I had a mastectomy nearly 7 weeks ago and I’m struggling to wear my prosthesis as I am still sore and slightly swollen on each end of my scar . The scar and around it has gone hard. Is this normal ?
I saw the breast care nurse and surgeon on day 8 and haven’t seen them since. I have tried calling and the breast care nurse got back to me 2 days later told me to email photos but then I have heard nothing from her so I went to my GP and she took a stitch out that had not dissolved but I don’t feel anymore comfortable.
Hi amanda
Healing can take quite a while. Surgery will have severed some nerves which might be the cause of pain and those dissolving stitches can be a pain too. Since your GP has checked it, I think you can be confident that there is nothing radically wrong. I think some of it is our personal reaction to pain but a lot of it is emotional. Fear about the diagnosis, fear about the future, fears about our body. Another thing to consider is how your surgery was done. If you were lying flat, you will have what they call a dog-ear both ends but these do actually make the scar more flexible. My centre one is so prominent it actually gives me a cleavage! You may have the beginnings of a seroma, which the breast care nurse will be looking for - it’s harmless but pretty painful. What is essential is that you carry on with those exercises you were given. I still need to do mine or things tighten up. I also massage my breast muscle and scar daily to keep it flexible.
I’m guessing you are using a softie rather than a measured silicon (?) prosthesis as it seems early days for that. There are knitted knockers which are an absolute boon and available free of charge but I have a feeling they stopped the service with the arrival of the pandemic. Check knittedknockers uk. If you can knit, I know the pattern is free online if you google it. I found them the best alternative to a prosthesis.
Have you been fitted for a mastectomy or post-surgery bra? They are essential if you are wearing a softie or prosthesis but I found they were the main source of discomfort as the tight band caused friction with my scar. It might be worth looking at some of the cheaper ranges for now, what they call comfort bras. They have a pocket for your prosthesis or, if you choose, just stuff it with kapok for some shape but I still think you might still experience discomfort for a while. Go for seamless comfort bras if you can. Most chains have their own range so it’s trial and error, rather expensive in terms of error I’m afraid.
I hope others will chip in with recommendations and advice. I’m possibly not the best person as I’ve given up and adopted the state of monoboobery. I’m really past caring what people think. All the best xx