‘Today was my surgery day’

02 August, 2022 | By Ingrid Fuchs

I did two longer runs, 16km and 17km, with my best running mate. We talk a lot about my cancer and are not shy to approach the topic of death. It is really nice that I can talk so freely about it with him. It definitely helps a lot with my anxiety. On our last run, I ran the trails very slowly realising that if I would fall and break something, it could stand in the way of my surgery. It was also my last run as I understood from the surgeon that it would take around six weeks before I could start running again. A shame because I was just starting to get stronger again.

Today was my surgery day and I had to be at the hospital at 7am. I was waiting in the admission unit and briefly saw the surgeon and the anaesthetist. The anaesthetist told me that they will put a cannula in my hand and an injection in my neck, which will block the nerves in that area. I didn’t want to sit around for three hours so luckily the nurse let me go for a walk.

After one and a half hours I arrived back and it was time for me to get ready for theatre. I had to put the gown on as well as stockings to prevent deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The walking had prevented me from getting nervous so I was relaxed when I went in and enjoyed chatting with the theatre staff and the anaesthetist. It almost felt like a shame to have to go to sleep.

Later I woke up in the recovery room and was taken to the ward. It had been such a good experience, everybody had been super nice to me and the toast and coffee was especially delicious.

On the first night home I didn't sleep very well although I probably did have my hours of sleep, my arm was slightly sore. The next morning I panicked because the drain to collect my lymph fluid (seroma) fell out. I probably moved around too much and I felt really cross with myself, annoyed that I would have to call the clinical nurse specialists for advice, who I know are always very busy. They assured me that they would drain it with a syringe if needed, but so far there is no build up of fluid.

The surgeon has done such a good job, the breast looks really good, just a tiny scar by the nipple and not even a dent where the tumour was. I know that the tumour was in a difficult place (upper inner area) and she had to move tissue around to make it look nice.

Anyway I’m so pleased with the results. Also, I can do the arm and shoulder exercises easily, it doesn’t hurt at all and I don’t need the painkillers they gave me. The surgeon has told me that the lymph node clearance was not easy as the lymph nodes were attached to the nerves and she had to untangle it.

The days after the surgery I have been keeping busy, walking every day with my husband and some days with friends too. I’m keen to be distracted until I get the histology results from the oncologist on Thursday. If I have too much time, I think too much and I get anxious.

This blog was originally published in the Nursing Times. Many thanks to them for sharing Ingrid's story.