Hi Neadi,
Really sorry to hear your news thought I’d tell you my story so far to see if that helped. I was diagnosed on the 1st August with DCIS and went on to have a mastectomy/ SNB on the 6th Sept with a temporary skin expander implant. I was offered a DIEP but due to the recovery time decided to delay it to after all my treatment which at that time I thought was just radiotherapy. However I woke up from my op and found I havd had an axillary clearance as they had found one macro met and one micro met in my SNB and Invasive BC under the DCIS and am now undergoing chemo. I am 39. I’m not sure what they will offer you in your situation but I know that at our age they are keen to blast the cancer with all they can to try and get rid of it and prevent recurrence.
My tissue expander is now fully inflated and although it is obvious when I have no clothes on when I am clothed noone realises I have had a mastectomy and are often shocked to find out. It took about three visits post op for it to be fully inflated which for me is a C cup and I am waiting to go for modelling of a silicone nipple to make that side of things look ‘more normal’ . I am still aiming for a DIEP in the longer term once all the treatment is over but as I also now have to have a year of herceptin (my tumour was HR+) that is in the future and I know I would presonally would have struggled if I hadn’t had some kind of recon done. The side that has had the surgery is slightly more ‘uplifted!’ than the unoperated on side! but the surgeons may uplift that side if required in the longer term.
Has your breast care nurse shown you any before/ after photos of people who have had surgery? That really helped me ( and my husband) to make a decision. My first ‘rabbit in the headlights’ decision was just a mastectomy with no reconstruction but I changed my mind once I had sat with the BCN and gone through the options properly away from the surgeon.
DOn’t know if any of that helps? Feel free to post any more questions I’ll try and help…
lots of love and positive thoughts
xx
Thanks Alfie!
That certainly helps and gives me some encouragement- I just don’t know if I could handle waking up with only one boob, and then having to face more treatments that were originally planned…
One thing is for sure, I just want them to get this out of me and do it ASAP! Jesus! The thoughts of it there for any longer is now driving me insane! The doc did definitely mention the expander idea, but it won’t all be put in place until tomorrow- just wish we could get a move on…
Thanks again
Xx