Hello, sorry to welcome you to this group.

I understand you wanting to jump the gun to get some idea of what you are in
for before the path lab come out with the details, and the docs don't want
to be drawn.  As it stands your condition has something like a 80% average
success rate (off the top of my head), in terms of no signs of cancer for
the subsequent five years.  That of course will be fined down a lot once
such things as lymph node involvement and cellular grade are known.

In the long term, your risk of getting another cancer is higher than that
for the population at large, having had it once at an early age shows you
are likely to be the sort of person who gets it more frequently than
average, so you would classify as high-risk in future.  This is not the same
as a recurrence of the original cancer but the statistics get mixed together
because you often can't tell the difference, which can be confusing.  This
means you should start mammograms early, and watch for signs more carefully
and check them more urgently than most people.

As far as work is concerned, the main restriction is on lifting.  Once the
drains are out and the wound is superficially healed there is nothing to
stop you doing work which does not involve lifting and carrying with that
hand.  I am sure some of the girls with direct experience of this will be
able to fill you in better on how soon you will feel fit for long bus/train
rides.

As far as the arm is concerned, I think it's unpredictable.  Anything from
it may recover immediately, to there may be permanent damage.  There is some
risk (maybe 20%) that you may get some degree of lymphedema (swelling) of
the arm.  It is recommended that after the surgery you permanently avoid
anything which might cause inflammation in that arm, take extra care when
gardening, dealing with pets, etc. and always get blood pressure cuffs and
hypodermics on the other arm.

Tim Jackson

Hi, Chiara - welcome to the best group no one wants to have to join!

I didn't have the quadrantectomy, rather bi-lateral mastectomy with
axillary dissection.  I was then 45, and in quite good health other than
the BC.

It was a week and a half to two weeks before they let me drive (the
hardest thing was turning the steering wheel alllllll the way around).
There were limitations at first on lifting (no more than 5 pounds for
the first week or so, then 10 for a bit.  I couldn't get my arms over my
head to wash my hair (expecially axillary dissection side) at first, and
needed help hair-washing until I was healed enough to take showers.
(You'll likely be in sponge-bath mode for a week or two.)

I was out of work for a month due to the surgery, which seemed silly to
me.  The biggest deal in that regard was that it was more taxing, thus
tiring, to wash & dress, so I needed more time to do it, and more rest
overall.

Took a while to get full range of motion back on the axillary dissection
side.  It was pretty fast to get to maybe 80% then slower to 95%, and
the last 5% took quite a while (in terms of reaching straight up over my
head).  It's important to get stretching exercises to do right away, and
do them religiously, if you have lymph nodes removed especially.

I had surgery in October, and by January/February (during chemo) was
shoveling heavy snow in my driveway.  My chemo nurse was horrified, but
there were no problems.

Some people (randomly, and relatively rarely) have much more trouble
with range of motion after surgery -- get something called "frozen
shoulder" -- and need physical therapy, which normally has a good outcome.

Tim pretty much outlined the long-term.

I work at a University, too, in the USA -- adminstration, though, not
instruction.

I don't want to be grim, because I think the popular press substantually
overstates how awful BC chemotherapy is, so it's possible that you're
more alarmed already than actuality will justify.  But I do want to be
completely open & honest with you.  Chemo is the world's worst hobby,
but it's do-able.

I "sort of" kept working full time through chemotherapy.  I had a worse
than average time with one of the chemo drugs, so would miss several
days of work each 3-week cycle.  Expect to be fatigued (increasingly so
as the treatment goes on), but you probably won't be incapacitated.

Another effect of chemo that occurs for many, but isn't as well warned
about, is "chemo brain".  It's reasonably to expect some level of
cognitive difficulties, possibly very minor, possibly more severe.
Depending on what you do at a University, this could be an issue.  It
was for me.  By cognitive difficulties, I mean difficulties with memory,
complex reasoning, and concentration.   These can be scary, but will
improve eventually.  Some people also have depression (not
surprisingly!), and it's common to be given anti-depressants during
cancer treatment.

The first chemo cycle was the hardest -- after I knew what to expect, I
could priortize what needed to be done when, based on knowledge about
when side effects would occur, when my energy would be highest, etc.
Plan to jettison some unnecessary tasks (good time to lower one's
standards about housework, accept help from those generous friends
who'll truly want to help you, etc.).

A flexible work schedule will help you, for sure.

I don't know that public transport will be a problem per se.  It depends
on what your blood counts do -- your doctors would monitor them.  You'll
want to be cautious (simple things like washing hands frequently, not
touching your face until you've washed, avoiding proximity to sick
people . . . .).   You could do a medical mask thing on the public
transport if you're not shy of looking conspicuous.  See what your
doctors say.

Depending on your specifics, you might also have radiation therapy.
That can be fatiguing, and have some sunburn-like side effects for some
people, but most of us find it the easier part of the process.
Logistics are annoying as you have to go every day.

Take care, ask any questions you may have, and keep us posted on progress!

Ann T.
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Thanks to the people who spent some time to quell my doubts. I feel
like I've come to the right place for advice. I'll post details and
keep you updated... never know who may need the information.

All the best,
Chiara