A Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy tells you if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. My lymph nodes were not enlarged during the ultrasound, which was good news, but the biopsy is looking for microscopic cancer that is not visible in the ultrasound or large enough to cause swelling.
I was told to be at the hospital by 7am, appointment with nuclear medicine at 8:30am and the surgery was scheduled for 10:30am.
We arrived at about 7:10am, checked in, got my wristband and waited. There were several people already in the waiting room, including a couple we saw during the marathon visit with the 4 docs at once. She was scheduled to go before me. We waited and waited - it was a good people watching experience and my hubby was nice and was talking to me and trying to make me laugh. One guy was pushed up in a wheelchair with his leg in an ace bandage. He was put near us so we could see his foot clearly and how disgusting his toenail was (yuck). Another came in on crutches and said they broke their Achilles tendon (ouch). Another lady was waiting and when they called someone else she asked if they called her cause she left, but her voice and body language was very aggressive and you could see that the nurse was trying to remain cool.
A volunteer old guy came by and introduced himself and said that he was there to answer any questions and that there would be free coffee ready in a few minutes. Great - no food or drink for me since midnight and I could start to smell the coffee. Please call my name. They did within a few minutes - and the coffee started to smell like it was cheap or not good, whew, being a coffee snob worked out for me at that moment.
I was called back and asked to provide a urine sample. Since I am still in my childbearing years I have to have a pregnancy test before almost everything I do. It is part of my chemo labwork too. Insult to injury, but what am I going to do?
Then I was given bay 2 (am I a car now?) and told to undress and put on a lovely purple plastic and paper gown and socks with the pads on them. I barely got situated and a guy came by with a wheelchair to whisk me away to my appointment with nuclear medicine (read - radioactive shot). As he was wheeling me over he said his job was to take me over, assist the doc and to hold my hand. I was like, I'm tough, I don't need anyone to hold my hand. Then I learned the shot was going to be in the areola. Um OK, my boobies have had more done to them in the last few weeks than the whole rest of my life, but never injected, yikes. Then they had me lay down on a bed and he went to go get the doc. The doc explained where the shot was going to be and that the initial needle prick shouldn't hurt so much, but when he pushes the stuff in it will hurt. No matter the location I cannot watch them stick a needle in me - psychologically it hurts way more if I watch, so I am in the habit of looking away, so I just closed my eyes, the doc prepped the area and then the nurse held my hand. The doc was right, the initial needle stick didn't hurt, but then as he pushed (he warned me as he did it) it hurt - it felt like he was sticking a needle all the way up my breast. The nurse grabbed my left hand and I did squeeze. And he was right, I needed him to hold my hand. They let me lay there for a minute or two, then I hopped back on the wheelchair and went back to bay 2. The nurse set up an iv, took my blood pressure, talked with an anesthesiologist (first one), and told my medical history to the nurse and anesthesiologist. Since I do have a mitral valve prolapse(heart murmur) the anesthesiologist ordered an EKG.
They then called my hubby, who was in the waiting room this whole time, and allowed him to come back in the room with me. And we waited some more. Then the EKG tech came and my hubby had to get out of the way, even move the chairs to get his machine in there, put a ton of stickers everywhere and the actual ekg took about 2 minutes. Everything looks good. I figured as much - I know I have a heart murmur, but it doesn't impact my daily life in any way.
Then we waited, and waited and waited. From my bay I had a clear view of the board. My surgeon had another surgery before mine - I figured it was the couple we saw in the waiting room. She was in bay 16. The doc finally came to see me - asked questions, explained the procedure. The best thing she said was that if my nodes are clear that I will only need 4 chemo treatments, vs the 8 I am scheduled for right now. If any of you want to send good thoughts or prayers my way, that is all I ask for - that it has not spread. She then gave me an exam, and agreed that the tumor felt smaller than the other day. She also explained that sometimes the tumor can get in the way of the nuclear medicine making its way to the nodes. They did tell me to massage the area as much as possible after the shot. And if that didn't work that they can use some blue dye. So I may wake up with some blue dye on me and that would cause my urine to be blue for a couple of days. Heck the chemo will make my urine red, so lets see if I can pee a rainbow within a week, ha ha. She then said I had the other surgery before me and that it would be an hour or two before it is my turn. I think she was late, and she even took a phonecall during my exam in which I heard her talking about her nanny. Sigh. I know they are people too, but the waiting is the worst - just get on with it, not to mention my stomach was growling.
Then I waited and waited and waited. I was hungry and I had to pee. But I was hooked up to an IV, sigh. We called the nurse and she took my bag and walked with me to the bathroom. She hooked the bag on the hook on the back of the door and the tubing was long enough for me to reach the toilet. Meanwhile I was focused on keeping my backside covered while walking to the restroom in the paper/plastic gown that was open in the back. I used the bathroom and noticed there was some backflow of blood into the iv(it was on my wrist) so I rushed to finish and get back to her, but it was good to go, cause i was holding it for as long as I could to make sure I didn't have to go again before the surgery. I saw her in bay 1 with someone else and asked her if it was normal, she said yes and asked another nurse to help me. whew.
Then I waited some more (do you sense a theme here) and an anesthesiologist (#2) came by and talked to me, looked at my chart, etc. She then left and I waited some more. Then another anesthesiologist came in (#3) and said he would be my anesthesiologist. I was like what, there was just another one that said she would do it. He said she was relieving him for his lunch break (but I guess he was back now). Oh yeah, it was a few minutes before noon (surgery was initially scheduled for 10:30 but the board said 12). He then explained he would give me some stuff and I probably wouldn't even remember being wheeled into the operating room. Then a couple minutes later they came to get me, I kissed my hubby goodbye as the doc reached over to my IV and said here is the "happy juice" yeah he actually said that. I do remember being wheeled into the first operating room, having about 3 other people being in there and I think someone added something else to my IV as everyone was staring at me, just waiting for me to go out.
Then I woke up in recovery. I opened my eyes and the way I was laying I was staring at the clock. 1:05pm. I tried to keep my eyes open but couldn't. Then I opened them at 1:10pm. I wanted to try and wake myself up as much as possible so I could go home and eat. Yeah, I was still starving. My mouth was numb too - they did tell me I would have a mouth tube. It was hard to talk and my throat was dry (it was dry all morning). The nurse was right there with me the whole time. I looked at my chi chi and it was blue - darnit, did I just have a shot of radioactive material in the nipple for nothing? The nurse asked me some questions including if I was in pain. I said on a scale of 1-10 it was about a 3. She asked if I wanted some meds, but I said I was OK. I hate taking drugs unless I really need them.
The nurse called the hubby to get my pain meds from the pharmacy and pull the truck up to the waiting area. Meanwhile I was given some apple juice with ice and allowed to get dressed (not a minute too soon). There was some confusion but eventually the hubby picked me up, I was wheeled down to the truck and we were on our way home. I wasn't really in any pain. The hubby said that the surgeon came and talked to him and that she took 2 nodes out and that I was OK to do almost anything and I could take a shower tonight (the nurse said to wait 24 hours).
I went home and ate something - I was starving. The nurse said to start with something light like soup or salad . . . I had some fruit but then went on to more. I was still OK with the pain but decided to take one just in case. I did get sleepy after that and went to watch a movie in the bedroom. I was still OK several hours later and didn't take another pill until bedtime - more to make sure I got some good sleep than for the pain. I did sleep pretty well - heck I slept until 8:30! but felt good in the morning. I even think I figured out my mystery pain on my left ribcage . . . I am normally a right side sleeper, but have been sleeping on the left side lately - and this morning I woke up to my ribcage hurting as it was pressed against the bed. Hopefully that is what is causing it.
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