More surgery decisions...

Cherry (my favourite oncology nurse) just laid it all out there. The radiologist inserted the guide wire into an area of precancerous cells - different to the area they previously identified. A whole 5 centimetres away. I had to wait for Mr Sutton to break away from surgery to explain it to me and give me another choice to make. 

I was so calm the whole day, but this development made me wobble. A lot. The problem wasn't that I had to choose between a bigger lumpectomy/partial mastectomy and a full mastectomy, it was that if I chose a mastectomy, I'd need to have it on another day. I wanted it out out out! I wasn't leaving there without having my surgery. Unfortunately even if I'd chosen a mastectomy, I'd still need to have surgery that day to remove the wire. There was also a chance that I would need more surgery after the partial mastectomy if they didn't find a clear margin of healthy cells around the bad tissue they were to remove. 

  

Mr Sutton is a great plastic surgeon and I trusted his advice. I chose to have the partial mastectomy and he got out the tape again and marked me up for surgery. 

The new procedure meant that I needed to have another guide wire put in "the hard way". This meant that they got me into a mammogram machine again with the front part of my breast in a vice-like grip for around 20 minutes while the radiologist inserted another guide wire to pinpoint the second area. This was really painful and the local anaesthetic that she put in twice didn't help at all. God knows why it was so painful, but it's been the worst procedure so far in terms of pain (including the surgery!)

Then off I went for my radioactive injection which I was told is like a bee sting to the nipple. 

Luckily the anaesthetic kicked in so I mainly felt a vibrating/buzzing sensation. 

I was then ushered into another private waiting room in admissions and given some sexy socks to wear...