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Old 10-03-2009, 12:40 PM   #13
bejuce
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Join Date: May 2009
Posts: 510
Re: Drainage Tube Questions

Looks like everyone's experiences are different. I had 4 drains put in for my bilateral mastectomy with axillary node dissection on the right side. Two of the drains came out in a week or so and the last two took 28 days. I was pretty active with my kids after the surgery and had a lot of fluid. My surgeon said that waiting is better to avoid problems later. It was tough not to shower for so long. I started radiation a couple of days after my drains were removed and so far so good. The drains were the worst part of the surgery. You will feel much better once they are out. Good luck!!
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ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3

Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding.
March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin
08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy)
08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best!
September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda
02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy
05/27/10 - Bone scan clear
06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found
07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin!
02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial
03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay!
10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found
now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin


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