I went straight to tissue expanders almost fully expanded with a dermal sling. It was really painful for about 6 weeks....I couldn't sleep without a bra due to pain and by week 5 I really was wondering if I had made the right decision and thought I couldn't cope and might need them removed. . But suddenly they felt quite comfortable and normal. I still have 1 more expansion and changeover but that is a while off yet. After about 10 weeks they softened up a lot as it is amazing how much tissue swelling there is....and mine have a hard plastic port fill centre until changeover. Bugger on te radiotherapy.