Recon experiences...
Mic80
Member Posts: 44 ✭
Evening, I have been diagnosed with stage 2 invasive carcinoma, I had a right breast mastectomy on Tuesday 2/4 with expanders, with the intention of further surgery to remove left and undergo diep recon...
However I am now very strongly thinking I will still have left breast removed once all treatment is finished but then remain flat instead of the diep op... I know only I can decide what I do but I was wondering if anyone has remained flat and whether they have regretted it or not and Just generally what their experiences with it have been! ..Feeling lost! Xx
However I am now very strongly thinking I will still have left breast removed once all treatment is finished but then remain flat instead of the diep op... I know only I can decide what I do but I was wondering if anyone has remained flat and whether they have regretted it or not and Just generally what their experiences with it have been! ..Feeling lost! Xx
0
Comments
By the time the penny dropped and I realised (after having the implants replaced for the third time) that my body wasn't going to accept the intruders I had so much scarring under my pec muscles that removing them altogether was not recommended as I would be left with pockets of scar which could not be trusted to heal. Flat would have been a much better idea. Oh well, hind sight is wonderful, but you don't know what you don't know. It's a big decision and there are many factors that need to be considered, including past surgical results. Mxx
Even if you do go flat and feel later you would like a reconstruction, it can still be done..
Here is a link to a US site. I know we have an australian one that @SoldierCrab will give you details of when she pops in.
https://www.flatandfabulous.org/
Here is a group that I help admin on FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/groups/bcnoffaaduaustralia/
We even have a group about what to wear that helps with our new shapes. https://www.facebook.com/groups/1191542117599230/
@SoldierCrab thanks heaps.... I have sent a request to join both pages xxx
I had a bilateral mastectomy in May 18 with no recon. Scarring aside, I really like my new boobless figure. I wore a dress the other day that was a little pouchy because of no boobs to fill it out but found I just didn't care. My boobs were pretty enormous pre-surgery so while I was confident I was making the right decision at the time, I didn't know how I'd feel about it down the track. Almost a year on now and I don't regret it for a moment! I'm in the process of losing a lot of weight post gastric sleeve surgery but once I'm at a stable weight, I'll be tattooing my chest...something I'm really looking forward to
Plus every time I looked in the mirror I thought of my cancer. 9 days ago and 5kg later, I had DIEP, which in the lead up to I had been pretty ambivalent about, as having no boobs was pretty comfortable but my chest with the spare skin tucked in looked horrifying, so I really wasn’t expecting much could be done.
But right now I’m sitting here with cleavage again that is plump, warm and wobbles with circular scars that are essentially only slightly larger than my original nipples, and I could jump through the roof with happiness ( if it didn’t hurt so much!). I really had no idea I would feel this good because I had no idea such a good outcome could be achieved, but it’s like my cancer body has gone and mentally I can put this year behind me and get on with my life, because it’s not on hold because of cancer. For what it’s worth, the pain of DIEP is absolutely nothing compared to expanders. Good luck with your decision, but as others have said, there is always time to take your time with decisions.