Skiing after an operation

A snowHead

Unfortunately I have just been diagnosed with breast cancer and next week I will be having a mastectomy.

I wondered if any Snowheads have experienced this or know any skiers who have? How soon can I ski again? Is it too optomistic to think I'll be skiing this winter?

Thanks.

A snowHead

dbaskls, oh dear, very sorry to hear that. I hope the operation goes well.

I don't know many people who have skied after a mastectomy but my sister in law did - with me. Can't remember how long after, actually. She had one or two problems getting up after falling down - because of the "pulling" under her arm, but generally she was fine, and very much enjoyed herself. She was more or less a beginner, and quite nervous, but it was fine.

If you are having the op next week I would have thought you would be able to ski this winter but obviously your surgeon will give you specific advice. Some careful thought about rehab after the op will help you get your strength back. I skied 7 weeks after a hysterectomy. I took it very easy and had done a lot to try to make sure my legs were up to it - those weeks doing nothing much soon take it out of you. The main risk could be that because of lack of exercise and fitness you damage a knee ligament or something similar, rather than anything specifically related to the mastectomy itself. Three months after mythe op I would have been 100% but obviously a mastectomy is something very different and you'll have specific advice about exercises.

If your surgeon is happy, arranging a ski holiday - maybe in mid March, which is a lovely time to go, will give you something positive to look forward to and work towards.

I have a close friend who had a mastectomy and reconstruction over 10 years ago now - I'd been trying to persuade her to come skiing before, and have continued to do so since, but she's adamant that it's not for her. She's a keen golfer and got back into that pretty quickly. She's made a terrific recovery.

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Actually - just thought of another friend who had a mastectomy/reconstruction - also a good few years ago. She's been skiing loads since - they own an apartment near me. I don't know how long after her op she was skiing but it's not been an issue - which is why I didn't think of it before. Her breast cancer made her decide to take early retirement from her quite stressfull job in planning and enjoy life - like my other friend, she's made a great recovery and is now much more bothered about a dodgy hip with a lot of arthritis.

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dbaskls, So sorry to hear this.

Recovery is very individual but some things to think about; It's not just the mastectomy and reconstruction i.e. getting over the physical aspects of the operation but I suspect there will also be a course of chemotherapy and then possibly herceptin treatment? I think it is optimistic to think about skiing this winter but then again in a few months you may feel fine and raring to go. A friend of mine has gone through this over the past 12 months. She had a mastectomy about this time last year but was really too ill to go skiing last season since the chemo sessions (which lasted over the winter) that followed took the energy out of her. 12 months later she is well on the road to recovery, looking and feeling fab and is going skiing this year.

I hope all goes well and you're back on the snow sooner rather than later.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

dbaskls, halfhand makes very good points. My sister in law had a very unusual "strong blast" of radiotherapy - over three days when she was more or less in isolation. A horrid experience but got it over with. She was on Tamoxifen for years, though she's stopped taking it now, and although she did have some side effects they didn't affect her skiing. She was getting hot flushes and so was I - just because of my age. She's a smoker and it was perishingly cold and whenever she felt a flush coming on she went out for a smoke. Laughing

My daughter in law has breast cancer - she's had a lump and some lymph nodes removed, no sign of spread but they are talking about 3 - 6 months chemotherapy, starting soon. Final details of treatment not worked out yet, but I imagine she won't feel up to any skiing. She's not at all keen anyway - they will be with me at Christmas and whilst she loves being out in the mountains she didn't ski at all last trip and might even be glad of a good excuse - skiing really isn't for her, but she's tried hard for the sake of my son who is keen for them to ski as a family.

There are so many great things to do out in the mountains in winter, even if you don't ski and if you have chemo maybe a trip could be fitted in for one of the weeks when you feel a bit better?

I don't know how soon after chemo stops you start feeling better - probably that's individual too.

All the very best - I hope you have lots of support and help to get you through it.

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dbaskls, Skiing this winter will give you something to look forward to over what must be a pretty bleak time for you. The end of the ski season is 7 1/2 months away so there is every chance you will have recovered by then. I am not sure of the research but I think I read somewhere that an optimistic view of the world aids recovery as does something to look forward to. I can think of nothing better to look forward to than a winter sports holiday.

I hope you do manage to get some an enjoyable ski holiday in and that you make a full recovery.

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dbaskls, Sorry to hear that and wish you a speedy recovery. I would check with the surgeon/physio's and nurses as they will be the ones seeing you post-operatively and will see how you are recovering etc.

After all it is free

Hi dbaskls,

I’m so sorry to hear that you are having to go through this. It must be such a shock, and a really daunting and miserable place to be right now.

As others have already said, your recovery will depend very much on the overall treatment you need. The extent of surgery and other treatment (if any) will depend very much on the type and stage of breast cancer you have and if you decide to (and are able to) have reconstructive surgery. You will probably find that no-one’s experience will be exactly the same.

In my case, I was diagnosed with DCIS and after two wide local excisions which failed to achieve a sufficiently clear margin, had a mastectomy along with an immediate DIEP reconstruction just under 11 weeks ago. I haven’t needed any other treatment as the cancer was non-invasive and the mastectomy ensured its complete removal.

Before the operation I struggled to get any good information on how the surgery might impact on all my activities. I am a really keen climber/mountaineer as well as a hillwalker and skier and was worried sick about the potential physical impairment.

However, I’ve recovered really well. I was hillwalking in the Lakes and Dales again 5 weeks after the operation, back to swimming and cycling after 6 weeks when the initial healing was complete (and pretty much back to normal fitness with these now – training for this season’s skiing!). At 9 weeks I scrambled up Tryfan North Ridge and did some proper big mountain walks in Snowdonia, and the week after was back to rock climbing; climbing 5+ routes indoors and seconding gritstone Severes outside. I’m planning to go to the Chill Factore in the next week or so to ski, and no worries about booking next season’s trips now.

From what I was able to find out, it seemed that the extent of surgery to the lymph nodes rather than the mastectomy is the main factor in problems with arm mobility that some women experience. My surgeon advised that this (along with the risk of lymphoedema) was more likely to be a problem if wider lymph node clearance was needed. In my case I just needed a sentinel node biopsy (carried out at the same time as the mastectomy). They ended up removing the sample node from the inside rather than making an extra cut through my armpit, which seems to have minimised muscle damage. My arm was a bit stiff initially, but now has normal mobility. It’s really important to do the physio stretches they give you religiously (4-5 times a day in my case). My physios advised that most of the recovery in mobility is achieved in the first 2 months after surgery.

The reconstructive surgery I had involved grafting tissue taken from my abdomen (effectively a tummy-tuck), and it is this aspect of my surgery that has taken the longest to recover from. I opted for the DIEP because it was the only reconstruction option that didn’t involve major interference to other muscles that would potentially impede me climbing in the future. This required a much more major operation than a straightforward mastectomy: 10 hours of surgery, 3 days in intensive care and a week in hospital, and has the longest recovery time of any of the surgery options. I couldn’t stand up, let alone walk for 3-4 days afterwards. If you just have a mastectomy, I think they just discharge you the next day with a packet of paracetemol!

I’d say my upper body felt pretty much normal within 8 weeks, in fact it hardly hurt at all even immediately after the op, whilst my abdomen is still a bit sore. Without the abdominal surgery I’m sure I would have been happy skiing within a couple of months. I don’t know if things feel any different if you don’t have a reconstruction e.g whether it’s tighter across your chest.

I have probably recovered a bit quicker than average as I was very fit before the operation (I am 47, so also have relative youth on my side). I have also been very determined in my physical rehabilitation, as I wanted to get back to climbing and hillwalking again as soon as possible, and be able to ski again this season. It’s been a great motivation. I’ve been out doing something virtually every day since I left hospital. Starting off with short walks on the trails around my village and pushing it a bit further and a bit harder every day, until I could walk up big mountains again.

So, in terms of just the surgery, I would be confident that this alone wouldn’t impede you skiing later this season, though you would obviously want to avoid booking anything until you were sure you OK. Like others have said, it is important to have good things to look forward to when it’s all over.

I really hope everything goes well with your treatment. I am feeling happy and enjoying life again already, and I’m sure you will too once you get through it all. The waiting is the worst bit.

Stay strong and positive, and try not to let yourself be scared.

dbaskls, send Queen Boudica a private message as she is a cancer survivor and mentors cancer patients as well. I know she was back skiing pretty sharpish and still skis all day every day with few problems (as I ski with her it's me that has trouble keeping up). She is probably in a better position to give you actual practical advice with respect to your particular circumstances.

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CathS, well done - an inspiring story!

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Thank you all for your replies. Great to hear some encouraging stories. CathS, so good to hear how well your surgery went. I'm having a sentinal node biopsy at the same time as the mastectomy and then any further treatment will be determined by what they find. So there are a few unknowns at the moment. I've opted not to go for reconstruction so my op wont be quite as long and I'll be one of those being shoved out of the door with the paracetamol the next day! I'm 46 so not much difference in age either. I hope I can follow your lead and maybe sneak in some skiing at Easter.

Thanks again everyone. I can cope with what this thing throws at me so long as I can still ski!

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You know it makes sense.

However long it takes I'm sure you will draw great motivation to recover well knowing that you can someday ski again. all the very best wishes for a speedy recovery!!

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

How did I miss your post K? You will be whizzing down those mountains in no time and you know where me (and all the other ladies) are if you need to shout, moan, cry or get trollied wink

I know the snowheads aren't as huggy as some but have one here too ((((((((()))))))))))))

xxxxx

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Skiing after an operation

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