cancer so please check you breasts.
A week later I went to my oncologist to receive my histology results on the cancer they removed. The cancer they removed was actually 2cm in size but the margins around it were all clear which means they got all of the cancer. The lymph nodes were clear and some other test that looks at lymph channels that can turn into blood vessels and transfer the cancer into the blood system were all clear which is another positive outcome.
Next steps - chemo tablets for six months to increase my chances of it not coming back and then my double mastectomy next year. My surgical wound has healed very quickly and looking really good.
Finally, I have taken a deep breath and released all of that pent up emotion. All treatment moving forward now is preventative treatment to increase my chances of it not coming back. I am so happy and relieved with these results. My specialist team have been absolutely amazing. I am beyond grateful.
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