Got my date…next Friday. Is it weird that I am excited? Cos I am. Weirdo!
Some of you may find it useful to view my blog that I started to let people know all about my IBC journey. Selfishly, it stops me having to email, text and re-tell the story to all my lovely friends, family and supporters.
HI good luck I had a masectomy mid june adn I am getting on well.It will be good to get it out of the way.
Take care
Jazz
Hi Pash,
It would probably seem a bit wierd to anybody who hasn’t been through what we have to get to that stage. But, I think some of us in this club will have felt like that, I certainly did. I dreaded the op but at the same time couldn’t wait to get rid of the tumour.
When I was in hospital for my op I met a lady who had been diagnosed just 3 days before and was having her op. She was stunned and couldn’t stop crying. She couldn’t believe how calm and cheerful I was. The difference was that I had had 6 months of chemo and plenty of time to get my head round it. The op seemed like the reward at the end.
I met quite a few interesting people in the 4 days I was there and I hope you do too. It makes the time pass more quickly. Best wishes for a smooth op and recovery.
Jan xxx
Hi Pash,
Not strange to me either.
I needed my breast removed to feel confident the cancer was gone.
All the best for next week,
Jackie x
Sounds similar to how i felt as well… and really i wasn’t happy until i had my “good” breast removed as well in sept…
Hope it all goes well next week… the 25th nov is my anniversary of my first mastectomy… amazing how quickly that year has gone…
Theresa x
haven’t read your blog but understand your sentiments, i had a bilateral mast 2 weeks ago, and although i’m really sore i’m glad its done. when diagnosed in march 09 it was my gut feeling to have a bi lat mastectomy but my surgeon wouldn’t remove a ‘healthy’ breast on a gut feeling (which i totally understand!). but since diagnosis i have seen my breasts as a part of my body that let me down whilst i was breastfeeding! personally i was relieved to let them go. you are not weird!! good luck for surgery hope it all goes well. xxxx
sorry! pushed twice!
Hi redcell, i had a bi lat and i wondered whether you are going to have recon - i am not at this point but i am interested in what other people that have had a bi lat think? I find it quite liberating not having them i just dont like the fact that i look like I have been on the beer for a few months but once i have my body back i think i will like the flat chest!!! Karen xx
Hi Pash and everyone else
I totally don’t think you’re weird for ‘looking forward’ to your op. I had WLE at the end of May 3 days after diagnosis, but have just spoken to my consultant yesterday about having a bilateral mastectomy as a preventative measure. A
s Redcell said above, I feel as though my breasts have let me down, and I almost imagine the tissue inside as my enemy. So, although I’m very scared at the thought of the surgery, I am quite relieved that the consultant has given me this choice.
Best of luck to you (and I think your blog is great!!)
Shenagh xx
hi Pash, i have just had my 7th cycle of chemo, 1 more to go, i am scared of the surgery but looking forward to getting this tumour taken out of me. Im not sure how i will cope losing my breast but it has to be done. I was hoping for an immediate recon but found out on wednesday that i cant, so now getting my head around no immediate recon. Although i do hear that the recovery is quicker so thats a bonus.
good luck with your surgery
anna
awww, thanks everyone for your comments.
I don’t feel like my breasts are my enemy, neither is the cancer really. It has taught me a lot about myself and most importantly made me realise how lucky I am in so many ways - my naturally optimistic attitude and the love of my friends and family, but also the support and care shown by acquaintances and even random strangers being top of the list.
I think I got caught up mid chemo with talking to people who’d had BC, not IBC, and I made the mistake of getting my hopes up about immediate recon. But I am going to be a one tit wonder for about a year and that was tough when I first found out. It’s not ideal, but I’m okay about it. I’m intrigued to know how I’ll look. I’m worried about pain (such a baby) and I am gutted that I won’t be able to spend a small fortune on the lovely matching undies in La Senza, which is my weakness. Anyone know of any sites for mastectomy bras which are smaller than a small African country? I am a 35 year old girl who likes sexy, pretty, lacy, ribboned things, not stuff that resembles what my Gran used to wear!!! Anyway, I digress as usual!
I was freaked about losing my hair when I first found out it would go and actually now I kinda like it. I have a (very expensive) wig that I don’t wear all that often cos I honestly think I look better without it! And the boyfriend told me this week that he fancies me more without it, which is an added bonus cos wearing it all day or all evening gets on my pip.
There really are positives to everything if you look for them.
Keep smiling girls
Hi Pash,
I too think you look fab without your wig. Unfortunately I looked like my dad when I was bald which made me think I looked like a man in drag. Better now that I have some (very short)hair and most of all eyebrows and lashes. I’ve ditched the wig too now and have never had any negative comments from people.
Here’s some hope for your love of lingerie. I attented a Breast Cancer Care lingerie evening last week where they showed that you don’t need to stick to post mastectomy bras. You will, for about 3 weeks, need to wear soft comy ones but after that, as long as they are soft cup, you can go for the pretty ones. (Underwired are out for at least 6 months.) They had 2 ladies modelling, one petite and the other curvy and you really couldn’t tell which of their breasts was the prosthesis. They looked great and were wearing very pretty bras by Freya, Fantasie and so on from the “normal” ranges. They also offer a personalised prosthesis fitting which is much better than the one I had from NHS. It was held in Frasers in Glasgow but they hold them all over the country. Details of your local ones will be on their website.
P.S. We also had free bubbly and Yo Sushi so it was worth the visit.
Jan xx
hi janb was reading your post i was just wondering if you knew how they can wear thoes bras as ive looked at the website and they seem only for ladies with 2 boobs maybe im beeing daft or looking at wrong lot thanks
Hi Laura64,
The secret is to be expertly fitted so that you get the right shape and size. You can then either pop your prosthesis into the bra cup or have a pocket sewn into the bra. Some ladies have had quite poor service from the bigger stores when asking to be fitted so an event like this is ideal.
Jan xxx
janb thanks beeing bigger boob lady it not easy im going to get fitted next week and take my pros with me to see what they say at moe having job to find sut bra
Hi Laura64,
I’m also a big boobed lady and so was one of the models. If your prosthesis is the right one and your bra fits properly you should feel confident. I’ve sent you a PM which I hope you’ll find helpful.
Jan xx
Hi Pash
You are not weird, just normal when it comes to an IBC diagnosis, I felt exactly the same, couldn’t wait for them to take it away to get rid of the cancer. So, good luck on 25th, the op itself isn’t too bad, and a tip from me is to massage your scar area as soon as you possibly can - this helps to cut down on scar adhesions. My anniversary of the op was on 12 Nov, and I am lucky to be still having physio/massage of the scar.
I am about to start my journey with reconstruction, so have started a new thread about that. I will try to get to your blog but so far no luck.
For big boobed ladies like me, I haven’t bothered to get a prothesis, I still (a year later) find it uncomfortable to wear a bra so will now just wait to see what happens regarding reconstruction.
Pash HI
Good Luck for Friday - I echo all you say and have my local surgeon booked for the 21st Dec and seeing * * in Poole on Monday 30th to see if she can do it before Xmas instead.
I hope I can be as brave and excited as you when the time comes
I wish you a quick recovery and will continue to look for your comments as you are only a week or two in front of me.
Dee Dee - soon to be just one Dee
Wow, thanks ladies for all the replies.
Dee Dee, Mr P originally said 16th Dec, but I said I want sooner, partly cos of Christmas (such a child) but also genuinely concerned that between chemos, my breast enlarges significantly so wanna get on with it. Now not having Mr P, having Miss M (who is lovely) and going to Wimborne (which is supposed to be a lovely hospickle!).
Feel free to ask any questions if you think it will help (I’m also losing a DD, so know where you’re at!)
x