Lumpectomy (surgery) and recovery

Following this, I had to go to another department to have a guide-wire put in. This was inserted by someone who used an ultrasound. The wire was inserted into my breast and was a little uncomfortable at the time. It didn’t take too long and once positioned, I had a mammogram to check that it was leading to the tumour.

Next, I had to travel to another hospital in a different district to have my lumpectomy – or, as my paperwork stated, a wire guided wide local excision of the right breast. This was to remove the tumour and lymph nodes that were going to be biopsied. Once we arrived, Andy dropped me off and I was on my own. I had people come to see me to explain what they were going to be doing but generally, I don’t remember – I reacted adversely to the anaesthetic and have little recollection of much of the time I spent in hospital.

When I woke up from the anaesthetic, I was very sick. Each time I moved, I had this overwhelming feeling of travel sickness. It was, looking back, hilarious. My vomit was Kermit green! I would go to the toilet – where my urine was bright blue (this was the dye used during the operation) – and just about got back to my bed before I needed to be sick.

Additionally, I had no idea where I was. I do remember the staff wanting to send me home but both Andy and I said no. They did eventually say that I would be kept in overnight. I wasn’t able to eat anything although I tried to eat ice-cream. I slept a bit but couldn’t eat. I did manage some ginger biscuits around midnight and they instantly made me feel better although they did stick to my mouth like glue. By the time morning came, I was keen to go home but I didn’t leave until relatively late in the afternoon.

My breast wasn’t sore but it was numb. I had two lots of dressings – one on my breast and one in my armpit. As the week progressed, the bruising came out. Goodness! No one warned me about the bruising! It looked like my breast and side were dying! I named it my ‘rain-boob’ – there were so many colours it was unbelievable but it never really hurt. I did take a heart cushion home with me when I left the hospital. These are shaped this way so that there was some cushioning between my arm and my side/breast. It was a godsend. It made life so comfortable and I made use of it everywhere – on the sofa, in the car, in bed. It just meant that the pressure was relieved.

Before I had the operation, Nessy told me that I should start the exercises the same day as surgery. I’d been given a leaflet which had them all in. You need to do these so that you can gain as much movement as possible as soon as possible and also to ensure that you are able to put your arm above your head for radiotherapy when the time comes. I did these exercises three times a day for quite a few weeks. I never really had any difficulty with the mobility and made sure that I was able to move them well each time. They also became quite therapeutic when I was anxious – which I was frequently – and gave me time to stop and chill.

I needed to keep the dressings on for a week and organised to have them taken off by a nurse at my local GP Practice. This was the Tuesday, eight days after the surgery. The wounds had healed well but I had some quite ferocious swelling along with a small sore (that is the sore in the photo, not a nipple!) Little did I know how these would affect me.

You are told not to Google anything – I didn’t and have never Googled my cancer. However, I did Google “swelling after breast surgery” and stumbled upon something called a seroma. I didn’t know what that was but the images I looked at were very similar to what I had developed. It was like I had a tennis ball on my breast and a golf ball in my armpit. They were not painful but were very much in the way and quite uncomfortable. I went to see the Practice Nurse a couple of times more regarding the sore and swelling. I suggested that it could be a seroma but she wasn’t sure so I rang the Cancer Care Line to speak with the Breast Care Nurse, Fiona. I saw her a couple of days after this and she drained the fluid and explained what it was. A seroma is where serous fluid collects in the space where tissue has been taken following surgery. I had to have the seroma drained again a week or so later as it filled up quite quickly. Draining seromas is not something the medical team like doing. 

As I said in the previous paragraph, I also had a sore on my breast. Mr C explained that it was there because he was close to the skin during surgery. It had been leaking a tiny amount of fluid since the dressings had been removed a week after surgery and he assured me that it would stop eventually and was perfectly normal. On Sunday 23rd April, Andy went away to do some training and my mum came to stay with me for the week as I didn’t want to be on my own. On that Sunday afternoon, her and I went for a lovely walk. When we got back, I removed my coat and wondered why my jumper was wet on the right side. I took it off and realised that my seroma had burst and the fluid had leaked everywhere. I was terrified – this was now very much open to infection and I needed to get it sorted as soon as possible.

Firstly, I phoned the Cancer Care Line to try to contact my Breast Care Nurse. Although it wasn’t 4 o’clock, the line was closed (it was a Sunday). Next, I phoned 111 and was told that someone would phone me back within the next three or four hours. This was too long as I knew I needed to get some antibiotics. I told the 111 operator that I was going to go to A and E and try to get sorted there. Mum and I got straight in the car and drove to A and E. We waited a couple of hours to be seen. Eventually someone called me in and mum joined me. The doctor looking at it didn’t know what a seroma was and had to look it up on Google. He seemed more concerned about the sore rather than anything else. However, I did convince him to give me a prescription for antibiotics which I couldn’t get until the following day.

I needed to change the dressing on my breast every day and this was very upsetting because there appeared to be a huge amount of fluid leaking from it. It was awful – all I kept thinking about was how chemotherapy would be delayed and that my cancer would come back and kill me. I saw Nessy near the end of the week and she was pleased with how the seroma was healing. She gave me a cuddle which was very much appreciated – this was the first day where the ‘seepage’ was quite minimal – but still there.  

At the end of this week, I received a call from the genetic testing nurse telling me that I didn’t have a faulty gene. I was upset for a little while – I shouldn’t have been because not having a faulty gene was a good thing for my entire family. However, it meant that I wouldn’t automatically be given the surgery I desperately wanted – a bi-lateral mastectomy.

On the Sunday, Andy came home from his training and dad collected mum. As Nessy had been amazing this week, I crocheted her a doll – it was in her uniform (of a fashion) and I tried to replicate her hair (not that successfully). I was pleased with how it came out. I just wanted to say thank you for the care and support she offered (and continues to offer). I saw her again the following Wednesday so that she could check the seroma. There was a tiny bit of leakage but apparently, it was looking good. I gave her the doll and she was really pleased. She gave me a lovely cuddle – something that she’s given me every time I’ve seen her since – it makes such a difference to know that someone cares.

The seroma itself is very interesting. It continued to leak fluid until Monday 31st July. This was well into my chemotherapy. During this time, I had it covered and periodically had Nessy check it. I couldn’t risk leaving it uncovered because it was an open wound. An open wound during chemotherapy isn’t good as there is a huge risk of infection. I kept it covered with special dressings a long time after there was no leaking just to be on the safe side as I couldn’t see what was what. When it burst, the whole thing tightened up and I ended up with a breast that was misshapen and all puckered up at the top. I couldn’t see the lumpectomy scar and it was very tight. It remained like this for about three months. It did begin to relax – this was around the same time that the fluid stopped leaking. It was a peculiar feeling as I had pain in my breast in the most unusual places but each morning, I would notice a difference. Around the end of August, I began to be able to see the scar and it felt less lumpy. Nessy advised that I put moisturiser on it to help soften the skin. It continued to be numb until I had them removed. It’s a peculiar feeling. I didn’t really have the correct sensation. I knew I was touching it but it was almost like I had pins and needles. It was very weird. I didn’t know whether that would ever go away but it was manageable (mind you, I wanted them gone so it didn’t really matter!.

I did find that after the surgery, my sleep was generally quite disrupted. I’m going to be honest – it continues to be disrupted even to this day. Surprisingly, it wasn’t worrying that kept me awake, although on the odd occasion it was. Generally, it was because I just kept waking up and couldn’t get back to sleep. It’s very hard to explain why I couldn’t sleep well – some nights I’d have seven or eight hours and on other nights, I’d only have three or four. There was no rhyme or reason to it.

I had to mention the seroma to Dr N, the oncologist, but he didn’t seem overly concerned. I explained that it was covered and wasn’t causing me any issues.

What I would say is if you develop a seroma, be patient with it as it is an absolute nuisance. The one I had in my armpit did not cause me any issues whatsoever other than when it was inflamed. The one on my breast however, was the cause of much worry and concern on my part but it did heal. I was lucky enough not to get any kind of infection because of the seroma or the lumpectomy but I do know people who have. If any swelling arises, get it looked at as it may need to be drained but generally, you’ll likely be advised to give it time to be reabsorbed into your body.