Higher, smaller boob after radiation

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Josiekat
Josiekat Member Posts: 85
edited June 2014 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi ladies.

I am so confused. I've been pulling up pics on the Internet all morning, trying to find evidence to support the notion that after rads, the radiated breast is firmer, higher and sometimes smaller. I was told this by my plastics guy and I just don't see the pictures to back this up.

I am potentially having plastic surgery to match the unradiated breast to match the other breast 2 months after radiation ends. Did anyone else have this done?

Gracias amigas.

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  • lane4
    lane4 Member Posts: 175
    edited May 2012

    Hi, Josiekat,

    If you google "lumpectomy reconstruction" or "symmetry correction after lumpectomy," you may see photos of women whose radiated breast is smaller and higher than the other. I gather it doesn't happen to everyone, but I ended up a cup size smaller on my radiated side, and I have three friends who ended up the same way after radiation therapy, even two cup sizes different. I also had a sizeable partial mastectomy, so I'm sure that had a lot to do with it. At the recommendation of my BS, I waited until a year after radiation and had a plastic surgeon do a small reduction and lift on my healthy breast. I still don't have perfect symmetry, but it is a big improvement. I would say wait and see how you look after treatment and know that if you're not happy, a plastic surgeon can help.

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  • Letlet
    Letlet Member Posts: 1,053
    edited May 2012

    I had my exchange surgery on my L breast and a lift on the R (the non ca one) at the same time. At that time, the lifted breast was a little bigger than the L. The left side was a little higher even though my PS tried to "lower" the L breast during surgery. Anyway after radiation, yes my left breast became a little higher, the skin was super tight and although not the whole implant hardened, there is an area that is firmer than the rest. My PS warned me of that too,

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  • KSteve
    KSteve Member Posts: 486
    edited May 2012

    Josiekat - My PS calls radiation the gift that keeps on giving.  I had a BMX and then had my tissue expanders in throughout my radiation treatments, although I was fully expanded when I began radiation.  About 8 weeks after radiation ended, I had my exchange surgery (ironically I just realized that was exactly one year ago today, 5/31/11!).  I did have a revision surgery in September to lift the left (non-cancer, non-radiation) side.  I have noticed over time that my right side has gotten tighter, and therefore, higher and smaller than the right.  It's not noticable in my bra, and my husband says it's not too evident without the bra either.  Although I think we tend to look at ourselves with my more scrutiny.  At this point I don't intend to do anything about it because I've completed the nipple reconstruction and tattoos already.  If it bothers my down the road, I may have the left side made smaller and try to lift again to match the right.  My originals were far from perfect too, so I'm just happy to not have any surgeries in my immediate future!  Good luck with whatever you decide.

    Take care,

    Kathy

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  • Josiekat
    Josiekat Member Posts: 85
    edited June 2012

    Thank you so much for this valuable info. I have gotten mixed messages from my surgeons and I am so happy to get real life examples to help me make decisions. I am going to wait until 6 months after radiation ends to possibly reconstruct my good boob to match. Thank you, thank you, thank you.

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