The port is out! And look how little my chest is now! It's seems so foreign to me because it hasn't been this size since about middle school. It's adorable!
Of course, I have no idea how most of my clothes fit anymore, since most were sized to accommodate my chest before - being big chested ain't a walk in the park when it comes to clothes shopping. Now, none of my bras fit and I don't have the foggiest idea what size does. My current size doesn't even matter though because it'll change in two weeks.
On the 21st I go in for my first expansion, where they'll inject saline into the two spacers in my chest via a port on each. That will start stretching my skin for the future repair, so my size and shape will be changing then. I've been advised to plan to take muscle relaxers that day to offset the discomfort. But! Fun fact: years ago, my husband's uncle is the one who developed and patented the access port in the spacers currently installed in my chest. So thanks, Uncle Greg!
And some good news: I was able to have the last two drains removed from the sides of my chest yesterday and I feel SO much better. 95% of the pain and discomfort I've had since the operation has been from the drain on my right side. And now it's finally out and I'm so much more comfortable. Which means that I was even able to sleep in my own bed last night instead of in the recliner in the living room. Honestly, because my chest is still recovering, the recliner would have still been more comfortable but I just really wanted to sleep in my own bed anyway.
Also, my plastic surgeon says I can go back to work when I feel up to it. It's been 11 days since surgery so I think I can get back to it pretty soon, basically as soon as I can get the proper paperwork done and processed. So, probably next week.
I also spoke with my primary surgeon the other day, the one who did the mastectomy part of the surgery, because he received the final biopsy reports back from all of the tissue. The tumor in my right breast looked as expected, and my left breast was completely clear of any cancer. During the surgery he also removed the first two lymph nodes closest to my right breast, though, and the closest one had a teeny little tumor in it - it was 0.25 mm - so the breast cancer had in fact started to metastasize into my lymphatic system. Fortunately, the second lymph node appeared completely free of any cancer, so it looks like the cancer had only just gotten to the first node and not beyond that. And that node is now in a medical waste bin somewhere, so hopefully all will be well.
The main impact that seems to have on me right now is when I start radiation in a few weeks, they'll target both my breast and my right armpit, where the node was. I'll meet with the radiation oncologist next week and we'll start the radiation soon thereafter. Then I'll be getting nuked Monday through Friday for six weeks. So, toasted tata and armpit, here I come!
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