Topic: IBC lounge: roll call, support and just a good place to hang out

Aug 6, 2021 08:14PM sbelizabeth wrote:

Mamacure, contact your insurance provider directly and ask about aesthetic flat closure. This makes me SO MAD. I agree--they'll pay literally hundreds of thousands of dollars for reconstruction surgery, sometimes involving multiple trips to the operating room, but can't pay a plastic surgeon ONE TIME to give you a nice flat closure?

My mom had two mastectomies and with her 2nd, her scar was all lumpy and bumpy and weird. Medicare paid to fix it.

Aug 6, 2021 09:01PM Traveltext wrote:

LW. I started out with a flat chest now I have a concave hole where my left breast was. My surgery followed chemo since I was inoperable on diagnosis. I think men deserve recon too, but it’s not considered important.

I certainly understand the importance of breasts to women, but I’ve read so many stories of recon gone wrong over the years that I’m not surprised at the flat and fabulous movement.

Aug 6, 2021 10:40PM Traveltext wrote:

LE. Sorry, that was a joke. You’d be lucky to find a BS who has done a guy. That said, you need to get your BS to give you a thorough briefing on what he thinks he can do. Too many people wake up and go WTF.

Aug 7, 2021 10:19AM sbelizabeth wrote:

TT I don't know how things stand with this down under, but here in the US, I would like to see what would happen if a man with breast cancer was denied reconstruction because he's a man. I bet we'd have a firestorm you'd be able to see from where you are.

In my breast cancer travels I met a man who had BC and was BRCA positive. His adult son had prophylactic mastectomies with immediate reconstruction. I saw a photo--his chest looked very natural.

Aug 7, 2021 09:10PM sbelizabeth wrote:

Good point, TT. With prophylactic mx and immediate recon, it's just the breast tissue they're after, not a wide excision of skin. Still, if women are offered tissue expanders and implants, it should be an option for men.

I have a number of big scars--shoulder reconstruction after a mountain bike fall, two new knees--and they don't bother me even a little. But after the umx, the scar was lumpy, bumpy, wrinkled, ugly...I absolutely hated it. The disfiguration reminded me many times a day of what I'd lost and the process I had to go through to lose it.

Aug 7, 2021 11:07PM mara51506 wrote:

TT, love the sword fight explanation.

Aug 23, 2021 10:06AM sbelizabeth wrote:

Welcome, Cynmaggie. You're right in the thick of it now, with chemo behind you and surgery/radiation left to go. There are a lot of us here who have experienced the same thing and have lived many happy years since. Please feel free to come here anytime. You'll be looking at breast cancer treatment in your rear view mirror before you know it.

Aug 23, 2021 04:05PM mara51506 wrote:

Welcome cynmaggie and glad to hear chemo did its job. Keep us posted about surgery and any questions you might have.

Aug 26, 2021 12:39PM - edited Aug 26, 2021 12:44PM by LW422

Hello Maggie and welcome, though I'm sorry you have to be here. I just had surgery on Monday (single mastectomy and lymphovenous bypass) and I feel pretty good, considering. Do you have someone to help you when you get home from surgery? My husband has been helping me strip my drains and with a shower yesterday. I'm not sure I could manage all this by myself.

When I was preparing for surgery, I bought several front-closure robes and tops. Unfortunately they mostly all have ZIPPERS and are not "drain friendly" at all. You need something very loose fitting if you will wear the drains on the inside of your clothes, or something with buttons or snaps if you wear the drains on the outside. My husband had bought me a "nail apron" from Home Depot which works very well since it ties around my waist and has pockets that the drain bulbs fit into. (It was about 97 cents so not a big investment.)

I'm a bit surprised that you will have a double mastectomy; my surgeon was not agreeable to removing my healthy breast at this point because she wanted to make sure I had the least opportunity for any issues with recovery. Honestly after having a single mastectomy and dealing with the drains and wound care, I'm glad I only had one removed!

As far as what to take to the hospital, just a roomy robe for the trip home and maybe a toothbrush and toothpaste. I wore a hospital gown the entire time and didn't feel like getting dressed when I was released, so I just wore my robe for the wheelchair ride to my car. You will be given plenty of instructions on how to care for yourself in recovery, and probably a mastectomy bra or camisole.

My best wishes to you. Ask all the questions you need to; we will try to help.

Aug 26, 2021 07:41PM cynmaggie wrote:

Thanks everyone! Looks like surgery will be either Sept 21 or 22 - final date and time tbd. I appreciate your support

Aug 31, 2021 03:50PM pchyen wrote:

Congrats LW422 on pCR, that is great news!!!!

Aug 31, 2021 06:42PM mara51506 wrote:

Congratulations LW422, glad to hear the good news!

Aug 31, 2021 08:55PM mamacure wrote:

congratulations LW422!!! That is the best news!! I am so happy to hear this. Great job!!!!! {{{{hugs}}}}} & high five!

Aug 31, 2021 09:32PM LW422 wrote:

Thanks Mamacure and Blue!! I'm very happy about the pCR, and also my genetic testing came back negative for all tested. So I don't have to worry about passing this crap down!

Now if I can only get rid of these dang drains!!!

Hope both of you are doing well.

Sep 1, 2021 07:03PM sbelizabeth wrote:

LW422, this is abso-friggin-lutely outstanding news. You must have been floating around on a joyful cloud all day when you got THAT phone call.

Drains are the cocklebur under the already-uncomfortable saddle of breast surgery. I'm sorry yours are still in residence. Although...I fast-talked my plastic surgeon into pulling one that was barely over the 24-hr limit, and I developed a persistent, sloshy seroma. I wished I had just lived with the thing until my body was less juicy.

Here's to great path reports and drains in the trash can. Congrats. SB