Complications

Many thanks Ingrid. Sorry to hear about the pathology change for you. That must have been very distressing when you thought the situation was much better.

 I was extremely lucky I wasn't a long way away from the hospital when I started bleeding, plus they were so pressed for beds I might not have got a room if I'd had to come back. On the morning I was due to leave, people with clipboards were wandering in to check if I was still in residence, and I'd only been there 2 nights. When I had my problems I got the clipboard people all perplexed, because the spreadsheet said I wasn't there anymore.

I mentioned my chestscape to the surgeon, and he said he could do a bit of reconstruction, but I figured 'Why bother?'. It's not as big a difference for men.

On that note, there was a lovely TV news item the other day about the people who set a record for the world's biggest nude swim somewhere on Sydney Harbour. Included among the 700 or so participants were a number of women who'd had breast cancer surgery. On completing it a number of those women, whom I think were strangers to each other, rejoiced together, still naked, in celebration of their bodies and their survival. Very inspiring - more power to them.

Alan xx