breast cancer (again)

Anonymous

breast cancer (again)

ts542001

about 15 years back had IDC treated with lumpectomy and radiation. i now have a new breast cancer IDC again, in the other breast. i am seriously considering bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. i dont want to have radiation again, it's my left breast now, and dont want to expose my heart to any radiation, even if it's minimal. also dont want to have to go for any more mri's and mammo's, the stress of going every 6 months for one or the other is too much. and finally i am currently a "G" cup (my radiated breast is 2 sizes smaller, but the non radiated breast is just very large and therefore need to wear the G cup). i just stuff my bra cup with some soft filler to make the sizes of the 2 breasts equal, i will be thrilled to have a smalled size cup. i actually decided a few years ago that if i get diagnosed again i would opt for BilaterMastectomy and reconstruction. also first time around surgeon and oncologist really pushed for breast conservation, and having been newly diagnosed and feeling vulnerable of course i went ahead with it. was afraid of mastectomy. i dont think anyone told me that after radiation of breast it is more difficult to have reconstruction. i'm not sure i would have had lumpectomy and radiation if i knew that. anyway hope that i am able to have bilateral reconstruction, still need to meet with BS (tomorrow) and PS.

anyway would like to know about recovery with bilat reconstruction, i'm thinking implants. i know i would have to have multiple trips to doctors office for fills and then surgery for the exchange.

so my questions, how long will i have to be out of work, i have a pretty sedantary job, so i in theory can go back sooner rather than later. also how many 'fills' does it take to be finished with the fills, or does that depend on size of breasts, and finally how much pain is associated with the surgery, im actually concerned re the drains and how painful they are and how long they need to stay in. also is the exchange painful/does it require alot of time off from work??

thanks in advance to all of you.

wallan

Hi there:

So sorry you are revisiting the BC game. It is such a blow to hear those words again.

I too was dx'd a second time in the other breast 13 years after the first bout. I only need hormone therapy, but I opted for another mastectomy. I had a mastectomy first time too with no reconstruction.

This time I had implants reconstruction both sides. I took 8 months off work from the time of diagnosis. I was told to take 6-8 weeks off after the mastectomy and then with the tissue expanders another 4 weeks and then after the exchange another 6-8 weeks. So I just returned to work once the expanders were all full and then when I had the exchange, took off another month.

I must say, I wish I had taken off way more time. The emotional toil and all the surgeries and then the hormone therapy has taken a toll on me. I am dragged out, no motivation.

Please consider that when you are embarking on this. I am happy with my results, but still.

Again so sorry to hear you are back here. Hugs to you

wallan

Rondeezee

Hi there,

I know how it feels to be diagnosed with breast cancer two times. I was cancer free for 22 years before being diagnosed a second time, in the same breast, in March 2018. The first time around, I was 29 y/o and could not fathom losing my breast so I elected to have a lumpectomy with radiation. For years I, too, suffered from a shrunken and discolored left breast. I always wanted a breast reduction (I had H cups) but was told that I could not have it done in the left breast due to the radiated tissue. Fast forward to 2018, I was diagnosed with a second breast cancer and immediately decided that I wanted a bilateral mastectomy with DIEP flap reconstruction. I had had the bilateral mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction in August 2018and couldn’t be happier. I am now a D cup and I look so much better in my clothes. The recovery has been no cake walk but I would do it all over again if I had to. Wishing you all the best pink sister 💕

Mobetta

Hi ts542001, I had a lumpectomy and radiation ten years ago on my left breast. My cancer came back this year in the same breast and I had a mastectomy and reconstruction right after in February. I was a little freaked out about having two drains, but I went on YouTube prior to surgery and there were some young women on there who showed their drains and how they took care of them. I'm 60, and I thought to myself that if these women can be so open and brave then I can face the drains too. Honestly, the drains weren't that bad. It's more the thought of them than the actual experience. I think mine were out in about 2-3 weeks. My husband helped me with them, but you could even do them alone. I didn't do expanders. My plastic surgeon just went in after the surgeon and put in the implant. I blocked out a lot of things, but I do know she said she used a sheet of donated human skin that is sterilized to help it work. I went last week for a follow up and she said it looks good. To me, it still looks pretty weird. I guess it takes time for the swelling to subside and gravity to make it less perky. I'm a little nervous about complications, but I'm trying to be hopeful and proactive. I'll need a nipple tattoo down the line and I plan to eventually have my right breast augmented and lifted so it matches the left one a little better. But first I have to heal and this Tuesday I start 4 rounds of chemo. Ugh! I wish you well! ~Mobetta

Yuuki

I’m in the 15-year club too (we need a fight song), only I had my bilateral on the first round and “lumpectomy” with radiation on the second. The recurrence was on the same side as the original.

My first reconstruction was with expanders followed by silicone implants. Despite intracapsular ruptures in both, they did fine until about a year after the radiation, when the radiated side shrank, hardened, traveled upward and I developed axillary cording in the space of a few days. I gave that a year of PT just to keep up my range of motion, then threw in the towel and decided I needed a redo.

I had assumed I could switch out the implants, but the most experienced PSs I saw (I talked to four) said the new implant would ultimately go the way of the old. So, I opted for DIEP.

Before I had the surgery I did see an experienced dermatologist who examined my skin and said everything looked good for surgery. Not sure how much of a difference it made, but it did give me peace of mind. My skin had had a very hard time with the radiation.

I am only 2 months out from the DIEP and the radiated side is healing no differently than the other. Still too early to tell how it will behave long term. I had drains for two weeks; I was still in the jammies-and-sweats stage when they came out, so I didn’t have to confront the issue of dressing. I still have some swelling so my “professional” wardrobe is black Eileen Fisher-esque stretch pants and skirts, tanks and jackets.

Having done recon both ways, implants are easier but radiation wasn’t a factor for me at the time. The implants themselves are much better now than the ones I had 18 years ago, and the downtime after the exchange was short enough that I had to remind myself to behave so I wouldn’t swell (but then, I was a bit younger). I think I had 3 or 4 fills.

Post-DIEP, I am glad they are gone. I have none of the cording I had before the surgery, and it’s all my own tissue. It’s more difficult surgery, more scarring, and longer downtime, all true. But for me it was doable.

Keep in mind that after two diagnoses you won’t be off the hook on follow-up. They will be watching you closely regardless. Try to think of it as having a team behind you, looking out for you, and the follow ups will get easier over time.

Best of luck to you. I’ll be looking for you in the 30-year club!

Yuuk