First anniversary
I am new to this group... can't beleive it has taken me 12months to find this platform. Possibly wasn't really looking. I was diagnosed with Invasive Duct Carcinoma (no special type) Grade 3, Hormon...
Forum Discussion
@repascoe
I am in a similar boat, although different diagnosis and have decided to undergo bilateral mastectomy with DIEP reconstruction. What helped me come to this decision has been multi layered. Firstly, I have a little time on my hand and have had since end Aug to contemplate my next step. My GP gave me wonderful advice to take time to be by myself to process and sit with this information. I found walking by myself very therapeutic. It put me in a positive frame of mind and helped me immensely. Take one step at a time and gather all the information you can. Speaking with my Breast surgeon a couple of times and meeting with plastic surgeon started to help me identify what was best for me. I am very large breasted and despite my head telling me to just go flat and get on with it, it was the bitter pill I couldn't swallow. For me I was able to identify that keeping my shape was the most important thing to me. I also put my headspace into each option and sat there for a while with it to see how I felt. The PS has made me feel a lot more positive now that I understand the benefits of having the recon. I now figure if I'm going to go through this I might as well have a makeover. The added benefit of the DIEP is that I get my abdominal muscle separation (4 children) fixed at the same time, so starting to look forward to wearing clothes that I have never before and I might even be able to run in time! I have started my preparations for surgery in the next 2-3 months. I am walking minimum 30mins every day, riding bike, swimming, about to start body balance. I have been overweight since having kids later in life and this is the kick up the bum I really needed to get serious. A friend of mine said perhaps Breast Cancer will just save your life?... I think she is right. I had a stroke this year and heart surgery, so it was almost laughable when I got hit with this too. It's amazing how resilient we can be. All the best with the decision you will eventually make.
I am in a similar boat, although different diagnosis and have decided to undergo bilateral mastectomy with DIEP reconstruction. What helped me come to this decision has been multi layered. Firstly, I have a little time on my hand and have had since end Aug to contemplate my next step. My GP gave me wonderful advice to take time to be by myself to process and sit with this information. I found walking by myself very therapeutic. It put me in a positive frame of mind and helped me immensely. Take one step at a time and gather all the information you can. Speaking with my Breast surgeon a couple of times and meeting with plastic surgeon started to help me identify what was best for me. I am very large breasted and despite my head telling me to just go flat and get on with it, it was the bitter pill I couldn't swallow. For me I was able to identify that keeping my shape was the most important thing to me. I also put my headspace into each option and sat there for a while with it to see how I felt. The PS has made me feel a lot more positive now that I understand the benefits of having the recon. I now figure if I'm going to go through this I might as well have a makeover. The added benefit of the DIEP is that I get my abdominal muscle separation (4 children) fixed at the same time, so starting to look forward to wearing clothes that I have never before and I might even be able to run in time! I have started my preparations for surgery in the next 2-3 months. I am walking minimum 30mins every day, riding bike, swimming, about to start body balance. I have been overweight since having kids later in life and this is the kick up the bum I really needed to get serious. A friend of mine said perhaps Breast Cancer will just save your life?... I think she is right. I had a stroke this year and heart surgery, so it was almost laughable when I got hit with this too. It's amazing how resilient we can be. All the best with the decision you will eventually make.