POSTED UNDER Facelift REVIEWS
affirming LIFE! - McLean, VA
ORIGINAL POST
I am a triple positive breast cancer survivor who...
GainesvilleDogLadyMay 27, 2016
WORTH IT$15,000
I am a triple positive breast cancer survivor who just finished one year of treatment. Between a substantial weight loss (before diagnosis) and cancer treatment itself, I feel like I aged ten years. I have chosen to get a breast symmetry procedure (breast lift/reduction), SMAS facelift with platysmal tightening, upper & lower eyelift, and fat grafting to my mid face. A couple of months later I plan to have liposuction just of my saddle bag areas as there is no exercise regime that will remove that fat and I have had it all my life even when I weighed 120 (I am 5'7"). In addition to surgery, I have started using tretinoin & doing a short course of hydroquinone. I am relearning how to use makeup -- or actually how to use it correctly since I always wore too much. And I have had 1 of 2 Picosure treatments on my face, arms, & hands. My only question is if there are any breast cancer survivors who chose to have major cosmetic work done after cancer treatment. All together this is quite expensive and I know that no one can promise me that I won't get cancer again but I am just looking for some support and validation that I am not completely out of my mind because I could have a cancer recurrence. I mean it would be silly to spend all this money and then die in a year. I just thought I would dedicate this year to complete renewal & rejuvenation in every area of my life. My appearance is just one area. Overall health, business, spirituality, relationships, home, etc. are also on this rejuvenation plan. I just want to take care of myself, honor myself, be kind to myself, value myself because life is short & I have let myself go for too long (almost 30 years) & I want to rediscover passion for living & enjoy every single moment I have. Appearance is sort of an easy thing to fix compared to the other areas of my life that I want to renew so I thought I would tackle that first. Thoughts? The other question I have is how can people possibly say that I don't need a facelift? The pics I am posting after chemo/radiation are particularly unflattering but I'm looking for validation that I'm a good candidate. I interviewed 4 plastic surgeons and 2 of them said I didn't need a facelift!?!? I don't get it!
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UPDATED FROM GainesvilleDogLady
8 days pre
Booked for major overhaul to celebrate cancer survivorship
GainesvilleDogLadyJune 22, 2016
I have had one Picosure treatment so far on my face, hands, & arms and it worked miracles! It basically got 90% rid of everything I wanted it to. I have one more session after partial recovery from surgery. I started using tretinoin & did a 2 week course of hydroquinone and that was a major success. I had oncoplasty along with removal from my breast tumor (last year) and it was fantastic. I am now booked for SMAS/platysma facelift/necklift, fat grafting to face, breast reduction for symmetry, removal of mediport (chemo port), and upper & lower eyelift surgery on June 30. I am considering hand rejuvenation (via Voluma) and starting Botox treatments for my forehead. Other than this, I am continuing to diet and exercise and do all that I can to take care of myself & no longer take my life for granted. My justification for all this is that I want to keep working another 10-12 years and I think this will help keep age discrimination in check at least a little bit. I know that I have to keep recreating myself career-wise as I am an IT "consultant" and my field changes constantly. At least I would rather be rejected because of my skills or knowledge than my appearance. Skills are something that I will never be finished developing. Of course, one is never done with taking care of themselves either but to a certain degree I believe its easier to rejuvenate one's appearance than one's technical competence. Of course, I could just say to heck with it all and retire and move into a trailer in the woods of West Virginia but I like my life here in the suburbs of Washington DC.
Replies (7)
June 22, 2016
Rock it!!! You will look beautiful, you already are so everybody better watch out!
June 22, 2016
you are a wonderful person and the best thing we do is when we love ourselves how can we give love if we don't give it to us who is closer to me if not I , don't ever regret anything you decide to do for you is what our souls want , i will have all you want to do next week and i took money from bank and i don't regret it is time for me to do something for me all my life I did for others now i am the first in the row and i want to feel it as a celebration for life
June 23, 2016
I hope all of your surgery procedures go well & that your recovery is not too difficult!
June 23, 2016
I just went through your photos! You have gorgeous bone structure. Maybe that is what the doctors who say you don't need a facelift are referring to? Maybe you don't need a full facelift but just a brow lift/eyelids and a lower FL with some CO2 laser? I'm no expert and I can't really tell how saggy your neck is from those pics, but just a thought.
June 24, 2016
Thanks. I am 54 and every day I feel like something new shows up in my face. I figure it can't hurt to get a full facelift now while I am still a little on the youthful side, plus it won't be as obvious if I do it now versus wait for a few years, plus its inspiring me to work on diet & exercise which is really important for trying to avoid a cancer recurrence and for taking care of my bones. I am on a estrogen blocker that is known to create bone loss plus I am already border-line osteopenia/osteoporosis plus my mom aged horrible and let herself go and became very obese and died at an early age. I feel that all of this work (self-care) ultimately has to be good for my health…if nothing else, for the placebo affect… ;-) I mean people don't go to the library and check out lots of books if they don't think they are going to live long and people don't spend a lot of money on cosmetic surgery if they are not planning on living for a while… So its kind of all an affirmation to myself that I am not going anywhere anytime soon! ;-) I also think dogs are very helpful for keeping us healthy, active, and happy. I know cat people feel the same way about their animals but to me there is nothing that gives such unconditional love as a dog who is always happy to see you! I just want to be healthy and enjoy my granddaughter and I think all these are helpful tools in helping us feel our best. Hopefully, by getting a facelift now less damage will be done that I have to repair later & hopefully recovery will be easier.
June 26, 2016
I hope all that for you, too. It sounds like you are taking all of the right steps for your health and life! I agree about dogs. I am also a cat person, but dogs really force you to be in the moment with them and are so good for our psyche. I've started walking and spending a lot more time outside since I got a precious rescue pup last November.
UPDATED FROM GainesvilleDogLady
6 days pre
Just some random pics for inspiration
GainesvilleDogLadyJune 24, 2016
One week today until surgery! Yay! I know I won't be saying yay in a week from now, lol
Replies (30)