This might sound daft to you but I am more broken hearted about losing my breast than I am frightened of my cancer. I know this sounds so vain and superficial but I can’t stop crying about it, I get hit by a wall of such sadness over it. But I know its the only way to reduce the risk of the cancer returning.
I have my appointment with the surgeon in December and a possible surgery date in January so I still have time to get my head around it all. Maybe I have my priorities the wrong way round.
Not superficial at all Sunlit - I would feel exactly the same. You will be grieving for the loss of a part of yourself and all that that entails . I was lucky that I had a choice between mastectomy and lumpectomy so chose the latter. Have they told you that mastectomy is the only possibility for your particular diagnosis? If so, there are several reconstruction options that ladies on this forum have had done, either at the same time as the mastectomy or at a later date, so they will be able to reassure you about the whole process. It is early days for you and it is a lot to get your head around, both emotionally and in terms of all the jargon and medical facts, so give yourself time to adjust to it all, and don’t beat yourself up for being upset about losing your breast. xxxxxxx
Sorry to see you’re in this position but there’s plenty of us who are. I had a right mx and total node clearance on 19th Sept Personally I couldn’t wait to have surgery - I had chemo first and the surgery was my way of knowing the cancer was definitely going. I had the relief of finding out from the pathology report following surgery that the chemo had mainly done the job and I am cancer free.
I am not being considered for any reconstruction for 12/18 months but to be perfectly honest I’m happy to stay with just the one and a falsie.
I recently had a full mastectomy on at the end of October, and can totally empathise with how you feel. My diagnosis was early October, and the team presented me with the options of DIEP or implant, but due to various factors I went down the implant route.
Having your breast removed is a BIG thing. It is part of your body, and it is so personal to you. You don’t have your priorities wrong. You just have your focus on your body, and what defines you as a woman!
Time is needed to process all the different things that you and I and a lot of us on here are going through.