Making progress

Originally written: 28th September 2009


I am surprised how quickly you can recover from fairly major surgery! Today is my first day "home alone", which I was quite looking forward to even though I have loved having my parents here to help out and really needed them last week.

I can now bath, wash and dry my hair and dress on my own (albeit slowly!), and can potter around the house and kitchen. My right arm has much more movement in it, and although far from back to strength, is much more useful now!

I still have my drain in, but it will have been in a week today so it is definitely coming out tonight. Finally there is a lot less fluid in it: it has to be below 40mls to come out, and has been more than that every day so far.

So I went for a walk today, into town and pootled about a few shops. I took it very slow, and did feel a teeny bit wobbly, but was slow and steady and got myself back home again. I had to put a cheque in the bank, buy a few birthday cards and also got myself some new hair clips (might as well enjoy my hair while I can: I've been growing it - ironic that it is likely to all be gone in a few months!) and I bought a mastectomy bra. I am still wearing the support bra/top thing that the hospital gave me but hope that once the drain is out, I can try wearing a proper bra again. The only difference with a mastectomy bra is that they have pockets for a prosthesis, but this seems often to require thick straps and a very high centre, which shows under some clothes. I bought a pretty brown one, where the straps are wider but lacy, and the top of the bra is pretty enough to be on show if my top is a little low!

I've also been busy buying things online: another bra, some higher necked tops (my whole wardrobe is full of lowish V necks!) and I am getting our weekly shop delivered by Tesco to save G a task.

So all in all, I am doing really well. The only down point was last week, with the results of the pathology tests. My cancer is a grade 3 (more different from normal cells that lower grade cancers - there are only 3 grades). It had also affected all of the 23 lymph nodes they removed. This basically means that there is a higher chance of it having spread, but as yet I don't know how you find out whether it has spread or not! A question for my meeting with the oncologist tomorrow, when I'll find out what chemotherapy they are going to recommend. The news knocked me back and I spent the afternoon sleeping and crying, but bounced back the next day, determined to get fit enough to fight it off. Radiotherapy and hormone therapy will follow the birth of my baby (I am feeling more and more sure I will get that far!!)