Questions as I prepare for a lumpectomy: Tips please

Hello. I had a lumpectomy earlier this year. Took Tylenol maybe once a day for pain. Have a revision shortly thereafter and the only pain I had was two days later when I went shopping and did some lifting. Tylenol and an ice pack fixed that. My breast is still a bit numb about 8 weeks after the second surgery. I did not have lymph node resection.

Gosh I don’t really remember the surgery, so it went very well, I guess.
I don’t remember the showering routine, but my daughter came to stay and never complained about me smelling!
I slept on my right side for a couple days but didn’t rest comfortably. So I had a small pillow I had used to put between my knees and wedged that under my left side where my incision was and slept on that side. That was the most comfortable.
I developed a seroma - a liquid pocket where the cancer had been removed - about a week later. It was during Covid and my surgeon couldn’t see me. It swelled a lot and finally I got his attention - after making a scene in his waiting room.
Talk to your doctor before hand about it. My doc said he had never seen it before but in reading these posts, it’s quite common. Good luck! Your surgery is you on your way to survival.

And although my daughter came to help, I really didn’t needs much help. But then, it was during Covid and I was laid off so it was easy to take it easy.

@babs28
Hello, thank you for sharing your experience. Can you shower the day after? Also, I was only told one surgery, what is a revision surgery?

If I may ask, did you have your lumpectomy at Mayo, if so, do you mind sharing who was your surgeon?

Thank you for sharing your experience. It’s helpful.

@beyourownadvocate
Thank you for sharing your experience, I appreciate it

(1)Were you in pain for days weeks after? I had a lumpectomy on 4/7/26 and pain was completely manageable with Tylenol. I had two incisions; one around the areola and one up toward the armpit where they removed 2 sentinel lymph nodes. Now, 3 weeks post surgery, I am aware of only very mild soreness in the lymph nodes area. The breast area was bruised but not as sensitive as the armpit. I resumed GENTLE stretching (overhead hurts a bit, so maybe wait a week or more on that) on day 3. My Doctor assured me "don't worry , the stitches will not 'rip'" which gave me the affirmation I needed to resume normal activity. In fact, much of the soreness I experienced was from not moving normally, but I am normally very active, so check with your surgeon.

(2) Can you wash your hair and shower normal after? If not, how many days before you can do so? I was allowed to wash my hair and shower after 48 hours, which felt so good. I just went very slow and did not let the water run on the incisions as directed.

(3) anyone here has DCIS and not have radiation after? I did not have DCIS. My partial breast radiation begins next week.

I hope this is reassuring to you. It was not nearly as scary or painful as I thought it may be. 🙂

My surgery was almost be years ago. Grade 2 IDC, left side, deep almost to chest wall. Surgeon went under the breast to decrease scarring and of course took sentinel nodes. Sent home in that special pressure bra with ace bandage on top. They gave me codeine before I left and sent script. Next morning about 10am was a little uncomfortable so took the 2 prescribed (never again! I was out for about 3 hours!) then another following morning. I was allowed to shower on 2nd day post surgery, then rewrap. The only problem I had was that first shower when I removed the ace bandage from the lymph node site. I was in tears. But once showered and rewrapped, I was fine and actually never took anymore pain meds of any type. Ace bandage was on (except for showers) till 2 week recheck. Restricted lifting (< 10#) till recheck but all else was whatever I felt I could do. One thing I’ll recommend if you need to wash hair more frequently are hair wash caps. Available on Amazon, used a lot for elderly where it’s difficult to shower and can’t lean over a sink. Put it on, rub it all around to activate (May need help if can’t lift arms), then remove and towel dry. They do work.

@jules2026 Did not have the surgery at Mayo. So, my surgeon only planned for one surgery, the lumpectomy. When they remove the tumor it is sent to pathology. I presume they confirm the cancer type. They also look at the margins of the removed tissue. They want to make sure there are clean margins on the sample. On a couple of aspects of my tumor is was described as "abutting", so no buffer between the tumor and healthy tissue. So I went back in about a week later to get those clean margins. It's not uncommon to need a revision from what I've read; we are talking millimeters of tissue afterall. I did fine after both surgeries, minimal pain at most. I didn't have lymph node resection. Anyway, awaiting a call from radiation oncology about when I will start radiation treatments. Which reminds me, I need to practice holding my breath!

@mistymar , thank you for sharing your experience. What is the Ace bandage?

@babs28 I hope everything goes smoothly with your radiation. Were you in pain after the surgery, and did they have to remove stitches? Thank you for sharing your experience. I am nervous and scared.