Radiation
It's been 5 months since I completed right chest wall and right supraclavicular radiation. I'm post bilateral mastectomy and chemo. I was told that at around 4-5 months and/or 12 months after tre...
Forum Discussion
Hi Carmel,
Thanks so much for your post and I hope you can help me with my questions below. First some background... I recently completed radiation on one breast with a saline-filled expander. I knew I would have to wait at least 6 months post radiation to allow tissue to settle before a 'proper' reconstruction. I was caught by surprise when my radiation oncologist mentioned near the end of my treatment that contraction typically occcurs at the 12-18 month mark. I am now wondering whether I should postpone reconstruction surgery for 18 months - which does come at an emotional cost given the current glaring mis-match in the shape and size of my breasts (my plastic surgeon inflated the expander to its maximum size - presumably to allow for radiation contraction).
My question is how many months elapsed between your initial implant surgery (I'm assuming done in conjunction with a mastectomy) and the on-set of contraction? Did you have a DIEP flap or TRAM flap? Reason for my question being that I lost a lot of weight after my diagnosis mid-last year and can't see that I have enough abdominal fat and tissue for either, but my radiation oncologist is not keen on implants -presumably to avoid the complications you've described.So I'm feeling caught between a rock and a hard place! Although my decision can wait a few months, I'd really appreciate the your insights from personal experience.
Kind regards,
Peta