Removing My Lipoma

First you need to know what is a lipoma. It's a growing blob of fat cells in the body. It can occur anywhere in the body at any time in life. Some become visible as a bump that you notice when examining your body. It's a bump that grows under the skin. When I say grows, I mean GROWS. My lipoma, when removed measured 6 inches in diameter, the size of a donut. When I finally met with the surgeon who had laproscopically removed my gall bladder to remove my lipoma, he was amazed by the size. He took a picture and sent it to me after he removed it.

I first noticed it, my lipoma, several years ago. It showed up on mammograms as something protruding from the chest wall. No one took any interest in it. Then I felt it protrude above my right breast when I flexed a certain muscle. The protrusion became larger and larger and whenever I had massages in the area I would tell them about the lipoma. I knew what a lipoma was by now and I knew it was getting larger. I knew that it needed to be removed. I was hesitating because it wasn't cancerous. Most aren't, just a glob of fat. Another surgery was imminent. Yet, it wasn't covered as a necessary surgery. Unlike my lumpectomy or gall bladder removal, this surgery was not considered necessary. Argh. 

On May 1, 2017, my surgeon marked a purple X as I lay in the hospital talking to the anesthesiologist. I came out of surgery after 2 hours, trembling but glad that the ordeal was over and I was fine. Heavily bandaged but fine. Arrived home with 12 Percosets, the least amount needed. I would not see my lipoma until I went to the surgeon to check my stitches. It was difficult to remove the dressing. After several attempts and sitting back on the bed when I felt whoozy, I was finally able to see the purple X.  That meant the scar was somewhere else. It was long and lower. The lipoma was in-between the chest wall and the ribs. They managed to push/pull it out through that incision on the side of my right breast. Wow. Surgeons are amazing and skilled. 

I healed well. No infections and was able to move my arm even after surgery. I made sure not to lift weights at the gym for a fews weeks but then I was back to normal. And my bras fit better! It felt good to lose that donut. I showed the picture of it to friends who could handle seeing it. It's amazing what can be growing in your body. When getting tests before surgery, I joked with the ultrasound tech whether it had a heartbeat, was it a boy or girl. I was in good spirits and glad it was removed before it grew any larger. I'm not in the running for growing the largest one. They say it can grow back or grow somewhere else. Or that could be it. My one and only. You never know what life will be like but you. FYI, they did test the cells and it was non-cancerous, benign. Whew. Bit that bullet. No chemo and radiation after this one. Yippee!!