Welcome to the Breast Cancer Care forums. I am glad you are getting plenty of help and support already.
Breast Cancer Care have a number of booklets/leaflets with regard to younger women and breast cancer. If you follow the link below this will guide you to the publications which you may find helpful. You can either download these or order them on line. The link is as follows:
The freefone helpline is also open to you on 0808 800 6000 if you feel you need to speak to someone in confidence about how you are feeling. As well as this BCC offer peer support where you can be put in contact with someone who has experienced the things that you are now going through. Just follow the links from the home page or contact the helpline and the staff here will be able to give you more detailed information.
crashing the post Hi Guys,
Sorry to crash your post guys. I replied on page one to Niknak, but read Kateys post about her reconstruction and wanted to add a comment/ quiery. I too had the expander implant, mine was done with the masectomy, and I had my silicon implant fitted about 5 weeks later. All my work has been carried out by my consultant/surgeon. I’ve read you’re having implants on both sides Katey and I’d be interested to hear what you think of the overall cosmetic look after it has been done. Is it your consultant carrying out the work or do you have a plastic surgeon?. The surgeon mentioned implanting both sides to me as a possibility in the future, however I am worried about the cosmetic look i.e. additional scarring on other breast, will they match up perfectly in size etc. at the moment everything looks fine in a bra, however things are definetly much perkier on the affected side! At the moment, having recently finished chemo, I feel Iike I never want to see a hospital again! however It’s something I’d like to look into further down the line. Hope you don’t mind me asking.
Cheers, Lisa x
Haha yeeey my post really is to popular 4 words, was just reading back on it and it seems like such along time ago but yet has gone so fast, which is ace :o) !!!
Greetings to Nadia hope u find it helpful and all goes well!!
hope everyone else on the thread is doing ok, lets keep it to the top girlys. Maybe we can have our thread published as some kind of self help for the youngsters leaflet hehehe
Woop! Just wanted to say hi!..in response to Lisa, of course I don´t mind you asking - ask anything you want!
My consultant / surgeon is also carrying out my reconstruction. As I´m only half way through at the minute I can´t really let you know how it looks yet. I have disscussed about just doing one side, and the tissues expander side is just slightly larger than my natural breast at the mo and I am really happy with the way it looks. After spending a year researching and a bit of soul serching about reconstruction I have decided 100% for the implant only on both sides. Being honest I have always wanted slightly bigger boobs and now is my chance. Also, after the tissue expander has been put in I have noticed that when I lie down my natural side flattens and the expander doesn´t. I do find myself comparing them all the time…kind of before and after. From the pictures I have seen implants can look quite good…and I can´t wait to get the other one in to even me out a bit. Another thing I was worried about was having mammograms, but have been told this should not make it that much more diffucult. They only have to make a small cut to get the implant in so I´m not too worried about a small scar. Since starting with this whole reconstruction process I feel a million times better. I have more confidence and just feel better about myself. I wasn´t aware what a big impact it would have on me. I will let you know how it looks when the other side is done. Please feel free to ask me anything…anytime.
Hope you are all doing ok my bussom buddies!
Lots of love,
Cheers Katey,
Thanks for the reply. glad you’re pleased with the results so far. I can understand why your confidence had grow, I know it’s a personal discision, but for me personally, having nothing there would have being even more distressing, thankfully for me they could do both recon and masectomy at the same time, although I know thats not the case for everyone, so I do feel lucky. Been a measly A cup I too quite fancy the idea of bigger breasts, and I hear you with the lieing down situation, if I jump, my silicon breast dosen’t move!, while my natural breast wiggles away It was just the overall cosmetic look that concerned me. I think in terms of future mamograms, you just need to make sure they know, as slightly different angles need to be taken. Keep me informed of your progress.
Take Care, Lisa x
P.s Nicnak- think I’ve made the post back up to the top!
Hi everyone, hope you are all okay! Just a little celebration from me, finished my treatment on 30 March & back into work full time this week after a little rest last week. I don’t have to go to the hospital for 3 months now!!!
Rads wasn’t too bad, skin burned but only had one v small crack and then that healed straight away. It all peeled very easily last week and is now back to normal so can’t complain still wearing support tops instead of bra though as still a bit swollen!
Hope you are all still doing well with your treatment, thinking about you all lots,
update from me! Woo Hoo. Chemo no. 6 out of 8 tomorrow for me !!! end is almost in sight.
I just want to report that I have swithced my chemo drugs to Taxotere and boy, I feel like I have a whole new lease of life… not living under a permanent cloud of fuggyness and fatigue!
Also, my hair is growing! I first had a covering of blonde baby fluff which caught the light and glistened like a halo. But I then lost if from the sides and it turned into a mohican!!!. But on a whim I shaved it off and I think I now have proper dark thicker hair coming through… its still oh so soft to the touch but I have to come round to the fact that I might not come back as a blondie (original mousey brown - lived in hope!). I am sure it is growing pretty fast on this drug treatment.
I must not get too excited as it only was my first taxotere cycle… but lets see.
Yay to those of you who are aproaching single figures of days left till your last toxic doses
still wearing support tops instead of bra though as still a bit swollen!
but I have to come round to the fact that I might not come back as a blondie (original mousey brown - lived in hope!). I am sure it is growing pretty fast on this drug treatment.