Facebook Pixel
TRACI RIMMER
Q: 

BREAST CANCER RECONSTUCTION

By December 27, 2010 - 3:52pm
 
Rate This

OCT 12TH 2009 I WENT IN TO THE HOSPITAL FOR A BREAST REDUCTION...THE SURGERY WENT WELL AND THE OUTCOME WAS WONDERFUL...I HEALED GREAT BUT GOING BACK TO HAVE THE STITCHES OUT...MY SURGEON HAD TO BREAK THE NEWS TO ME..THEY HAD FOUND DCIS IN BOTH BREAST...IT WAS CONTAINED..BUT AS BREAST CANCER RAN IN MY FAMILY I WANT TO HAVE A BILATERAL MASTECTOMY ...SO ON DEC 12TH 2009 I HAD BILATERAL MASTECTOMY... WITH SKIN AND MUSCLE TAKEN FROM MY BACK AND BROUGHT AROUND.. TO MAKE MY BREAST MOUNDS..IN JAN 2010 I GOT VERY SICK AND HAD TO GO INTO EMERGENCY SURGERY FOR MRSA UNDER MY LEFT EXPANDER..BUT BOTH EXPANDERS WERE REMOVED...I HAD TO WAIT FOR 6 MONTHS BEFORE STARTING MY RECONSTRUCTIVE SURGERY BACK..IN AUG 2010 I WAS ABLE TO GET MY EXPANDERS BACK..AND WITH ONLY 3 FILLS..I WAITED 2 MONTHS TO HAVE MY IMPLANTS PUT IN...ON DEC 3 2010 I HAD MY IMPLANT SURGERY DONE...IT IS NOW THE END OF DECEMBER AND I'M STILL SORE AND THE LEFT BREAST FEELS AS THOUGH IT IS STINGING ALL THE TIME..AND FEELS A LIL LARGER THAN THE RIGHT BREAST..I GO BACK TO MY SURGEON ON JAN 11 2011 FOR A CHECK UP....I GUESS I AM STILL A WORK IN PROCESS..BUT HAVE LOTS OF QUESTIONS STILL...HAS ANYONE EVER EXPERIENCED ANY OF THIS??..IS THIS NORMAL??..WHAT QUESTIONS SHOULD I ASK MY SURGEON???

Add a Comment1 Comments

Pat Elliott
Empowered
Expert HERWriter Guide Blogger

Hi Traci - While there are many women who've had some of your same experiences, I bet there are few who've had all of them. You've certainly been through a lot in a short time, and have a lot ahead of you.

As a fellow breast cancer survivor, and a current leukemia patient, I think it would be helpful for you to find a local or online support group where you could discuss your concerns with other women who've had reconstructive surgery. If you're not familiar with any I'd be happy to help you locate one if you let me know where you live. (City and state or province)

I'm going to provide some links about reconstructive surgery and questions to ask your doctor in the follow up visit, but I think what will truly help you is to talk with another woman who's been in your same shoes.

Take care,
Pat

http://www.cancer.org/Cancer/BreastCancer/MoreInformation/BreastReconstructionAfterMastectomy/breast-reconstruction-after-mastectomy-toc

http://ww5.komen.org/uploadedFiles/Content_Binaries/reconstructivesurgery.pdf

http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/guide/questions-surgeon-breast-cancer

http://www.yourplasticsurgeryguide.com/reconstructive/breast-reconstruction.htm

http://www.everydayhealth.com/breast-cancer/treating/reconstruction-after-breast-surgery.aspx

http://www.mdanderson.org/patient-and-cancer-information/cancer-information/cancer-topics/cancer-treatment/breast-reconstruction/faq.html

http://www.boardcertifiedplasticsurgeon.com/breast_reconstruction.html

December 27, 2010 - 6:07pm

This Comment

Image CAPTCHA
Enter the characters shown in the image.
By submitting this form, you agree to EmpowHER's terms of service and privacy policy
Add a Comment

All user-generated information on this site is the opinion of its author only and is not a substitute for medical advice or treatment for any medical conditions. Members and guests are responsible for their own posts and the potential consequences of those posts detailed in our Terms of Service.

Breast Cancer

Get Email Updates

Related Checklists

Breast Cancer Guide

Maryann Gromisch RN
Empowered
Guide

Have a question? We're here to help. Ask the Community.

ASK

Health Newsletter

Receive the latest and greatest in women's health and wellness from EmpowHER - for free!