June 2010 Mastectomy

Dear Joy:  I'll admit that I was holding my breath as I read through your post and didn't let out a deep sigh of relief until I read the words "I'm clean. There's nothing!" I am celebrating with you both your great results and Vida Sofia's 3 month birthday! She is beautiful! I'm sending big hugs your way for all of you!

It's a happy day!

Getty

Joystars - Ditto what Laurie said! When I saw the beautiful picture of your baby, and read your good news, I cried. It is so good to hear this news. Hooray!!!

Just got back from fill #3, I am going weekly and getting about 50cc. Today is the first day it actually hurts. But very bearable. Meanwhile, not to brag but its 80+ degrees out today! I'm off to sit in the sun for a few minutes. Everyone have a great Wednesday.

JOYSTARS! You have been on my mind!  How are you?  How is all going? How is the baby?   You must stop over to my thread (!) and let me know how you are doing once in a while!  I miss you.

To all the June girls: hope you all are doing well!  I miss you guys.  

Take care, all-

Liz

Joystars

What a gorgeous little bundle, made my eyes water... but in a very positive way. So glad to hear everything is going well for you.

IJune Girls,

'm not writing but do read all posts and very glad to hear that all you June girls are doing so well. How is Ducki?

I've healed very well, but having a remedial op on my left foob hopefully in May. It is higher/flatter/'faces' out that the right which is small and almost perfectly formed! Should be relatively straight forward small op - fingers crossed!

Anyway, lots of love to you all

Robin

Robin!  So nice to hear from you, don't just come to read, tell us how your are:)

Throwing those damned bandages in the garbage today felt great.  I am finally free!!   PS is happy with everything and proud that he could tell I didn't cheat and wore them 100% of the time.  We went through nipple colors trying to pick a color for me for May.  How the heck do you do that?  I'm not sure but I picked one called Flesh #1.  He said maybe we should look at your before pictures and see what color you were before all of this.  OMG!  I about hit the floor.  Since my diagnoses I have lost 28 pounds and could not get over how fat I looked  in the before photos and how huge my boobs were.  I couldn't even focus on nipple color, I honestly couldn't get over it.  I reminded my self that I had had a 10 pound baby only 4 months prior to diagnosis but woah!  I told him he should burn them.  He laughed and said I was being too hard on myself.   

My husband just left this afternoon for Florida for 6 days.  He is going with some of the other men from his company to see the Red Sox in spring training and going fishing, all on the company tab.  He is super excited, me not so much.  But I have lined up my in laws to take both boys for 24 hours this weekend and I will find some of my own fun and take a bit of a break. So Getty my husband will get to enjoy your beautiful Florida weather!!

Have a great weekend everyone, it's nice to see some faces coming back to say hi:)

Hi Laurie! Your kids look adorable! I bet they keep you busy! *Here's to continued healing for all !

It's been really windy and cold here, but the sun is out so I'll take it for now.  I got my date for my tattoo's.  May 2nd.  They have set aside an hour and a half, I hope it doesn't hurt, but honestly I am not too worried about it.

I keep meaning to call the insurance company to see if they will pay for some new bras.  I have yet to go bra shopping.  Not sure why I am not more excited to do it?  All in good time.

My back and shoulder have been killing me and it's starting to radiate into my chest.  I think part of it is my kids and carrying them and I think part might be my implants settling.  But I have had some achy days and some days my left breast burns and aches.  So tomorrow I am going to the chiropractor and then for a massage.  I hope it fixes things!

I am also glad everyone seems to be doing so well and that more of us have been popping in to say hi.  I have found so much strength here with all of you.

I haven't even thought of setting up an appointment for a tattoo. I find that I'm increasingly indifferent about getting the tattoo done at all. Maybe I'll skip it for now. The only reason to have it is so that my reconstructed areola matches the natural one more, color-wise. Eh ... like I said ... I find I don't really care one way or the other. I think I just reached my quota of having things "done". I'm so happy to not be poked and prodded these days.

Now, bra shopping is something I've grown to enjoy a little too much. Since my insurance company pays for all the bras that I get at Nordstrom (yes. All the bras. No limits in number or dollars.), I have a ridiculous number of bras now. So I've promised myself to allow myself only two bra shopping adventures a year. And to restrict myself to 7-10 bras per spree. Leave it to me to feel guilty about taking too much of something that is part of my insurance benefit.

Laurie: I've also noticed some twinges in my reconstructed breast lately. Not so much a true pain, more like a sensation. I like your explanation of the implant settling in. My husband says it might also be some of the nerves regenerating. I go see my OB/GyN for my yearly next week. I'll ask him to see what he thinks. 

Lol! Gotta love our guys!!

I hope you don't keep getting bumped on your tattoo date. I know it's a pretty minor thing for the PS, but for you it will mean "DONE"!!! Yay!

I hope you didn't get slammed with snow this week ... 

Hi Steph: 

I really had to stop and think about your questions. I'm a uni. I had a mastectomy on my right side and kept my left side intact. For me, this was absolutely the right decision. I know I struggled long and hard when I had to choose last year, and I can remember all too well what you are feeling right now. Knowing now what I didn't know then, if I had to go back, I would still do everything exactly like I did it. I am happy with how I look and feel now. My natural side and my reconstructed side match up extremely well. When I am clothed, even if it's just in bra and underwear or a bathing suit, there is not a person who could tell that I've had a mastectomy and reconstruction. 

But, just because it was the right choice for me, that doesn't make it the right one for you. This is all such a highly personal thing. You just have to be comfortable with the decision that you make. Get all the facts that you can from your doctors. That was the most important thing for me.

Good luck to you! 

Steph- Also there is a picture forum that is at another web site that you can gain access to that shows photo's of women at various stages of their surgeries.  All different kinds from TRAM, implants etc.  A lot of us have even posted our photos there as well to help others just they had helped us.  The woman who runs it has changed since I got on but if you search the topic picture forum that should lead you to who runs it now, or ask on the Exchange City thread, I think the woman is on there quite a bit.  Hope this helps!

Getty- Timtam was over worked doing it and was going to cancel the whole site because of the hours it takes to maintain etc.  So she looked for volunteers to take it over and I thinkit's three long term BCO ladies took over the work together.  That's why they weren't taking new people for a while, while they worked it out I think.

I finally called the insurance company today to see if they would cover the cost of purchasing new bras.  It was a big fat no.  Ohwell- at least the lady who handled my question was really nice and even called her supervisor to see if she was missing anything.  So, it made the no less of a let down.  I guess I'll just have to slowly grow a bra collection! 

Hope everyone is having a great day!  It is raw and raining here, but better than the snow storms we had last Friday and Monday. At least spring is here enough that it all melted with in a day of falling.  We were outside playing with light coats on Sunday flying a kite and then it snowed on Monday.  Silly New England weather!