"54 Years Old" Bi-lateral Mastectomy with Tissue Expanders September 24th...SCARY STUFF! - Marietta, GA

I, too, am 54 years old Brookhaven, GA breast cancer breast cancer survivor. I found mine a year ago this month after an MRI. November 3 was my double mastectomy surgery date. I had implants before the surgery, so I didn't need expanders. I, too, chose the double mastectomy over radiation. I feel very blessed that I wast able to have the nipple-sparing surgery. Although I am now numb throughout the breast area, where they removed all the tissue, I look very normal. I am a 36 C, which was what I was before surgery. In a couple of weeks, I will be going through liposuction in order to transfer some fat into my breasts. I had this done last March as well. My breasts appear ripply, since I obviously don't have enough/any fat between my implant and skin tissue.

I'll admit that I have had moments of sadness over the loss of my breasts, but I knew it was the right thing to do, considering the alternative. Just remember, you are not alone. Support groups with women who have had breast cancer help tremendously when you are going through emotional moments. They can share their compassion, experience and wisdom. Go and "Kick Cancer's Butt!!"

Wishing you the best of luck

Thinking of you today~ take care and go easy. This procedure is painful so treat yourself kindly and let others help you. If I can answer any questions please message me anytime.
Good luck to you.....((hug))

Thank you for the info. I appreciate it!
And yes I agree
I am very grateful and blessed!

Sorry to hear of your difficulty. There are some excellent plastic surgeons near you who have experience with breast reconstruction. Hopefully your plastic surgeon can refer you to a colleague. If you need help finding another plastic surgeon, consult with your oncologist, or go to the "Find a Surgeon" link at plastic surgery.org, http://www1.plasticsurgery.org/find_a_surgeon/.

Best of luck to you and I hope everything turns out well.

Hi I hope you are feeling ok. I saw some very nice breast reconstructions on here, even after the nipple has been removed, the reconstruction looked great. Good luck finding a surgeon.

I would recommend Dr. Song at Prima Center in Duluth GA. He's great!

Mine hurt like hell I had to take 3 kinds of painkillers and still I was in pain especially after insertion of saline 100mls every week. To top it all after 3 and a half months the surgeon thinks it's leaking and going for op the day after tomorrow to replace with implant.......

I felt connected to your story as I was told chemo was not likely to be recommended for me and I have just completed number four of 12 treatments. I am H ER 2 positive and this treatment is to prevent the cancer from coming back. I am supposedly on low-dose of Taxol and Herceptin. My side effects are minimal. The hardest thing right now is that I am losing my hair. I have not been sick but do have trouble sleeping through the night. I journal during those hours. I am still working but losing my hair is causing me to feel less confident and part of me wants to retreat until this is over!!! Hang tough we can beat this thing. Remember that this is temporary and your health will return. Look forward to better days as I am trying to do. You are not alone!

I'm 51 and had my bilateral mastectomy surgery with tissue expanders 6/12/15. As of today, I have completed 12 of 16 chemo cycles. As you know, everyone's treatment is different and the particular chemo drugs are tailored to your specific needs. My chemo treatment involved ACT (Adriamycin -4 cycles, Cytoxan -4 cycles and Taxol-12 cylces). I knew they would have problems placing IV's in my arms so I had an infusion port placed in my upper chest. You may want to inquire if a port would be helpful for you depending on your treatment type. If Adriamycin is in your cocktail of chemo drugs, it really, really helps to suck on ice while they manually push that thick red syrup manually into you system. The thought is that the cold slows the blood flow to the area and lessens the mouth sores. The one time I didn't use ice, my mouth and throat broke out with sores and it was very uncomfortable. It seems pretty low tech but the ice really lessened my side effects of mouth sores.
I agree tissue expanders are uncomfortable. My plastic surgeon installed a new contoured type of TE by Mentor, so I don't have the round ball type but it still has an iron bra feel. I found 120 cc fills were very uncomfortable and 60 cc fills are not too bad. Unfortunately I had an infection on one side and was not able to expand the one side for about 3-4 weeks, so I'm a little lopsided. I'm having to get the expansion process completed in the next month or so before starting radiation the end of the year. Physical therapy has been my saving grace in getting me through the expansions. Along with actually doing the exercises daily at home it has helped with the tightness and pain. It seems to also increase my overall well being which has aided in the chemo treatment as well. I don't know who you are using for PT but I have been very happy with Turning Point Breast Cancer Rehabilitation in Roswell. I'm in the Suwanee area, feel free to PM me if you have any questions. Hope all goes well for you in your journey.

Yeah, it's temporary, but there is always a price to pay for whatever we chose to do. Always find out before chemo, which chemo drugs they intend to give you, find out the side effects, and weigh the price you have to pay. Make sure the chemo will not affect the reconstruction process, since it is really a lot to go through at the same time. I know the expanders and the fills are uncomfortable, since I had that done but only to one breast. And make sure you investigate all your options before starting any treatment. This is your body and your life and only you go through it all . it is overwhelming, so take deep breaths, look into alternative treatment at www.thetruthaboutcancer.com, and make an educated decision. I went the alternative route after not tolerating chemo after 3 treatments as I personally knew the treatment was beginning to kill me, not the cancer. There are other ways of getting rid of cancer besides putting poisons into your already fragile immune system. Remember, doctors all take the Hippocratic oath to do no harm, and chemo and radiaition always does harm, no matter what they tell you. Cancer is a big money business, and mainstream medicine only has these treatments to offer you. You can find a wonderful cancer coach in a woman from Australia, Marnie Clark, at www.marnieclark.com. Her help got me through soon much. Wishing and praying you make the right decisions on this journey that you will get through.

Losing my hair was hard - but after 1.5 years I got long, thick hair extensions and I feel pretty good and look like I did pre-chemo. You know there are cold caps you can wear that stop your hair from falling out? I only found out about them too late! Tips for chemo is to drink as much water as you can and keep active. There are studies that are now looking at how people who still exercise during this time have less side effects. Good luck!

Thanks so much for all of your comments. I think as women it is normal to focus on the appearance side of chemo. I am grateful that it will help me, but would rather not lose my hair. I mostly have to have chemo because I was progesterone negative and grade 3. Only 13% of women are estrogen positive and progesterone negative, and that's my situation. Thanks so much for sharing your experiences with me.