Had single mastectomy last Sept, recon on that side in June (minus a nipple at the mo.) Have absolutely no feeling on that side at all.
Had the other side lifted and small implant inserted this week. At present, it is sore and swollen, as well as bigger and ‘different’ But the job needed doing as i was so lob sided.
Anyway, does anyone else feel that their breasts are alien to them now, or is it just me?
I feel that although i have had a complete recon, it is for shape and effect only almost…
I call the left good side my breast the other side is my reconstruction. I get quite stroppy when it is referred to as my breast, my right breast is gone. The whole area is quite numb and when it is fully finished it may resemble a breast but that’s all.
Yes Tina, I think that is how i feel about my reconstruction.
Under a top it looks like a breast is there…but once i take my clothes off, i look and think goodness, what is it.? A shape of some description that i can prod and push without feeling anything.
Now the other side has had work to it, to match the reconsructed side,i am not sure how i feel…all seems odd at the moment.
Yes, absolute feel my boobs are alien to me. I had theraputic mammoplasty (breast reconstruction and reduction) to the cancer breast and the healthy breast reduced at the same time. I had expected scars but they are hugh and ugly. The nipples are puckered and wonkey, the vertical part of the anchor are zig-zaggy, the under the breast swoop goes from very high up my breast bone (uneven) to on one side my upper armpit, the other tails off straight. I think one boob was done by the specialist and the other by the trainee surgeon (nothing to substantiate this), and one boob is bigger than the other! I’m only 4 weeks on and everything is still tender and hard with lumps and bumps under all the scars. I know it will take time for my boobs to fully heal and the scars to reduce and fade, but I don’t like them at the moment, they are not MY boobs,they feel miss matched and look a mess. Of course, I’m not supposed to say all this, I should be grateful I have any boobs at all when others have had MX. I should be thankful to my surgeons but I do feel they could have done a neater job! And of course, I’m truely grateful the cancer is out. I’m sure in a years time I’ll be pleased and be able to be grateful for my perkier boobs but at the moment I do not love them, don’t like to look at them and feel they’re alien to me, and I miss my old soft saggy larger boobs… Thanks for allowing me to indulge in a rant, I guess I’m just feeling sorry for myself that I’ve found myself in this position and needed to off load how I really feel and not put a positive spin of it to make others feel better.
Like Fingers, I had therapeutic mammoplasty to the BC breast, but in my case had the reduction on the other side 3 months later. The alien feeling on the BC side was worse because they’d had to do so much shoving around of tissue to make it look “normal” afterwards, but it did settle down after about 2 months, so hang on in there! The 2nd, non-BC, operation which was supposed to be so straightforward resulted in a haematoma and another operation within 12 hours so is taking longer to heal than the 1st one.
The reason I’m posting is because I still feel so much bitterness against the BC that I had to have these operations. It struck a real chord when Fingers said she misses her old soft saggy larger boobs - I feel the same. OK perhaps they weren’t terribly pretty, but they were natural and they were all mine and were quite acceptable for someone my age (51). I would never have considered having a breast lift and I wish it hadn’t been forced on me. Having big boobs was part of my personality, so now I’ve had to re-think that, and all because of the cancer.
Another one off-loading, but isn’t this disease a bast***d!
Sarah x
Hi Sarah
We’ve chatted (is that the correct terminology?) before when you helped with advice on my surgery options. I know I’ve done the right thing as the area turned out to be 2.88cm and they got all the cancer out. And I know I’m lucky to have it all done at the same time (some postings show women being refused this sort of surgery due to NHS cutbacks!) But it’s a tough adjustment and the surgeons are so proud of their handywork it seems rude to to say, actually, they look like s**t! Just been to a support group meeting, one young woman has got secondaries and another in early 30’s just had a mx and will be freezing her eggs before chemo - puts things into perspective.
Mary x
Hi Mary - good to “hear” from you again.
It makes you feel selfish for moaning when other people are so much worse off, doesn’t it? But when I was having a bit of a cry on my GP’s shoulder about whether I should have my other boob done, she said I shouldn’t feel at all guilty because other people are in a worse state because (a) I need to do what’s right for me, and (b) me not doing what’s right for me won’t make the others any better off.
But me being me if I thought it looked like s**t I’d say so. But don’t panic yet, my BC nipple looked wonky and weird for quite a while and looks great now. I suppose I’ve got a strange situation in that the BC breast is 3 months ahead of the other one. Unfortunately my expectations were raised by the pretty result on the BC side, the 2nd one looks like it isn’t going to be quite as neat, but it was only done 4 weeks ago, so there’s time yet.
Take care
Sarah x
Hi Sarah
My opertion was delayed for various reasons and I’m also just 4 weeks post op so my two boobs and your one can heal and improve (hopefully) together! Start 4 weeks rads in two weeks - all over Christmas and the new year - great.
All the best
Mary x
I had a mammoplasty 9 weeks ago…the second go after the first go was too close margins.
To be honest i hated it to start with as it looked peculiar, the areola/ nipple was wonky and everything looked upside dowm BUT I was told it would take time to settle…
Now the scars are fading fast, it looks perfectly normal and i’m chuffed to bits with what he did…the alternative was a mx or a very deformed boob by lumpectomy.
Yes I would have preferred my saggy old boob rather than the new pert better than original version…but at least I have one and after rads will have the option of having the other one done to match as they don’t at the moment!!!
And the other thing to look forward to, if it hasn’t happened already, is that the nipple recovered sensation after about 3 months, so that’s much more fun! The only problem is that it’s confusing my OH because my nipples are so much higher up than where they used to be - gravitating towards my waist!
Sarah x
Thanks lostsinfrance for the encouragement that it they will improve. Currently got a problem with creeping red dryness on the breast tissue and I haven’t even started the rads! I’m trying E45 but think I may need something stronger like hydrocortisone - if my Dr lets me.