Unilateral mastectomy & reconstruction
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yeah! Great news, Jeanie!
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good news! we like good news,, glad to hear
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yes, good news is far and in between for some of us,,,, sooooooo, Any good news is encouraging,,, I am guessing he will do both sides at the same time when tweeks us,,, he said he was going to Lipo on my natural breast as it is full in the armpit and then remove some extra skin where the TE was and use the fat from the Lipo to make a better pocket for the implant,, it is heavy, 800ccs, so it droops just a little,,, but noticeable,, not looking forward to "both" sides operated on at same time,,, I admire all of the women that do a double MX ,,,, that's a hard recovery,,,, then,the last operation ,,, to nipple or not to nipple???? That will be the question,,,',,,,,,,,,,k anyone have any advice or info that might help me decide???' Have a great day everyone,,,,,, healing hugz to all,,,,, J
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I saw my oncologist on Wednesday and it is all great!!!! I have my next mammo in November, and come back to see him in January!!!!!! Whoot whoot!!!!' Told me to take Viactife for a month to see if joint pain is any better, if not call him and we will change to another drug,,,,, I can handle that, I found it in chocolate chews and it tastes like chocolate,,,, right up my alley,,,,,lol,,, anyone having any problems with high blood pressure on the Anastrozal ???? Oh yeah,,,, and lose 10lbs,,,,,, I have gained almost 30 since my surgeries, but hard to exercise when you have a surgery a month and then healing time too,,, like I stated earlier, 1 final surgery (I hope) and I can then diet,,,,, oh wait,,,, thanksgiving will be here soon,,, hmmmmmm,,,, Healing and Hugz to all,,,,,,, J
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oh, PSS,,,, since allowing my incision to dry out it is almost closed and has a scab,,, another thing I am greatful for
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That is great news Jeanie! Sounds like you are well on your recovering way! I have to admit, I gained weight too after my surgery. Sitting around too much and eating bad "sympathy" food (mac and cheese was my friend). On top of the horrible winter we had here in the north, it was a recipe for disasters. I hope I don't gain more this time around. With it being summer and a farm market right around the corner, hopefully I will tap into the fresh fruits and veggies instead of the frozen mac and cheese!
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I hope you have better restraint than me Frostecat,,,lol,, mine was Oreos and DQ Blizzards!!! My friend told me to check my local YMCA as they have a free program for BC survivors with a personal trainer,,, I will be having my last (I hope) surgery September 9th and as soon as I heal enough I will be going,,,
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hi everyone,,, wow,,, no one posting on here , hope all is great with everyone,,,, well since my last post I have seen PS for follow up and turns out there was a stitch under the breast where the skin was trying to heal over, he removed it and we are finally closed!!! My "tweak" on the girls is scheduled for the 7th of October, in the meantime, our daughter and granddaughter are moving back in with us as she is getting a divorce.,,,,, she will be moved in by the end of this month,,,, I am glad I took time off from my surgeries as we will be re-arranging rooms,,, my poor DH will be giving up his office and we will be moving our grandson who already lives here(16) to the smaller room so his mom and 5 yr old sister can have the bigger room,,,, ugh,,, always something,,,,but I am NOT putting off my last surgery any longer,,, I want to be done and over with this part,,, and healed so I can go back to work and also enjoy the holidays,,, they aren't that far away either,,,,, hope everyone is good,,,,,,, healing hugz to all,,,,, J
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Hi Jeanie - lots going on for you. I had my exchange 9/9 and am recovering. I've been mostly posting on the Exchange City thread. My iPad has been acting up so I've been getting frustrated typing things out more than once only to lose it all. Make my way to the desktop once and awhile to get some things out. Surgery went well, about 5 hours, had exchange, lift and lipo and I am one bruised up mess. I tried to drive today, not such a good idea, hit the curb pulling in the grocery store lot (hope I didn't bend a rim) not quite there yet, but definitely weaning myself off of percs and valiums.
The symmetry isn's as good as I had hoped for, but hoping it will all settle. It sure does look strange on the lifted breast to see the stitches around the nipple - that freaks me out!! Have my second post op tomorrow, so we shall see what he says.
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Frostecat, congrats on the surgery, one step closer to the end,,,, yeah, it freaks me out to how they do that with the nipple. I am not satisfied with my outcome yet either, that lift is one long recovery , and I am still having issues with the healing on it... They want you to wear a bra for support but it goes along the whole bottom and sides of your incision, very, very hard healing, the worst out of all of my surgeries for me. I hope yours goes better, I still have burning and my breasts feel very different and heavy, it reminds me every day that they are changed forever, I don't think that driving was such a great idea,,,lol,,,I am having my Lipo and some skin removed ( on the MX side it has a lot of excess from the weight of the implant under my armpit) so I am hoping after that , the symmetry,will look better,, keeping fingers crossed,,, good luck tomorrow and keep me posted,,,, healing hugz,,,,, J
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Well, it's been about 7 weeks since my revision, and I'm much happier with the symmetry now. The anatomical implant doesn't have as much upper pole fullness as the round did, so it matches my natural side better. Perfectly symmetric? No, but it's unrealistic to expect them to be. Implants and natural breasts are just different. But they're a pretty good match now, especially in a bra. My new nipple is healing well. I'll see my PS again in about 1 1/2 months and he'll decide then if my scarring has softened up enough to get tattooing done. Hoping for a nip tat for Christmas!
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Monis, I saw your pics and you look great! I too have the Allergen 410640, I'm just not seeing anyway that I will have symmetry as good as yours, but my PS chose anatomicals as he thought it would match my natural side better too.
Forgive me if I missed a post of yours about nipple reconstruction, did they do that at the time of exchange or did you have the type that they remove skin from the groin area? If so, was that as painful as I hear it is? A friend of mine at work had that done, and she said it was very difficult to go to the bathroom. I'm leaning towards skipping that and just getting the tattoo, but checking on all my options.
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Frostcat - I had my nipple recon done when I had my revision. My PS gave me options for where he could remove skin from. I opted for my lower abdomen, where I already had a scar from a C-section, so I didn't acquire any new scars. I'll have to say that that incision is what hurt the most. But, no bathroom issues!
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My PS was supposed to do the nipple at revision from the areola of my native breast, but then he said there wasn't enough there to do it. I told him before I went under, if there is anyway that you can do it now, do it, cause I am not coming back and going through this again.
I was hoping to wake up with a nipple but I didn't. So it is a tattoo for me.
You're lucky you got to avoid the uncomfortable going to the bathroom experience for sure!
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The lift actually was the least amount of pain in the beginning, now 9 days out I'm feeling more pain in the lifted side. Been getting some real zingers in the nipple area.
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I didn't know there was a limit on the number of messages back and forth, so I did answer you BosumBlues, but it came back. Maybe it automatically will go tomorrow. We have a lot in common, so hope I can get another message through tomorrow.
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I had my lift on my lumpectomy breast when I had my uni masectomy. They at that time lifted, moved my nipple up and put in a small tissue expander so we can get symmetry at exchange in December. You can barely see the scar around my nipple now...but I also just had rads. Are you saying they make your nipple out of your groin skin? Ouch! I need a nipple for my masectomy breast..
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I had my lift done in July and I find this to be the longest and worse recovery out of all of this,, maybe because I had pain pump in my mastectomy side, but that healing wasn't so bad,,, I am in more pain on my lift side due to the bra bands under the breast and all the way over to my side,,,,,much longer healing and irritated all the time. I have also not decided wether or not to have nipple reconstructed or to do the 3d tattoo, I am leaning more towards tattoo just because I don't want any more surgeries or scars or chance of complications with the nipple healing.i have one more surgery in October to tweak my mastectomy side as it is heavy and I have excess skin and hoping that will be the end. I do have feeling in my nipple on the natural side which is a great thing cause I was afraid I would not. So far so good,,, a little worried with symmetry so we will see after the tweaking,,,,,, healing hugz to all.... J
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I scheduled my umx for 8/8 with reconstruction. This is all very hard. in 2008 at my first mammo I was dxed with DCIS. Had lumpectomy, re-excision for close margin, full breast RT. I got pregnant in 2010 and was dismayed when my left breast did not enlarge like the right did. I didn't cry for anything I had gone through like I did the idea that I would not be able to breast feed my child with that breast. As it were we had awful latching issues due to my flat nipples and without being able to switch off, I was in agony. Spent six weeks diligently pumping my only good breast around the clock until I realized that i was going mad and cringing at feedings and gave up. I had to be grateful that i was able to have a healthy child without any issues at the age of 43 after all of that. The only reason I had known to get a mammo before I got pregnant was because one of my friends had a baby after 40 and was dead two years later from bilateral breast cancer. She was an amazing human being and the world is not better off without her.
Fast forward to a few weeks ago. Been going for my mammos, thinking positive, ready for my five year clearance. Got called back for extra views. Then an ultrasound. Soon i was hearing the words biopsy and saw another BIRADS 4 on my report. A day later, I now know i have a new tumor in the same breast. No options but mastectomy now since I already did RT. All my friends said I should just get them both off now.
In addition, I should mention that i am a radiologist. Yes, its bad enough but when the sonographer was scanning me I already knew I was going to be screwed. I also know that one implant and one boob never look quite right. I knew I wanted a flap.
Last week my PS ruled out a flap because I am DD on the right and I only have an A-B cup belly. He said an implant is the way to go and he has done several hundred in the past ten years on women who have had prior RT with 70-80% success rage. I cried all day. Now my choice again: take both off and have two implants, or just one? PS said the WORST reason to have BMX is for cosmetic reasons because if there is any problem, you will be heartbroken. I thought hard. Its true, vanity was more of a reason than anxiety since I have been living with this for 6 years now. I thought, is it better to have matching Foobs or one that i can still feel my child put his head on? AND HOW SHITTY IS IT THAT A MOTHER HAS TO WONDER IF SHE WILL PAY WITH HER LIFE FOR JUST WANTING TO FEEL HER BABY'S HEAD ON HER CHEST?? THIS FUCKING DISEASE SUCKS. IT TOOK MY FRIEND LOREN AWAY FROM HER BABY BEFORE SHE COULD EVEN REMEMBER HER!
So I am going with keeping righty around, going with one that's got feeling over two that match. But I haven't slept well in over a month now. Its tough enough going through middle age, learning how to hide things that you used to flaunt. My shape was one thing I still felt good about.
I'm kind of in the angry stage now. In my more calm moments, I think that maybe I did get a recurrence from being pregnant, and there's no question I would trade a breast for my child.
In the end, its a terrible disease--striking otherwise healthy women with no warning or cause-- and I have spent a few days reading everyone's posts and I am amazed at how strong you all are, but sad that anyone has to go through it .
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oh Fourminor,,,,,, I am sorry you had to join us on this page, first and foremost, I don't know about the others on here but I can tell you that "strong" is not a word I would use to describe myself on a daily basis, but with the diagnosis comes a whirlwind of tests, Drs, Exams, Bloodwork , AND the hardest for me was making life long decisions about my body that I knew nothing about,,,,,I was DX on November 15, 2013, and had my Left Breast removed completely on December 20, 2013. I loved my breasts and they were a great asset for me just a full C cup, but they were mine! I was a bartender working 5 days a week and enjoying every minute of it, I started Anastrozal in January and I can tell you that I don't think I could work a full day at this time,I did not have to have chemo or radiation, thank the good lord and the Dr got all my margins, but such an early DX and I still lost my breast due to microcalcifications spread through the left side of my left breast,,,, I was devastated, some days I still am, I have not finished my reconstruction, but I WANT MY OWN BREASTS BACK!!!!! I also chose to just have one removed so I could have feeling in at least one breast. And my Ins would not cover both anyway due to no evidence of cancer in my right breast, thank God again. We are only strong when that's all we can be, but I am sure every one of us cries like a baby in private, and cries under our breaths when we see our scars every day,and I don't know about anyone else but I can barely talk out loud about having Breast Cancer withou breaking down because then I am accepting and admitting that it is ME I am talking about, and with tears in my eyes as I write this,,, you couldn't be more right,,,,THIS FUCKING DISEASE SUCKS! My mother passed away at the age of 41 in 1970 when I was14 due to breast cancer,,,, there MUST be a cure soon so my our grand daughters don't ever have to go through what we are going through now,,,,,I was a perfectly functioning person in society UNTIL.........you have breast cancer,,,,,, those 4 words changed my life forever, I have many side effects from this drug I am having to take for 5 years,,,,I am not sure that IT won't render me just about helpless when all is said and done,I once flaunted my breasts now I hide them and have hidden myself from my friends in the outside world ,,,,,,I am hoping one day soon that I can accept everything that has happened to me and move on.....I wish for you the same, and cry it out when you want,,,,,,,,, sorry so long,,,,'healing hugz for all,,,,, J
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Not yet, but no family history really (oh yes, my mother's half sister also died of this, but they had different mothers, so BS doesn't think it counts). I am OK with going Uni because I know if i really want to do CPM, I can do it later when I know what I am getting myself into.
Its been hard wrapping my head around it, but having a surgery date and a decision kind of calmed me down. But there's no getting around the fact that this sucks.
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I am suprised that I do not carry the Bracca gene as my mother passed away from breast cancer, and her mother and sister all had breasts removed, so I am pretty secure that I will not get it in my right breast due to my reason for getting BC, I was taking hormones for 10years and smoking, there is no evidence of cancer as of now in my RT breast,,,,, I have appt on Tuesday for my Gyn exam,,,, nervous about that, but we will see,,,,,, hang in there,,,, hugz,,,' J
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Thanks Jeanie. I know the sense of bravery feeling hollow by the absence of any other option, but I imagine that is how brave people feel who face any kind of obstacle.
All i can say is i know how you feel. Post baby i had to part with almost my entire wardrobe and I got a new job last year and was feeling very good about how i still put myself together. i didn't cry about the lumpectomy, i went through the radiation and felt lucky to come away with a pretty good cosmetic result (PS said he would not have known i had anything if I didn't tell him), i deal with the wrinkles, grey hairs, pooch as part of the mark of where I've been. But feeling disfigured is a bitter pill. My boy is 3, he grabs my breasts still and laughs. Am I going to scare him in a few weeks?
I guess I am going to find out.
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fourminor, we have surely been dealt some shitty cards, if it wasn't for my mammogram my doc said by the time I would of felt the microcalcifications it would of been about 3-4 years and I would not be so lucky, I didn't feel anything, it was like shrapnel scattered in my breast. For that I am greatful.i can't believe how fast I went from a active , vibrant, working woman , to 5 surgeries later, I get out of bed with that duck waddle, I can't get comfortable at night, so,,,, sleep,,,,, what the hell is that anymore,,,,,I tire easily, and if have basically hibernated myself. I live in a small waterfront town and we basically live in our bathing suits, on our boats or in our pools, I hide my breasts because they are not symmetrical YET, and of course that is where everyone's eyes go when they see me, and they say ,,,,your looking great,,,, how DOES someone with Cancer look????? I don't know what to say to them. It will be a year in Nov, that I was DX and I can tell you that I sure am shocked that not one of my so called friends have come by in that time to maybe,, drop of a meal, call and see if I needed anything from the store,, etc,,,,and I am kind of angry at them for that. Yes, thank god I have my family and my DH is my rock, but I look at my "friends" very different now. We have lived here for 15 yrs.
I am sure your little one will love you always and it won't matter to your baby boy , as long as he still has his momma that is the most important thing. Children are very resilient, I think it bothers us more than it bothers others. We will be SURVIVORS, and that's all that matters. I have to keep telling. Myself that there is more to me than my breasts, but it does feel like a part of me is gone forever. I will pick myself up and carry on as will you to the best of our abilitiy.WE will have bad days and that is ok too, hopefully the better days are more plentiful. All things get better with time, and thankfully we have that
Have a great day Hun.... Healing hugz to all,,,,,, J0 -
Fourminor - I am sorry to say "welcome to the board". I ready your story, and want you to know that you have found a great place to "vent" and sisters who have traveled a similar path who are here to be of great support to you.
Jeanie - I'm sorry, but I had to chuckle when I read the line about people saying "you look great" I get that and I immediately think "what am I supposed to look like?" Or I also got a lot of people looking at my breasts saying "I can't tell" well no you can't because I'm stuffed like a turkey right now to even things out. I actually think the big reveal will be this time around. I am much smaller and not trying to "even up" my native breast, it is way more obvious now.
It would be tough living life in a bathing suit (I am being very sarcastic and extremely jealous), and I know that my halter type bathing suit tops that I used to love will be no more for me, the scar would be too visible, probably gonna have to switch styles. Actually I was laying in bed thinking last night, none of my bras or bathing suits that I have will no longer work, they will all have to go bye bye.
Speaking of this, and forgive me if I missed this, I need to go bra shopping. Does anyone have any advice for a good bra for a uni? My PS nurse said anything with a cup forget it because I won't fill it out, I need to probably go for more of a stretchy type. I'm thinking I will still need some support for the natural breast - I don't want that thing sagging in the first year! I've never been a fan of underwire so skip that, and I am so afraid of hurting the scar underneath, it's pretty big, and also the reconstructed side is hurting too.
Any suggestions would be much appreciated. I think there is a bra thread I will check out, but then again I'm sure it's mostly BMX'ers on that.
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Frostecat ,,,, yeah me too about the,,, u can't tell,,,,,, I guess they don't know what to say,,,,,as far as bras,,,, hmmm, I have about 30 that I will be getting rid of myself and the only ones I can bare right now are the Genie bras, with the padding, either HSN OR QVChas them in a 4 pack, I still find them irritating on the band where my lift incision is but better than any others at this time. Even most sports bras have cups now and the ones that don't squish me.... I am not sure we will ever find one comfortable until we are fully healed, and my foob does not fill any cup and I am not sure it ever will, I am very rounded on top I have Naturelle 45/800ccs , I am hoping by next summer. I won't give a shit and wear my bathing suit, I wore a cover up on top this summer, I only got in pool and boat 4 xs this summer,,,so wasn't so bad,,, I was told no underwire. I also use the Camis from VS. But will see after my last surgery in Oct. we should make bras with adjustable cups for all Unis, could make a fortune. Lol.
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PSSSSSS, as far as saying bye bye to our clothes, it gives us a "reason" for new stuff,,,lol
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Jeaniebeanie I just had to post back. Your remark about when people see you and them saying you look great. People say that to me and I always say back, I had a plastic surgeon, he didn't work on my face, so I expect I look just like I always have looked. I guess because I didn't have chemo, they are surprised when they see me that I don't look different and I know they mean well but that remark just always bothers me to some degree. Like you, what does somebody with cancer look like?
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angelia50, I also did not have chemo or Rad, (thank you God), and that comment makes me madder than anything cause they have NO clue what pain(emotional and physical) we have endured to get to where we are. I am very happy I found these threads so I can talk about things to women who KNOW what I am talking about and feel like I am feeling. ,,,J
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Jeaniebeanie, i totally understand what you mean. My husband works with a lady who had a mastectomy and similar case to mine, so that is good because I think she tells him things to expect and that way, he's not so surprised but I also think, because I push myself not to complain or act tired or anything, that sometimes even he forgets that even though the initial mastectomy is over and my pathology was good, this isn't over. I mean, I don't want or expect him to dwell on it but I am still looking at exchange surgery, and trying to adjust to the meds, which I'm sure he has no idea how this is, and just the ongoing sense of gloom i can feel if I allow it. I go to work every day and my daily life hasn't changed since prior to surgery but some things, will never be the same and I am like you, so glad to have people on here who know what I am dealing with. I also see some very sad stories, and am more thankful than ever for family and friends and coworkers, that are supportive. Its a fine line for them too between letting me know they are there if I need them to not making me feel they are feeling sorry for me, which I don't want. Going in to this I told everybody I appreciate your prayers and welcome any questions but I am not dead and don't want everybody acting as if I am, no bringing food to me and all of that, I can do that and I did. Plus, I figured if my husband can't drag himself to the kitchen and make us a sandwich or stop and get something, thats a sad thing on him. So, I really wanted life to move on as normal as possible, and basically, it has, but mentally, that fear eats away at me and thats werid too becase I could almost forget it but its scary to think if I forget it and it comes back, I will be shocked so its like I want to be prepard that it could come back so I won't let myself forget. That sounds crazy even as I wrote it but thats kind of how I feel.
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