experiences with breast shrinkage after partial mast?

Hi, moonlight - I see that no one has replied to your post, so I thought I'd share my experience. I had a partial mastectomy with oncoplastic closure in October of 2009. It was a wire localized resection and the surgeon removed a segment to get all of the DCIS, then rehaped the breast and relocated the nipple. Initially, everything looked great. Then after I started radiation treatments, I began to watch the breast shrink until it ended up a cup size smaller than the untreated breast. I waited a year and had the opposite breast reduced. Then in that second year, I had some fat necrosis (biopsy proven) show up with dimpling and some "dents" in another area of the breast. I had some fat grafting done in December to try to correct those problems; don't know just yet how much of the fat will survive, but it looks much better now. I do believe that the radiation affected the cosmetic outcome of my surgery and my plastic surgeon has said as much. That said, if you want to keep your breast, what other option do you have? Plus, I kept hearing, "Everyone responds differently to the radiation," meaning not everyone will have the same experience I had. I just wish there was a way to predict what an individual's response would be. I think with early stage cancer (and especially Stage 0), the cosmetic result should be considered almost as important as local control. Just my 2 cents...

Moonlight....it's not just the breasts.  It's the whole supporting structure.  Which is why I do upper body work.  It keeps me stretched out too.

As I am a cyclist, the bottom half gets a good workout too.   Crunches take care of the in-between, important as my abs try to pretend they are "already exercised".  So they need a bit of reminding about who's boss.

I am perfectly happy with the cosmetic result of my surgery.

I haven't been up skiing this season, but I can recommend x-country as a way of being extremely "fly".  Anyway, the point I am making is that there isn't anything I enjoyed doing prior to diagnosis that I don't do now.

I don't think you are being naive at all.  My big learning is that a lot of women set the bar for recovery too low.  I'm going for "better than ever". - Claire

(Not that I'm signing up for the "Seven Hills of Kirkland".....on the other side of "fun" for me, and that has nothing to do with having had BC.)

I know this thread is a little old but wanted to get some input.  

I was diagnsoed with DCIS in right breast AFTER  breast reduction surgery (nothing had shown up on pre-surgery mammo).  No additional surgery was necessary (PS called it the "mother of all lumpectomies") but I did have radiation (canadian protocol, ended at the end of January 2013) (also started on tamoxifn feb 2013).  

Had been told that with either the standard RT or the shorter canandian one, that there were similar chances of breast being hard and/or contracting.  Since ending RT, i still have some redness/color change which doesn't really bother me, and also had some hardening of the breast, especiially around the reduction scars which made it uncomfortable to bend in certain ways.  Later in  the spring it seemed to ease up.  

But now, since July, I've are pretty much watching my radiated breast shrink before my eyes, and it seems to be getting harder.  I am lopsided and have some discomfort.  The RO has not responded to my questions on whether this will be permanently smaller/harder....   what's the common wisdom?    Is this the price I am paying for what one of the NPs said "well it's not EVEN cancer, so it's no big deal is it??"

Hi, I am 5 years out from Lumpectomy and Rads. My breast has shrunk significantly over the 5 years. My nipple points north on my bad boob and south on the good!  lol

I find that my breast is forever changing. I still get shooting pains and sometimes the tissue still hurts.  This is 5 years later. I do exercise as I do cross-fit and i teach yoga. I am well stretched.

I don't know if this is the news that you are looking for. But have been told "yup" this is normal!!!!

Kosh

I'm pretty small breasted, had two lumpectomies in the same breast, find it looks just about the same as before, just slightly perkier.  Not only did the surgeon do a fantastic job, but, while rads was going on, scar tissue formed, nicely replacing lost volume. 

About that scar tissue--once rads was over and my skin back to normal, a lymphedema therapist was able to detach areas where the scar tissue was digging in its heels.  I'm really happy with my outcome.