Oregonians With Breast Cancer

Hello, I live in NE Portland; just found this thread. My DX and TX are mostly in my signature, and my Biography (if you click on my moniker-name) tells more of my story. I'm 62, retired after teaching high school for 37 years, and I'm busy with many hobbies and volunteering.

My providers:

I am very happy with my breast cancer surgeon (Good Sam) and my oncologist (Compass), and I'm glad to discuss and share their names on private message.

My plastic surgeon (Good Sam) is great at what he does (implants after tissue expanders, Alloderm pockets sewn to pecs, on the inside and behind them), but my case had some challenges.

Reconstruction challenges after radiation:

I am glad that I had reconstruction, because my goal was to not look obviously like a "Hi, I had Breast Cancer" person for the rest of my life. My new Foobs are small, because my right side just didn't stretch well because of my 2003 radiation, which had caused (invisible) scarring on the pecs and in the skin, as is usual. My two Foobs are quite different in size and shape as a result. Reconstruction after radiation always has these challenges. My Foobs are Just Fine. They look okay in a bra, and in clothes. In fact, I get in the city pool every morning (Dishman), and shower naked with those huge horizontal scars every day. They don't look great in anything low-cut---there's kind of an abrupt change from FLAT to ROUND MOUND. I now have a wardrobe that accommodates this; same with swim suit.

I am glad that I had the type of reconstruction that I had, as there was no disruption of other back muscles, nor abdominal muscles (as is the case in the flap-type). I do have some vague discomfort in my pectoral muscles, just in certain positions. I've regained reasonable strength all over my torso, by working very hard at exactly that with my exercise routine.

Maybe Tattoos in the future, not sure yet....

I do not love the fact that I look so weird naked, but Oh Well, it's part of life. There are many things I could choose to do as far as revisions, tattooing 3-D nipples, etc., but I think I'm finished going through traumatizing medical interventions at this point, unless they're ones that save my life. I possibly might do the 3-D tattooing, and my plastic surgeon gave me two or three local referrals for that. Final implant surgery was January 2019, and I feel still quite emotionally and psychologically raw after my year of health challenges.

2018: Year of Health Traumas

I had just a few months of being retired before a string of difficult health stuff started for me. First, I had a bunch of foot surgery in February of 2018---5 fusions to solve mid-foot arthritis pain, fix a bunion and more. It was a big deal, because of 14 weeks of non weight-bearing required for healing. Immediately upon moving into a surgical boot and starting weight bearing, I got my breast cancer diagnosis. In August, right in the middle of chemo, our daughter was married, near Parkdale, where I grew up. I was Cold Capping, and kept my hair, so no wig for Mother of the Bride, which was nice!

Family Breast Cancer History

My paternal grandmother had breast cancer in 1950. Treatment then was a Radical Mastectomy, with no follow-up and no reconstruction. They took a lot of chest wall muscle and other muscle tissue, and she had quite a scar, and wore a little 'falsie' in her bra. She also lived for 34 more years! Although this family history correlates with a higher rate of breast cancer, I am negative for all known genetic markers. So far, no one else in this grandma's gene pool has had breast cancer, but her other descendants (my aunt, my daughter, my cousin and sisters) are all very vigilant about mammograms, etc., because of my health history. My sister, age 56, has had LCIS and an excision, so she's especially vigilant.

Going forward after Treatment

I still feel vulnerable, don't quite have my pre-2018 energy stamina (maybe chemo took a chunk out of me?), and I live with some uncomfortable side effects from being on an Aromatase Inhibitor. However, mostly, I'm doing very well, and I am lucky to have really good mental health as my baseline. And a wonderful husband, family and friend group to support me through it all.

This year, I've been back to an active life. I'm in the pool every day doing an hour of exercise (deep water 'aerobics') with resistance equipment. In 2019, I went on dozens of hikes (foot works quite well now), I biked in the San Juan Islands for a week and on other biking adventures a few times, I swam across the Columbia River (Labor Day event at Cascade Locks), and I had a couple of lovely kayaking days on trips. I do volunteer work, and I am a busy amateur/hobby musician. I certainly live with quite a bit of anxiety about a possible recurrence, but I'm also trying to move forward with a good balance of appreciation and engagement.

slh1952 I just looked up the Green Gables House---what a wonderful thing! That's really nice to know about, that there's a place to stay in Portland while you're going through treatment.

I remember very well that at the end of radiation I was exhausted, so be sure to rest up and give yourself time to heal during these next weeks. Have your doctors advised you on nutritional support for your treatment? My radiation oncologist and surgeon both told me to try to eat 75-100 g of protein each day during radiation and for 2-3 months afterward, to support cell repair and healing.

https://justlikeawoman.com/

This store in Portland specializes in bras for breast cancer patients, so you might ask them about inserts/forms.

After my 2003 lumpectomy, I had a different shape on the cancer side, for sure. However, in a bra, it wasn't noticeable, and I didn't need to add a form to be okay in clothes, etc.

I haven’t lived in Oregon for more than 20 years now, but I still consider it home. I grew up on the coast and most of my family still lives either in Eugene or on the coast. My mom also runs the clinical trials program for one of the hospitals in Coos County — at least for a few more months until she reitrrs