Breast conserving surgery

[Middleagedfrog]

I'm having a lump removed tomorrow, it's day surgery.
How long after the operation will I be able to do anything normal, such as go for a walk, cook a meal?

I had my surgery last December and did very little for the first couple of days. I was just sooo tired. After about a week I was out doing short walks and being more active around the house. After 4 weeks I managed a 10 mile hike. I would say the key thing is to really listen to your body and be patient and kind with yourself. Happy to answer any other questions you have. Best of luck for tomorrow.

Thanks, so tiredness was the biggest issue for you?

I've spent so much time thinking about the run up to the op (not gettting covid and household isolation) that I haven't given much thought to the time afterwards and managing family life.

I also had nerve pain down my arm and into my wrist so I had to do a lot of things one-handed in the first week. The nerve pain isn’t that common though. Pain and discomfort from the surgery site really wasn’t that bad, I think I limited myself more than I needed to in the first week because I was scared of doing too much. And in the end I don’t think it helped the nerve pain. Once I started to be more active the nerve pain started to ease.

Thank you for replying.
I wasn't planning on doing much, just the bare minimum if possible. It's my left breast and luckily I'm right handed so can do a lot with that.
Was getting dressed difficult?

Make sure you ask what exercises you should be doing after surgery. Or find them online. Do you know whether radiotherapy will follow? I got axillary cording after surgery but the exercises and some physio helped. You need good shoulder mobility to get into position for radio. All the best

Good luck Frog! Like you I had left breast lumpectomy and SNB, am right handed and it was ok getting dressed as far as I recall. I know I walked round the block the next day, not far but felt ok to do it. Make sure you do the exercises they tell you about to reduce risk of cording etc as PP said.

I felt like I'd been kicked by an elephant the next day and nauseous for a week (might be just me though as I tend to be sensitive to drugs and had insisted on having it done under local and had had double dose) and soooo tired. They give you a sick note for a fortnight so I think that says it all really, they know you aren't going to be up to much for that long💐

l had a mastectomy at 9am home by 2pm same day last year.I can honestly say I had no disabling effects apart from not being able to sleep in bed as I sleep on the same side as mastectomy.Do the exercises they suggest and you will be fine.I was 77 at the time of my op.
Hope all goes well,wishing you a speedy recovery.

Please don’t forget to have a really soft sleep type bra with you, it will allow any swelling and soreness to be minimised.

Thank you for your helpful comments.
I've pinned the exercise sheet up, all ready.
I don't have a soft sleep bra though, I had a look for something suitable the other day and there wasn't anything in my size (I'm very small breasted).
A friend went through the same operation and she was given a bra to wear afterwards, so I was expecting the same. That would then buy me time to buy another one.
I'm pretty sure radiotherapy will follow.

@Middleagedfrog

Thank you for replying. I wasn't planning on doing much, just the bare minimum if possible. It's my left breast and luckily I'm right handed so can do a lot with that. Was getting dressed difficult?

I did find it a bit awkward getting dressed for the first few days. Loose clothing and zip up hoodies made it easier.

I didn’t get given a bra to wear but had some non-wired crop-top style bras. I was quite swollen at first so they weren’t a good fit and I can’t remember now what I wore instead but that was 4 months ago and I’ve never worn a proper bra since!

Friend was treated privately, so perhaps that makes a difference re special bra. I've ordered a cropped top bra, not sure how easy it will be to put on though.
Actually quite happy bra-less, it's not uncomfortable in my normal life.

I think a bra is important in holding everything together against gravity!……..maybe small of boob makes it less critical? But you want everything to stay where the surgeon puts it prior to radio………they want to focus on the tumour bed

I had the same surgery on my left side in mid February and I would say that it takes about four weeks to getting back to anywhere near normal but I went back to work after three weeks which with hindsight was far too soon.
I had a lumpectomy quite far up my breast and a sentinel node removed through my left armpit. I found that the armpit would was more painful and the breast wound suffered from weeping longer but was relatively painless. You will need to wear a soft supportive bra for 24 hours a day continuously for at least 5 weeks and indeed I am still wearing a bra constantly apart from in the evening when I give myself a hour or so off. I tried going braless in week 4 at night and suffered awful pain at the operation sites - my surgery sites were glued back together so the weight of your breast pull the wounds down.
The best advice that I can give you is:

• To invest in some soft sports bras for night time and full cup bras for day time but be careful with the over the head types at first - I nearly opened up my armpit wound struggling to get one on. I got mine from TU at Sainsbury's and M&S
• Keep on top of pain meds like paracetamol
• If you're going to be on your own for the day then make someone fills the kettle/coffee machine up before they go out and make sure they leave things that are kept above shoulder level out for you (such as plates/ cups). Do not do any housework like carrying washing, hanging out washing or vacuuming for at least 10 days. Don't lift and carry children or pets.
• I slept on my own for 10 days (DP braved the sofa!) so that I could spread my left arm out and rest it on a pillow while I slept
• I also bought some low adhesive dressings (like white coloured plasters) from Boots to cover the breast wound while it was weeping. If you're lucky then the hospital may give you some but I was changing the dressing a few times a day so needed quite a lot.
• Apply for your prescription exemption certificate via your doctor surgery. You are entitled to free prescriptions for five years. I went to the surgery and collected the form, completed it straight away and handed it back immediately. My certificate and card arrived today so it took about three weeks.
• most importantly do the exercises from about day 2 (and don't push it if it really hurts!) and rest. Keep doing the exercises until you regain full use of your arm and you can stretch normally. I still do some stretching daily so that my armpit wound doesn't tighten up.

You should have a contact number with the breast care nurses so don't be frightened to call them with any worries.