Breast Cancer Now Forum

Hi ladies, I am due to have a DIEP reconstruction on 5th September. I'm just wondering if anyone has any advice about what sort of clothes to wear in the first few weeks after surgery. I have some loose kind of jogging bottoms but should I buy a size bigger to account for the swelling? Were you advised to wear post surgery bras or no bra at all? And is it easier to have button up clothing for a few weeks? So many questions! Thanks Debs ... View more

Hi I would just like to ask if anyone is on Tamoxifen and how often you have smear tests. I've been on Tamoxifen for 2 years and I was under the impression that smear tests would be annually from now on due to the risks but my doctor disagrees and says I can only have them every 5 years. I just wondered if this is just another postcode lottery kind of thing. Thanks Buzzy ... View more

Hi ladies I have been on the waiting list for a DIEP reconstruction since October 2012. I was told at the time that the waiting list was 7/8 months long but this week I have been told I could be waiting up to a year! Devastated is an understatement! I'm just curious to know how long people in different parts of the country have waited. Please could you tell me how long you waited and what part of the country you live in. Thanks Debs ... View more

Hi I'm due to see the surgeon on Wednesday to discuss a DIEP reconstruction. I'm worried that he will tell me I have to lose weight first because I have heard that you have to have a certain BMI (Body massindex) before they will do the op. I have been trying to lose weight for the last month without success and I can only put it down to Tamoxifen keeping my weight right up there. I'm not a very large person. About a size 14 but only 5' 1". I would like to hear from anyone who has had a DIEP recon and what your BMI had to be if there was any stipulation. Thanks Debs x ... View more

Hi I need a bit of a letting off of steam today as I'm really angry with my surgeon. I've never liked him much, he's never had much of a bedside manner and always seems in too much of a rush to answer your questions properly. Anyway, after chemo in 2010 I had a WLE and then a re-excision. The margins were still not clear so I was told I would need a mastectomy however before I had it I developed an abcess so it had to be delayed. I eventually had it in April 2011 and I had a tissue expander put in so I could have delayed reconstruction after more chemo and radiotherapy. I was due to have the recon in February but I developed an infection a few weeks before. I had been back to the surgeon countless times since having the expander in because I knew it didn't feel right and he always sent me off with antibiotics and it would get better for a while but then flare up again. Eventually when I was admitted to hospital with the infection, the implant was actually poking out of my skin, a point which the surgeon missed and I had to point out to him! He had the cheek to say he thought the infection had been there a long time and I thought yes I tried telling you that! The expander had to be removed and I've been left with a complete mess and still have an open wound 3 months later. The last time I saw him he said to "come back when you think it's healed up"! Since then I have decided to be referred to another surgeon at a different hospital because I have opted for a DIEP reconstruction. I rang his secretary last week and asked for a copy of the referral letter. It came today and I'm really angry at the last line which reads "I think she has been a little disappointed with how things have gone at the Infirmary and it may well be better that she has delayed reconstruction elsewhere". In other words, I've made a right mess of this woman, I'm fed up with her coming in with her problems every five minutes and now I want someone else to deal with it! Thats the way it feels anyway! I feel like writing a letter of complaint but I'm sure I will calm down in a bit. I feel better already having written it all down. Thanks for reading Debs x ... View more