Hi everyone, happy new year. I’m hoping to hear from anyone who’s been in a similar situation.
I am in my 30s and recently had a mastectomy for high-grade DCIS. Normally radiotherapy isn’t needed, but in my case the margin was positive and ER-negative. Because of this, the MDT has recommended radiotherapy.
I currently have a tissue expander in place with the plan for a future permanent implant exchange. I’m worried about capsular contracture, fibrosis or reconstruction failure…
Has anyone been in a similar position? For those who went ahead with radiotherapy, how was your skin and how did your expander / implant turn out?
I’d really love hearing others’ experiences, especially positive stories that could give me a new year’s boost (and any tips / advice)
I have a tissue expander which I’ll have switched for a permanent implant at some point. I did 15 sessions of radiotherapy in November. I’m in my 30s too and so far I’ve had no issues. It sometimes feels a bit tight in the morning but I think this also due to me being a side sleeper! I had a bit of redness with my skin towards the end of radiotherapy but it cleared up quickly.
I was pretty strict on moisturising a few times a day a few weeks before starting (I think this was a recommendation I found on this forum), and also kept on top of the steroid treatment and moisturiser I was given for during the radiotherapy. Drink plenty of fluid and keep up with your post-surgery arm/shoulder exercises. I didn’t keep up with the exercises as much as I should have and ended up with a stiff shoulder by the end of treatment.
I had a mastectomy with a silicon implant five years ago and developed a capsular contractor within about two years that was developing and increasing. I then had a recurrence local-after 4 years and so swapped to an expander, followed by radiotherapy in August. I did not have anything much by way of skin issues but kept up the moisturising. The skin looks good but I do feel a bit of tightness and need to keep up with the arm/shoulder stretches. I am discussing replacing the expander with DIEP flap reconstruction. Needs to be a few months after the radiotherapy.
The port for my expander has moved and is sometimes a bit uncomfortable when I am side sleeping but other than that I am getting on way better with it than with the silicone implant I had at round 1, which always felt very plasticky and sat too high. I liked the idea that they could adjust the expander so as to get more symmetry- though now that the port has moved they can’t. Luckily it is already the right size.
I think a lot of people get on well with silicone implants but I didn’t. The expander has coped well with the radiotherapy, looks way better than the implant ever did , and has helped keeP my options open.
Thank you @Milly_Molly_1 and @brox - curious to know which moisturiser you used ? And did you have to use bolus at radiotherapy? I’m quite happy with how my expander looks at the moment and will be super disappointed if it does fail… keeping my fingers crossed and trying to stay positive.
I make my own using a blend of food grade avocado oil (from Ocado - it is high in vitamin E ; also tried argan oil in the past) and and 100% pure aloe gel (from Amazon) with a bit of water and it emulsifies into a nice lotion. Trying to avoid as many toxic chemicals as possible where I can.
