Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi Emma,   Ah I see, quite a bit more than me so,I am sorry that I can’t really help with your question. The best I can say is that I don’t think there is an awlful lot of difference in the hardness in my boob now, a year on, than soon after radiotherapy finished. Slightly different dents and bumps but not much different. Still have the lovely deep “ sun tan line” though 😂. Mammogram was a bit uncomfortable to say the least, may have uttered an expletive under my breath but the radiographer was lovely and did her best to keep as it quick and as carefully as she could, guess it will be tender for a while.  Keep in touch, I am here if you need me. Elisabeth xx ... View more

Hi Yvette,  please do not worry that you haven’t phoned, I fully understand how you are feeling. Please phone if and when you feel ready, I will not be offended in any way. But also if you want to chat please don’t worrying about being emotional on the phone, I was the same many a time, it’s normal to be that way and I wouldn’t expect any different, you are going through an unbelievably difficult time. I hope all goes well on Wednesday and I am here for you any time that you need me. Elisabeth  xx ... View more

Hi Emma,  i had 3 weeks of radiotherapy so not sure that I had a boost? Not sure what that is? Gosh everyone seems to have a very different journey. So far I don’t feel that the tissue is as hard as I thought it would be. Hope this helps.  Elisabeth ... View more

I’ve found the marks and Spencer’s sumptuously soft ones the only comfy ones for me, no underwires for the first time in my life 😂 ... View more

Hi Yvette,  I am over a year on from surgery now, just waiting for my first annual mammogram. I found it such a difficult decision at the time but am so glad I went for LICAP. A year on, the scar is fading and I still have two breasts,  albeit with a few dents in the left one! It still looks much better than I thought it would, as I said just a small dent or two, it does feel different to the touch obviously, a little bit more lumpy. The skin has lost sensation a bit where the new flap is in place but this may return and is not a big issue. Overall the end result is much much better than I anticipated and far better than losing a breast.  The lack of photographs is very frustrating I know, I felt the same, the only one I had seen before making my decision actually put me off! The scar looked enormous and hideous! In reality it is a very long scar but it soon fades and as I said it’s hidden under your bra. With a bra on, you can not see that I have even had surgery. I also had radiotherapy which didn’t seem to affect things too much, maybe hardened up the scar tissue a bit. I hope this rambling of mine helps a bit! Come back and ask anything else, happy to answer if I can and good luck with your op. (Happy to chat if that helps but as I’ve said in the past to others not sure how to organise it but sure we could if needed) 💕  elisabeth ... View more

Hi Emma,  Glad I could be of help. I know exactly what you mean about the photos, I felt the same but never found any of the lumpectomy for comparison. If it helps, my area of dcis was also about 3 cm if I remember correctly and the surgeons advice was go for the LICAP as 3 cm plus margin on a small breast is quite a large area.  Good luck with your decision and with whatever option you choose, please feel free to get in touch again if you need to.  Best wishes Elisabeth ... View more

Hi Emma B I fully understand where you are, very scared, very unsure. I too was very worried about what to do. Nearly a year on, I am so happy to have decided to have the LICAP surgery, yes I have a long scar around the bottom of my breast and onto my back, a small dent here and there but generally my breast still looks like a breast and with a bra on you would never know I had surgery at all. I ended up having 3 operations in the end, the second one was because I had a haematoma, that was just specific to me and unlucky, then I had to have another as they didn’t get a good margin first time around. So 3 cuts on the same scar but still it is looking good. The worst part for me to be honest was when they put the wire in before the operation, because my area of dcis was deep into my breast near the nipple, I needed extra local anaesthetic but you would need wire I guess even for a lumpectomy. I still have no sensation in my skin on my breast where the old tissue was removed and the new popped in, that is something easy to deal with, the main worry for me was losing sensation in my nipple but thankfully that hasnt happened. All in all, I had very serious concerns about having it done and I nearly faltered, much to my surgeons cheerful annoyance, ( she was lovely,) as she has I guess seen so many woman facing a future with severely disfigured breasts, that her skills can now avoid with this procedure. Whereabouts in the UK are you? I am in Scotland and had a great team.  The photo on the leaflet about LICAP that I was given before the procedure scared me more than anything and I did suggest to the team that it needs changing! In reality the end result looks far better!  I am very happy that I made the right decision to go with the LICAP surgery. I am very very happy to chat with you over the phone which may help you but I am not sure about publishing our phone numbers on here, any ideas? I can call the helpline tomorrow and let them know I am happy for them to give you my number?  Hope this helps. Elisabeth ... View more

Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it really helps to know that you’re not alone in all this! Glad that you are recovering well. I think the the LICAP, (sorry I got it the wrong way round in my post!), is similar to DIEP, it’s all done in one operation taking tissue from under your arm to replace breast tissue. I get the feeling it’s a newish procedure to avoid mastectomy. My surgeon has said that the area to take away is quite large and on my small breast will not look good and then with radiotherapy shrinking it more, it’s best to have this partial reconstruction.  Hope that your prosthesis fitting went well and thanks so much for the offer of further support, I may well be in touch and hopefully we can support each other! Xx   ... View more