From the first moment my wife discovered she
had breast cancer, there was a deafening silence from the men I know. Even ones
whose wives, mothers or girlfriends had breast cancer seemed to have received a
gag order from some Central Cancer Command and did little more than mumble
about the experience. Not one to shut up for any known reason, I started this blog…That
was four years ago – as time passed, people searching for answers stumbled across
my blog and checked out what I had to say. The following entry first appeared in
January of 2014.
The results of the
surgery to place the implants was quite suddenly made manifest because of a
cat.
Yeah, a cat.
You know how they
say that cats have such a soft tread? You can’t hardly hear them when they
walk?
They don’t tell
you that if your cat walks across your chest in an effort to snuggle up close
to a warm body, and they step on your chest, and they’ve done it a million
times before – that you won’t get a stabbing pain that feels like your internal
stitches holding the scaffolds in place are tearing free...
That’s what
happened a couple of days ago and it sent me scurrying to the internet before
we called the doctor. What I found there was a matter of deduction drawing on
my biology degree, so I AIN’T NO DOCTOR; this is a common sense deduction. If
anything else happens, we’re going back to the clinic!
So, this is the
logic chain. Point out anything you see that might be stupid:
1)
During
surgery, it is impossible to avoid cutting nerves. “It is normal to feel
tingling or numbness on the inner side of your arm. The sensation is due to
nerve damage and should go away after two or three months. But some women may
always have a little numbness.” (http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/cancer-help/type/breast-cancer/treatment/surgery/reconstruction/possible-problems-with-breast-reconstruction)
2)
Nerves
DO grow back, but it takes time. “In the peripheral nervous system -- the
network of nerve cells outside the brain and spinal column -- cells sometimes
naturally regenerate damaged axons.” (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131107122742.htm)
3)
The
nerve damaged during mastectomies and reconstruction runs from the armpit area
to the chest. “This is related to cutting or injury to the intercostobrachial
nerve, which runs from the chest wall to the arm and provides for sensation.” (https://talkabouthealth.com/is-there-any-way-to-repair-a-nerve-damaged-during-a-mastectomy-my-pain-is-constant-intense-burning-at-the-armpit)
Putting this data
together, I deduce that the nerve is growing slowly.
The cat stepped on
the end of the nerve.
The shooting pain
was the regrown nerve firing.
Conclusion: For
the time being, we aren’t going to worry. We will keep you posted!
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