What makes you have a reconstruction?
I had a mastectomy done and didn't choose implant or reconstruction as I had wanted to get into surgery quickly before Xmas. I didn't want to see a plastic surgeon as it was so close to Xmas and was f...
Forum Discussion
Hi @au0rei, I knew I wanted reconstruction once I was told I would lose my breast, but due to a lengthy treatment regime and concerns about what was to happen, parked the idea until I had recovered. I had my reconstruction 2yrs after my mastectomy and during this time lived with the scarred, concave space left after my surgery. I was devastated by how my body looked and although I used a prosthesis during that time, it often fell forward, exposing my chest and I was limited by the types of clothing I could wear. I didn't feel comfortable or happy in my own skin. My relationship with my husband suffered and my confidence plummeted.
The emotional / mental benefits of having reconstruction were enormous for me and was a turning point in my recovery. I think if I had to live indefinitely with just one breast, I may well have descended into a deep depression. Reconstruction hasn't given me a perfect new breast but it did give me some control over the nightmare of my cancer ordeal.
It also had a number of physical benefits including; 1) rebalancing my spine (which is affected by scoliosis anyway) by putting weight back on to the chest. Through the 2yrs without a breast my balance had suffered badly, 2) the DIEP reconstruction which moved my own tissue onto my chest to make a breast has helped to soften the radiation damage (as suggested by @AnnaB ).
I know that some people around me questioned why I would go through with such major surgery after undergoing treatment but for me it wasn't a question of aesthetics, it was a question of trying to achieve a sense of peace with my body after all I'd been through and to regain a little "normality" so that I could move on.
The emotional / mental benefits of having reconstruction were enormous for me and was a turning point in my recovery. I think if I had to live indefinitely with just one breast, I may well have descended into a deep depression. Reconstruction hasn't given me a perfect new breast but it did give me some control over the nightmare of my cancer ordeal.
It also had a number of physical benefits including; 1) rebalancing my spine (which is affected by scoliosis anyway) by putting weight back on to the chest. Through the 2yrs without a breast my balance had suffered badly, 2) the DIEP reconstruction which moved my own tissue onto my chest to make a breast has helped to soften the radiation damage (as suggested by @AnnaB ).
I know that some people around me questioned why I would go through with such major surgery after undergoing treatment but for me it wasn't a question of aesthetics, it was a question of trying to achieve a sense of peace with my body after all I'd been through and to regain a little "normality" so that I could move on.