They are lying! I asked the nurse if they use a local and if it hurts when they remove a drain. She said they don't use a local and it doesn't hurt. When the doctor pulled the drain out from my side, it was incredibly painful. He said I was someone who had an unusually strong reaction to the tube and my skin was all red and irritated around it and that it was much more painful than for the majority of other people. I didn't see a thing but apparently there were several inches of tube drain in me as well as some other yucky stuff that came out. (Okay, maybe you didn't want to know all that.)
Anyhow, there were no more positive nodes which is a very good thing. He took out a total of 21 nodes, including the first one which was positive, so one positive, 20 negative is a good ratio.
Next stop, medical oncologist to discuss chemo plans... Apparently they look at three factors in determining if you should have chemo: size of tumor - over 2cm and yes definitely, under 1 cm and usually not so I am in the gray area; next is lymph node involvement - I have minimal involvement; and last criteria is patient age and health - the young healthy ones (like me) apparently are the best candidates to ensure a nice long life. It seems most likely that is what will happen.
Now I get to start a whole set of range of motion exercises to regain mobility in my left arm - that will keep me busy until the next apt.
PS It is already less painful with the drain gone but I need a nap.
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