(Article) A Few Words About Fake Breasts

The whole reconstruction thing is so fraught. It's a deeply personal decision which sometimes does get made in haste.

I've got what I call the Frankentitties which have given me nothing but grief in the last 11 years. I was only 43 when I had to decide what to do and, unlike now, there was very little in the way of anecdotal advice about the risks and varied results. My options, because of my location and personal circumstances, limited what was possible for me and once I was on the cancer train there was no time for reflection or research. Would I have made different choices if I had the amount of information now available? Probably not. I think we are geared to hope we will be one of the success stories, that we will be the person who has a good outcome and moves on.

I also think it pays to understand that people who are unhappy are more likely to be vocal than those who are satisfied. We hear the hard luck stories in greater numbers than the good luck ones. Yes, there are indicators of risk that should be better investigated and used to inform decisions, but luck seems to be the thing that tips the scales.