Fiddle playing and surgery

Subject: BS: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Mrs_Annie
Date: 22 Aug 05 - 06:50 AM

Hi all, I have involvement on another board, for those affected by breast cancer to help and support each other. I have seen a request for help from someone whose wife is about to undergo surgery for breast cancer. This involves a mastectomy and reconstruction (there are 3 options). She wants to choose the best option for her to be able to carry on playing the violin with no reduced movement, pain, etc. She hasn't had any help from the consultants who have never come across this before. I thought there are so many musicians on this site, someone may be able to offer help.

Is there anyone who has had this procedure, (or knows someone who has) and carried on playing the violin/fiddle, and would be willing to share their experience, which op they chose, how easy/difficult it was to regain their former skill/movement, etc.

If so, please PM me and I'll pass it all on.

Many thanks for your help

Anne

Subject: RE: BS: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Mooh
Date: 22 Aug 05 - 08:03 AM

I can't help you directly, but have you also checked www.thesession.org, www.fiddlefork.com, www.violinist.com?

This issue rings a bell with me somehow, so I wonder if there has been related threads here. A search would find out.

Good luck.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Mooh
Date: 22 Aug 05 - 08:19 AM

www.acmp.net has some links to various health concerns for musicians. It also may be helpful.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: BS: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Mrs_Annie
Date: 22 Aug 05 - 08:19 AM

Thanks Mooh, I'll check them out.

Annie

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: John O'L
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 01:46 AM

You could also ask over at the Fiddle Forum:

http://www.fiddleforum.com/

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Liz the Squeak
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 02:24 AM

I think the surgery/fiddle enquiries here have been to do with damaged elbow joints, rather than mammorial issues.

Good luck with the surgery, hope it all turns out with the best possible results.

LTS

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: mooman
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 05:38 AM

The classical violinist Joan Kwuon recovered from breast cancer and set uo the charity Artists for Breast Cancer Survival. Perhaps that might be a source of some further information?

Peace and good luck with the surgery,

moo

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Bassic
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 08:28 AM

My understanding is that a major issue for anyone playing an instrument following a Mastectomy and Rebuild, is that typically, the tissue and muscle that is used in the rebuild comes from the back/shoulder region and this can cause problems of strength/control/pain afterwards for a musician depending on what instrument they play. A close friend, (a Scottish Small Piper) faced exactly this dilemma and through close discussion with her surgeon (another piper incidentally) the choice was made to take the rebuild tissue from her stomach area rather than from her back. Once the scars had healed she was able to play again in the normal way, (they are elbow pipes), though the opperation itself took slightly longer to recover from because the incissions are in a more "mobile" part of the anatomy and therfore more subject to delay in healing because of disturbance through normal movement. Maybe this might be a possibility for your friend to consider?

The operation was unusual aparently, especially as my friend was quite pettite, and the medical team took many photographs of each stage in the process for the purposes of academic resurch which should now be available to other medical professionals. PM me if you want further details as there were some consequences which your friend should be aware of in how best to plan the surgery and any subsequent treatment.

best wishes to your friend.

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: NH Dave
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 04:03 PM

A local fiddler switched from playing right handed to left handed after some problem with his left arm. Once he swapped the bridge and sound post around he had few problems, except for training his right hand to do the fingering.   He knew what was required, but his right hand wasn't skilled with fretting at the start. Since then he has bought a real left haded violin and continues to play left handed. Since he teaches fiddle, this is a bit of a blessing as his students can watch him play and immitate what he is doing, without having to reverse things in their heads.

Dave

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: open mike
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 04:31 PM

i know a woman who had great difficulty
in lifting after breast cancer surgery.
she was not able to raise her arms,
or maybe even wasw not allowed to..

good that this can be discussed pre-surgery
and maybe prevent this to help the fiddle
playing future!

best of luck and health to your friend.

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: DonMeixner
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 06:17 PM

A woman of my aquaintence, Norma Sweet, had a radical mastectomy. She made a living teaching violin. She went to Physical Therapist (Thats Physio-Therapist for UKs and their derivatives) and my friend was set up with an excercise regimen. It was quite successful.

She returned to fiddling some inside of a month and was back onstage in three. A few years later in her early seventies she had a minor stroke and used the same regimen to regain her strength. She lived another seven years until a recurrence of the cancer took her life.

But she fiddled quite literally her entire life away.

Don

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Sorcha
Date: 23 Aug 05 - 06:34 PM

A lot of what you will need to do will depend on which side it's on....or is it both?

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: Mrs_Annie
Date: 24 Aug 05 - 04:03 AM

Thanks to everybody for all your help and advice. I've passed it all on and wished them well.

Anne

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: BanjoRay
Date: 24 Aug 05 - 08:06 AM

An excellent fiddle playing friend of mine had a double mastectomy 3 or 4 years ago. She did not have a rebuild, wears T-shirts, her fiddle playing is unaffected, and she's as beautiful now as she ever was, regularly playing onstage to much acclaim.
Cheers
Ray

Subject: RE: Fiddle playing and surgery
From: GUEST,madfiddling Mark.
Date: 03 Sep 05 - 07:53 PM

I'm wondering if the chest support system that Mark Wood developed for his Viper electric violin could help.

I believe that they are working on a system for any violin. This could be just what you need, depending on which side the mastectomy was done. A arm protudes from the underneath of the instrument and rest around the left armpit area, and a strap then goes around the body, holding the instrument in place without the need of the shoulder and chin.

Pop over to www.woodviolins.com and ask Laura.

Mark
www.fiddleforum.com