7 weeks later post a very complicated breast surgery & I've never felt better

I have fought with severe body dysmorphia for decades. The enormous breasts (getting implants at very young only complicated the matter as my breast tissue never decreased post pregnancy), shortest torso ever and my athleticism never coalesced. Getting ready to go out was mentally debilitating and I usually just opted for something baggy or wildly different just so no one would notice my body and judge it as severely as I did. Let them talk about my fit and judge it, leave judging my body up to me since I'm the harshest judge and jury for that, I didn't need any help in that department. There were some very dark days and depression would creep in to hang out just to make my self-image worse. I loathed my body.

Due to significant health issues, I have been terrified of anesthesia and surgery. But that all changed when a girlfriend who had a very aggressive and deadly form of breast cancer had a double mastectomy and complete rebuild by Dr Cassileth and my gosh she did an fantastic job. I booked my appointment after hearing her experience with Dr Cassileth and her team. After meeting the staff (they were all amazing, every single person) and talking with Dr Cassileth, I swear I was crying inside with joy. She is brilliant. We talked about every single detail of what needed to be done (I was also having severe inflammatory and neuroendocrine issues at the time along with genetic hypertension that had caused two near catastrophic events when being put under anesthesia prior, along with old implant removal so I was not going to be a simple case) and I felt entirely comfortable literally putting my life in her and her team's hands. After a 5 hour surgery, the team at Palladium After care were incredible (Carollee is amazing). Every single employee and affiliated person Dr Cassileth has brought into her practice is absolutely spectacular. I cannot stop thinking about how intelligent, kind compassionate, and genuinely sincere they all are, I've never seen anything like it before in my life.

Here we are only 7 weeks later, post a very complicated surgery and I have never felt better. For the first time in decades my ANA is negative (which values had been skyrocketing when positive and changing appearances), the random shooting pains up and down my spine and in my shoulders are gone. I am so happy and feel so good that I have to stop myself and reflect how it used to be to make sure I remember to feel gratitude for this incredible group of people. For the first time in my life, I feel good about my body. It's bizarre for me to say that, I've never said it before in my life. Dr Cassileth is brilliant, strong and works magic. I could have gone to any surgeon, I know many of them and Dr Cassileth is the only one I trust. She understands the mental and physical relational connections biological females have, it is something a biological male doctor cannot understand nor appreciate. To no fault of their own, they simply can't. Their physiological construction isn't the same, they don't produce the same hormones or hormone levels as biological females. If you can swing it financially, and have something you would like addressed knowing it will shake off the suffocating burden of a negative body perception, and/or if there's possibly a health impact resulting from prior body work, there's no reason to wait any longer. Please, make an appointment.