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smarkus381 started following
User: GregP_WN
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smarkus381 shared an experience
Radiation (External radiation ): The only side effects I had were to my skin. It did burn and peel and that was painful. Otherwise it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
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smarkus381 shared an experience
Procedure or Surgery (Breast Reconstruction (Implant)): To minimize the number of surgeries, I had a breast tissue expander implanted for reconstruction. The expander is fine at first but then as it is expanded I had this awkward lump high up on my right chest. It was very difficult to camouflage for work every day. The prosthesis placed in my bra helped but there was no way to hide it! I had to deal with it throughout radiation and then three months afterward. Once radiation starts you have to stop expansion. Had I known I would be having radiation, I would not have started the expansion!
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smarkus381 shared an experience
Procedure or Surgery (Sentinel lymph node biopsy): They removed three sentinel lymph nodes during my mastectomy. All along I thought there was no cancer in my lymph nodes because of an original biopsy. My doctors felt the same way. However, cancer was found in two of the three. Cancer was also growing outside of one of the lymph nodes.
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smarkus381 shared an experience
Procedure or Surgery (Mastectomy): My mastectomy went very well. I recovered very quickly and was back to work in three weeks.
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smarkus381 shared an experience
Oh No (Surprise no lumpectomy now its a mastectomy.): After thinking for three months I would have a lumpectomy, I was shocked to find that evwen though the chemo shrunk my tumor, it did not shrink it enough. I was told I would have a mastectomy.