Post-Op

4:15 pm
The doctor just came out and spoke with us. They removed the tumor, it was up against the fascia layer, and into the skin a bit, so they took some of that. She did have node involvement, so they did remove all of the nodes. The pathology report should be available by next Tuesday or Wednesday to let us know if she is stage II or stage III.

She will have a drain in for about the next week, and when the fluid is less then one ounce a day, she will go back to her surgeon to have it removed.

Susie will need chemotherapy, then radiation, then hormone treatment. She will need to work very closely with her doctors to address her specific concerns regarding fertility and childbearing, but they are all aware of these concerns and will do their best to work out the best treatment plan for her.

As far as recovery, she will need to see how she is feeling before she decides when she can go back to work. However, as long as the drains are in, she will not be able to get the area wet, so Nurse Jamie will provide sponge baths and hairdressers Janeen and Sarah will be on hair washing and styling duty. She is advised to use her hand and arm, but she will likely have some numbness in her tricep area for possibly up to a year. Also, she won’t really be able to lift the right arm higher then her shoulder until the drains come out and the area heals.

4:35 pm
We just saw Susie, she looks good, but she says her arm hurts, which is to be expected. We hope that she will be feeling well enough in a couple hours to take her home.

Feel free to give any of our cell phones a call and we can give you status later as well.

Thank you again to all of the well wishes and prayers. It means so much to Susie and her family.