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I have a strong history of surgical complications such as wounds reopening and infections. I am also entering into surgery after 6 rounds of chemo to be followed by radiation and Herceptin. Frankly, I'm scared.
@A MyBCTeam Member - I do not think it is shallow at all to want to look down and see cleavage or look in the mirror and like what you see. We are woman and breasts are a natural part of our body it is appropriate for us to want to maintain that. I completely agree that having reconstruction is a very personal decision and we will all have different reasons as to why we chose to or chose not to have reconstruction and no one’s reason is right or wrong.
Good luck with whatever you decide - it's a very personal decision and whatever you decide will be right for you. I had a double mastectomy with no reconstruction because I couldn't see putting something artificial into a part of my body that had been diseased - and have no regrets at all. My scars are practically invisible now. I have no discomfort and can be whatever size I want, when I want. I always was small busted so got C prosthetics - pop them my bra when I feel like it and love it! Of course, I would have rather not have had this experience to begin with but when life gives you lemons an' all that.......
@A MyBCTeam Member - I had absolutely no problems adjusting to the absence of my firm 38Ds. I was looking to get rid of them. My only issue was an initial off-balance after the 1200 grams of fat and ductwork were off and I tried to walk right after surgery.
It was easy because I had a moth between my diagnosis and my first meeting with my surgeon, and then another week before my BMX-I was more than ready to be rid of them.
I never considered reconstruction or prosthetics - one had too many complications and the other was just to bothersome.
@A MyBCTeam Member - my husband supported my choice to stay flat even before my diagnosis. We had discussed how I would react to a BC diagnosis about 4 weeks before my last mammogram after Angelina Jolie had her BMX and talked about reconstruction. I said I would NEVER opt for consolation boobs just to satisfy some social expectations; that I don't need boobs to feel feminine. I stuck to that decision when I had to make it for real a couple of weeks later. I even tease my surgeon in pre-opt that he better make me nicely flat (which he didn't because he didn't trust the depth of my conviction). I ended up with 2 revisions and some upper abdominal lipo to get to my present state of FLAT.
There are older pictures of my flat chest on my inboard if you want to see what I look like.
It is a big deal. Everyone faces this amputation in their own way and is very personal. I chose to have the implants done at the same time as my mastectomy and when I look down I see a cleavage and am thankful. The mind is a powerful thing. I see my scars and it does bother me. Maybe I am shallow but like I said it is a very personal decision. I was 48 when I was first diagnosed. Maybe if I were older I would've chosen differently. They don't look like my old breasts when I am naked but look pretty good in clothes. With all of that being said, they are uncomfortable. Not painful all the time but tight. As if there was an ace bandage wrapped around me at all times. If you have any questions feel free to ask me.
@A MyBCTeam Member - My plan of care requires that I receive 6 cycles of chemo prior to my mastectomy. I have the option of having immediate reconstructive surgery. If I don’t do reconstruction at the time of my mastectomy it is possible to consider doing it at a later date but because I have to have radiation as well that complicates that as well.
My first instinct is to not do reconstruction but my fear is having the reaction you were having when you look in the mirror. I agree with Sanne that we are not less feminine because we no longer have breasts but it is still part of my body that will be gone.
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