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POSTED UNDER Breast Reconstruction Reviews

25 Year Old Who Had a Preventive Bilateral Mastectomy and Breast Reconstruction - Vancouver, WA

UPDATED FROM shyrye
2 months post

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shyryeDecember 10, 2015
WORTH IT

shyrye's provider

Allen Gabriel, MD, FACS

Allen Gabriel, MD, FACS

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 237 Reviews
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shyrye rating for Dr. Gabriel:

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Replies (2)

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mixie322
December 10, 2015
Hi Shyrye, first of all, just want to say you look GREAT! It really must have been hard to make the decisions you did since you are so young, but when your [RS bleep] are trying to kill you it makes it a much clearer choice! I live in Vancouver, and had a mastectomy on my right breast last February. I have a DIEP flap (is that what you had?) scheduled for Feb.3 and doctor Champanaria will be doing it with the assitance of Dr Gabriel. I can't wait to no longer be a uni-boob! If you'd ever like to meet for coffee, wine, etc, let me know and we can chat about our new boobs! All the best to you!
Veell
January 19, 2016
you are a brave girl and lucky that you could have tissue and nipple saving surgery. I did not have that choice in 2002. In those days it was not done for fear that cancer would come back in the nipple. But I had a tumor and you did not. Thanks so much for sharing your story. You look great. No one would ever know you had a bilateral.
UPDATED FROM shyrye
2 months post

More info on my journey..

shyryeDecember 8, 2015
This experience hasn't been the easiest for me, especially in the emotions department. I never looked at having a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy as it being like an amputation. After I had the surgery and had my expanders in, I started to feel that emotion of having something missing. My breasts that I had for most of my life, were gone. The Thought of never being able to breastfeed if and when I decided to have children, started to set in. But then I realized, I carry a gene that could eventually at some point in my life, make things a lot harder. Being a single and 25, the though of children hasn't really came up, so why would I risk my life for something small like breastfeeding. My surgeon said something encouraging about when that time comes, that there are alternatives for that matter. That made things a little easier to set in that it's okay to feel emotional about things like this, but in the end, everything will be okay. Not having to have that burden and weight on your shoulders of getting breast cancer is a real blessing. At least knowing that I brought my chances from 80-90% down to 10% or less.

I just want others to know is that you're not alone. I found that out through this journey this past year. Especially telling my story on different social media sites and finding out that there are others my age or old, who are or have went through the same exact procedures as me. That's been a huge coping process for me. Since have these surgeries, it's been hard on me socially, so I guess social media has helped me a lot with being able to meet and talk with women who know exactly what I'm going through. That's why I want you to know, is that you're not alone in this!

Replies (2)

survivor34
December 17, 2015
Good for you! What you did took a lot of courage and especially at such a young age. I lost my Mom to bc when I was 14 and she was 42. I was diagnosed with bc at 27 years old. I tested positive for the BRCA gene 11 years ago and have had bc three times. The last time was 10 years ago and the first time was 34 years ago.
Thank you for sharing your story and blessings to you.
shyrye
January 7, 2016
Thank you so much! It definitely was the best choice. And from the sounds of it, you're doing good! My mom had BC twice and tested positive for the BRCA as well. One of the reasons I decided to do what I did. I admire the kind words and blessings to you as well.
ORIGINAL POST

I'm 25 and made the huge but right decision in...

shyryeDecember 5, 2015
I'm 25 and made the huge but right decision in going forth with having a mastectomy and reconstruction. My mom had Breast Cancer twice and later found out she was BRCA1+. Then I later got tested at the age of 22 and was also BRCA1+. Though I'm young and was a hard decision, I would do it all over...

Replies (1)

Roger at RealSelf
December 5, 2015

Welcome to the community and thanks so much for offering your opinion of your doctor.

It would be great if you could give us a little more detail about your experience, like why you had the surgery, your tips for getting good results, pros/cons, and info on the recovery process.

Our community members especially love seeing photos from before, during, and after — a realistic look at what they can expect. Photos grab the attention of the community and encourage more support for you.

As a community manager, I get requests all the time from other members who want me to to keep encouraging people to share their experiences, which are so helpful for others considering these procedures. So please accept this as a well-intentioned request from thousands.

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