Post-Surgery
Because MD Anderson is in Houston, upon discharge my husband and I stayed in a hotel until I was released to drive back to Houston. We have been back and forth to Houston every week since the surgery. this disruption of our routine has been hard for all of us. I think we are all ready for things to get back to normal. My family and friends have been wonderful in helping us out with meals, childcare, and companionship. I feel profoundly blessed to have such loving people surrounding me.
I am now a little more than a month post-operation. My team at MD Anderson completed the mastectomy in August. My healing this time has been iffy. While I'm not spitting stitches, I have been on a battery of antibiotics due to an infection. I still have a drain, which is longer than expected. Something is not healing properly inside, so I will need to have additional surgery if the drain output doesn't change quickly. I can't lie - I am reluctant to have another surgery. I want to feel and be normal!
My sarcoma specialist, Dr. H, reviewed the pathology report and shared the following with me:
- There is a huge difference between borderline and malignant phyllodes tumors. Each phyllodes tumor removed from my body has been borderline.
- None of the patients who have been treated at MD Anderson for my condition and who have had the same treatment (mastectomy) have had a recurrence.
- The margins in each of my previous surgeries were not wide enough. In fact, in at least two of the surgeries, there were no margins at all. That means the tumor cells were not completely removed until the full mastectomy.
- My prognosis is good. Once the plastic surgeon is done reconstructing my breast, the sarcoma team will take over my care. I'll be seen every 4-6 months for several years for monitoring, and eventually, the frequency will drop to once a year.
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