Super powers and surgery while awake

-
Wednesday, 15 May 2019

Another day, another medical procedure.

 Today's adventure involved surgery to have a portacath device installed. It's a small device branded as "PowerPort" which means I now officially have super powers. It's been inserted near my collar bone and is connected via catheter to one of my large central veins. This is where the chemotherapy and Herceptin treatment will be administered. 

 The portacath surgery was another awfully anxious experience. I was awake for the surgery but mildly sedated so I could still hear and feel the movements but felt no pain. I felt quite anxious and my heart rate spiked at 140 when the Doctor inserted the catheter. He said sometimes this "tickles" part of the heart valves which triggers an increased heart rate. My heightened level of anxiety didn't help at the time either.

 In recovery, my heart rate came down and I ended up eventually being discharged. The nursing staff were very understanding of my anxiety and were wonderful as always. Let's hope the removal of the portacath in 12 months' time is less fucked up than today's experience.
Having surgery while awake, to get my portacath installed, was probably the worst experience so far.

Popular posts from this blog

Five months as The Uniboober

-
Image
23 September 2019 Five months ago today, my right breast was removed and I commenced the next chapter of my life as a uniboober. Physically these changes can be seen by the eye but I've changed in so many other ways emotionally, spiritually and mentally.  Thinking back to the mastectomy surgery, I mistakenly believed at the time that the breast removal was the largest component of being diagnosed with breast cancer. Little did I know it was merely one piece of the puzzle, one of the many new parts of my life that meant I'd never be the same again.  I'm getting more comfortable with accepting I'm not the same person and I'm never going to "get back to normal". I'm also not a big fan of the term "new normal", a reference many use for the next part of my life after active treatment has finished. When I do eventually return to work, when people I know ask how I'm doing, when a year or more has passed and I start to look "nor...
Read more

The Uniboober's three-month anniversary

-
Image
WARNING: This blog post and the video below contain photos of mastectomy surgery scars and nudity. Twelve weeks ago today, my right breast was surgically removed by my Rock Star of Titties surgeon, Dr Lisa Creighton . My highly anxious self, medicinally supported by prescription valium, underwent a right breast mastectomy where my saggy, cancer-riddled right breast was removed as well as five axilla lymph node clusters, two of which contained cancerous cells. On Tuesday 24 April 2019, my surgeon removed  1.2 kilograms of my right breast To commemorate the journey of the past three months, I have compiled a short picture video featuring my breast scan, biopsy bruises, post-mastectomy surgery site, post-portacath surgery and three-month post-surgery body.  Before watching, have you taken note of note the warning about post-surgery photos and nudity appearing in this video? Don't watch it if you're squeamish, dislike seeing other people's breasts or if you're...
Read more