Bloody Pain in the Breast

My continuing Adventures with Breast Cancer; Post lumpectomy.

Despite the lack of updates, my breast cancer journey has continued and I am now at home recovering from a lumpectomy.

I am in pain right now. I am also tired and cranky.

I feel I have been frustrated, scared and/or cranky for a few weeks now.

However, I am no longer in limbo, impatiently waiting to find out when they would be removing the cancer.

While waiting for my surgery date, I started to feel like the cancer was growing inside me. I watched the news with increasing dread as the headlines talked about the staffing crisis hitting all the hospitals as a wave of covid and flu and yet another respiratory disease took everyone down. My “within four weeks” grew less and less likely, and then it passed.

I finally had surgery last Friday.

In fact, this time last week I was sitting in a cold corridor in my hospital gown and a blanket. I had a hook wire in my breast, pinpointing the actual cancer and radioactive dye in my veins and I was waiting for the third attempt to locate the correct lymph node so they could mark the spot with a black Sharpie. I was a little miserable but thankfully someone had finally let my partner know he could sit with me and then the amazing Cinnamon (this is my recollection of her name) with the colourful socks could see what I needed in terms of comfort and information and provided it.

It was a long morning but a short afternoon. I remember trying to make sure they knew that there were multiple sharpie crosses and that only one of them was right as I was rendered unconscious.

The next thing I remember is waking in my room. Followed by a night of interrupted sleep, nurses and doctors, painkillers, oxygen, a drip, and listening to podcasts. A morning of waiting around and then discharged to go home.

I am recovering reasonably well, but I am eternally grateful for the Breast Cancer Nurse who advocated for me to be given some stronger pain killers. I am not sure on what planet a few panadol and Nurofen were going to cut it this week. Yes, mostly, the pain has been manageable but when it isn’t hoo boy, am I glad of the codeine.