No Surgery For At Least Two Months - Warning - TMI

[CinderellaIam]

Peg,

I am offering you lots of hugs for comfort, prayers for guidance and protection, and pixie dust that the insurance company allows you to do what you feel is best for you.

The next few months are sure to be difficult for you to get through,always know you have your friends here to lean on if you need it.

 

[Feralpeg]

Thank you all for your kind words. I am actually so lucky. It has been 22 years since my bout with breast cancer. I've known so many others that have not been so lucky.

Pea-n-Me is absolutely correct. The cancer may start in the breast, but that is not what ultimately results in death. It is the other places where the cancer spreads. Since it has been 22 years, I am not so concerned about the removal of my remaining breast to stay safe. While I am not saying I couldn't develop cancer in that breast, it won't be the overriding factor in my decision.

If there is anything I can pass along to others considering breast implants whether for reconstruction or cosmetic purposes, it is to think it out very carefully. All implants, whether silicone or saline, have a lifespan. At some point, they will rupture and have to be removed or replaced. I really don't think that point is made clear enough to women considering implants. I know it wasn't to me. In fact, my plastic surgeon never mentioned that I would someday face having them removed.

Implants are a foreign substance and the body doesn't really like them. Scar tissue will form around and encapsulate them. No matter how much massage, etc. you do, this will happen over time. Once it does, it will become painful. Mine have been painful for the last ten years. It isn't a debilitating pain, but it isn't pleasant. I just feel so sad when I see young women having implants put in because I don't believe they know what they are getting into. Everyone has a right to make the decisions about their own bodies, but I don't think the doctors are upfront enough about the downside of many procedures.

Enough of that. Again, thank you all for your support.

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Interesting thoughts about implants, Peg. I wound up choosing lumpectomy, but had I chosen the option of mastectomy, I was leaning toward a saline implant, however my surgeon did warn me that it would have to be replaced at some point. He told me also they could rupture, that he had a patient in his office one Monday morning after a weekend ski trip who had flattened both of her implants on the slopes. I think anyone considering implants - whether it be for medical or cosmetic reasons - needs to be aware of these issues.

I also never gave much thought before my own illness about what it would be like to live with one or no breasts. Difficult at best. Some on our BC thread have talked about how hot it is in the heat with a prosthesis; how self conscious you are in a swimsuit and/or summer clothes; and I have a friend who had a double mast at age 37 who originally was going to leave it alone, but then she found that it was really difficult to wear women's clothes because none of them fit or felt right, so she went ahead afterward and had implants placed. So there is a lot to think about.