Flat and deflated; decisions to be made!

Hi Sue,

There is a pretty amazing support system on here so you will get your head around it soon. You mentioned having a couple of weeks before you see your surgeon again so you don't have to rush, grieve for what was normal and get yourself ready for the next few months.

I also got dealt with the unexpected chemo and thought losing my waist length wavy hair would be a big deal but like many other women before me it was a surprise plus to not have to worry about hair removal of any type for a few months and I quite liked the pre chemo shorter hair - could do without the crazy chemo curl as it grows back, but it has only been 6 months so we'll see what happens with a bit more length, weight and time. We all approach it differently, some women try the cold caps, others wait until it starts to fall out and then shave it. I wanted to have control over something in my life so chose to do an extreme cut the week before I started chemo (a mouth length bob), then as it started to fall out I took it to a number 4 and finally had my husband shave my head - he did his as well and we took a skinhead selfie with us both cracking up laughing. You can still find good moments even during chemo!

5 weeks after finishing chemo I had a skin sparing mastectomy with immediate reconstruction - then genetic testing threw in another twist so a month ago I had the other breast taken as well. I elected to have expander and implant as I didn't think I could handle the larger surgery involved with a diep/tram flap or the longer recovery time. Along the way though I have come across a lot of women who have had the diep or lat dorsi and they generally love their results as well.

I'd really recommend requesting to join the Breast Reconstruction group on here as you will be able to get plenty of information and personal experiences from women who have had all types of reconstruction - there are some pretty innovative surgeons out there. Also have a read of this site: http://www.reclaimyourcurves.org.au/ ;   

There is a page on there that helps you work out what you actually want out of the reconstruction, which may help narrow down what type you would prefer to have. You may not get all the answers you are after but the group and the website will certainly help you know what questions to ask the surgeon next visit.

Good luck, Jen x