DCIS and Reconstruction
Hello to all you lovely ladies who have taken time to put your experience and knowledge online. To introduce myself I'm a single mum (52) with a teenage daughter who is almost 18. A few wee...
Forum Discussion
Hi @RubyRumble - welcome to here and to the reconstruction group - but sorry you have to join us. Your diagnosis sounds very very similar to mine in that I (for my birthday last year) was diagnosed through initially seeing those constellations of microcalcifications in my left breast on a mammogram with early multifocal DCIS and a small area of invasive carcinoma. Because of its multifocality, I was advised I would need a mastectomy (even before the biopsy results came in). No chemo, no radio.
So a couple of months later, I had my left vertical skin sparing mastectomy (incl removal of nipple) and insertion of aeroform tissue expander (one of the expanders you use a remote to inflate the expander rather than saline injections). I called my expander Brenda...but we never got along - she was hard, made it difficult to sleep and for quite an amount of time I was uncomfortable because she was inserted under the pectoral muscle.
Skip forward 14 months and I'm 10 weeks post a DIEP Reconstruction and loving my breast again - soft, warm and me.
It's been a 'journey' (hate that word, but it has been :) and when I was initially diagnosed I really had no idea where I would be...looking back now, I have learned so much about myself and am in a good place.
Good luck with your next steps
Nikki x
So a couple of months later, I had my left vertical skin sparing mastectomy (incl removal of nipple) and insertion of aeroform tissue expander (one of the expanders you use a remote to inflate the expander rather than saline injections). I called my expander Brenda...but we never got along - she was hard, made it difficult to sleep and for quite an amount of time I was uncomfortable because she was inserted under the pectoral muscle.
Skip forward 14 months and I'm 10 weeks post a DIEP Reconstruction and loving my breast again - soft, warm and me.
It's been a 'journey' (hate that word, but it has been :) and when I was initially diagnosed I really had no idea where I would be...looking back now, I have learned so much about myself and am in a good place.
Good luck with your next steps
Nikki x