surgery date

Hi Jodi

After having a very complicated mastectomy in 2010 and chemo and radiation I finally had a Tram flap in Dec 2014 at Brisbane private hopsital paid for by the government.Initially it was painful not as bad as I imagined and had lots of pain killers and supporters. My husband took a week off work when I came home but I was ok after that and became up right not long after! The pain is not too bad it just feels tight and you have a very flat tummy , brand new belly button and awesome breast! I am 56 and still feel my mastectomy experience was worse. I am back at work 4 days a week as a nurse on a very busy ward and have no problems. I took 8 weeks off work and went back for 2 days a week for a month before I went back to the 4 days a week. I am also back Dragon Boat Paddling and going to the gym in a limited capacity but managing to exercise. I hope as a recent person who has had a Tram Flap this will help. The best advicefrom my surgeon was rest no excessive exercise and you will know what you can do. He was so right!

Open the letter and good luck xx Loving my new colourful bras too! 

Thank you ladies for your words of wisdom it is amazing how powerful advice can be from people that are sharing your own experiences I am immensely grateful, I didnt open that letter. After agonising over it all day my hubby opened it for me, how silly did I feel when it was only an update to let me know I should expect a date within the next couple of months ha ha. So that inevitable letter in still looming large, although now I am going to focus on the end result and be prepared for everything and anything xx

Hi Jodi, I am so pleased you have found our little community helpful. It is full of loads of information and inspirational women to connect with.

Deciding to put yourself first, to put your body back together, is a big step for most of us. If you know its the right decision for you then go for it.

It can be a really scary time, also exciting. Yes it is a long recovery, but doable especially with a supportive team around you. When you are ready have a look at the 'pre op preparations' and 'post op advice' Topics in the recon group. And stay in touch, we will love to hear how you go......especially the date of your surgery???? Did you open that letter?

Louie XXX

Hi Jodi

I think you have hit the nail right on the head with "dam you cancer for putting me and the rest of us in this position of making decisions that we shouldn't have to make!!"

You or any of us should not have to feel that we are putting ourselves or our loved ones through unnecessary trauma just to put our bodies back together after cancer took bits of them away! I think that it is so important to do whatever will help us to feel better about ourselves after treatment for cancer. 

It is a really difficult decision to make about reconstruction or not but guilt should not enter into it in my opinion. You should not feel bad about wanting to look and feel 'normal' again. 

You should also not feel pressured to do this because it seems like everyone expects you to want this. Only you can really decide whether this is something that you really want and that will help you to lead a better quality of life. 

Think about that end result and if you know that this is something that will help you to feel great then do it! You are a strong person (you survived cancer after all!). We are so lucky to live in a country that has such a great medical system that we have these choices available. 

Best of luck with your decision making. Isn't it great that you have such a wonderful, supportive family? You know they will be happy if you are and that is really all that matters! Just like you probably focussed on the end result of being healthy again when you went through treatment, just focus on that end result for want you want to achieve in this situation too! Take care. Deanne xxx