DIEP 2014

My thoughts are with you Kat-ski and rosebud, best wishes for a successful surgery! See you on the other side !

Kat-ski and rosebud, see you in flapper land! Hope all goes well.

just got my date for stage 2!  4/24/14 - exactly 3 mos from stage 1.  Not much needs to be done - just a nipple and maybe a little lipo on one breast.  Ps is not sure yet.  She thinks it is slightly swollen and she may not need to do anything at all.  I got the "ok" to begin using the silicone sheets to reduce scarring.  Still cannot exercise or lift anything heavy for another 3 weeks.  

Best wishes to Katski and Rosebud on your surgery!!!  

Jeannie- Thank you again for your wonderful advice. I have a dark complexion, rads side still looks like it has a nice tan. Nipple went though hell, literally thought it was going to peel off, it even bled. And my lumpectomy scar although not visible to anyone else is around the nipple, thinking I probably wont be able to save it on that side I am unsure where my cells where I just know 1:00 o clock not sure how deep but I think fairly deep, will have to check on that. Your right about the mind, thanks for saying that.

JNB- I am following you at the clinic just different docs, I know they are all part of an extraordinary team there. Thanks for the advice you have been sharing with my regarding the facility.

Janet- My rads ended last April/May, it will have been 1 year, boy how time flies on by. Thanks for sharing with me.

A couple more questions- Is time in surgery lessened by doing skin sparing? Does it raise our risk for recurrence?  I made the mistake of going to the thread for those who had a MX and again are going though this, I shouldn't have gone there but I was curious. dang it, I know better. PS said risk after mx was about 2-3%. Oncologist tells me my risks with ILC are high for it returning with a little DCIS and LCIS I am not taking chances.

Lemon

All my best to those of you healing and prayers to those having surgery today.

Hi Lemon - wanted to add to the conversation.  I had a lumpectomy previously and found out that practice here is to remove the lumpectomy scar.  So on the invasive cancer side, I have a bigger circle of abdo skin - my lumpectomy scar was about an inch or so above my nipple, and the abdo skin replaced the nipple and the scar and the space in between.   You might want to ask about what they will do with your scar.

I had the choice for nipple sparing on the dcis side, but not on the invasive cancer side.    The surgeon's nurse discouraged me from saving one based on her experience.  I went with her recommendation and hope I will get a symmetrical reconstructed set when the time comes.

Ridley

I went back to work right at 5 weeks.   I think 4 - 6 weeks is average. 

k79miller - I went back to work at 12 weeks. My job requires me to move around a lot, and there's no way I could have gone back any earlier. Even closing the hatch of my car took some modification.  But - I think I could have gone back earlier if I'd had a desk job. 

My PS had originally told me that it would take a full three months to resume all my normal activities. I found it took longer because I had a super tight tummy, and I got tired  easily. Still do.  But that could just be menopause. 

Lemon - My surgery took 9 hours for a skin sparing BMX. They'd predicted 12, but had an extra BS on hand and did it quickly. No complications.

Katski and Rosebud - thinking of you!  Hoping you're feeling good and happy with your new breasts! 

Michele, I second the comment that it's not a good idea to eat food you normally love on tax. I ate a lot of Bob Evans mashed potatoes and the McDonald's filet of fish tasted good during chemo for some reason, something about that slightly metallic tinge to the tartar sauce.

Donna, I just noticed you had IBC - me, too! My cancer side post-MX was concave, too. Oddly, that side looks better post DIEP, it doesn't swell much. I had nipple/skin sparing and lost a bit of the nipple color, it looks like someone took white out to it on one side.  I guess tattooing fixes that at some point. 

I looked through the photo forum but wasn't able to find any photos showing breasts with a big size difference post-DIEP. My right breast is still so much bigger than the left. It swells a lot, as does my abdomen, especially if I eat meals vs. snacks. Carmelle - I have "rocks" and bands of hardness in both breasts but was told not to touch anything, they'll fix at stage 2. It's not something I'm worried about, everything looks pretty rough so I'm just going to ride things out and give it several months then figure out when I can mentally deal with more surgery/lip, I already know I need a lift on the right.

Katski and Rosebud, sending you good thoughts today and prayers for a speedy recovery. I am pretty new to this group and will be finishing radiation this Thursday! Going to celebrate with my sister and mom over an awesome lunch and then over the weekend with the hubby!  Currently I have a DIEP scheduled in KC for August but heard about PRMA so have decided to go down for a consult since they are in network for me and we met our out of pocket max in January! Feel a little nervous about considering an out of state surgery but feel strongly I want to explore all options. Anyone have some input/advice on pros/cons of going out of state for surgery? Also in regards to reconstruction and radiation, I've read and been told by my rad onc that 6 months is the minimum amount of time you should wait before doing reconstruction. Two places I've talked to about the DIEP have said 6-8 weeks after radiation and they can do reconstruction! Has anyone out there done reconstruction that quickly after radiation and if so, would you mind speaking to your experience/outcomes? So glad to have found this group! What a great support system!  
Georgie

k79miller, I asked my PS about the nerve reconnection and she said she doesn't do it because in her experience, it either doesn't work or it doesn't feel right when it does.  I would like to know what people who have had this done have to say, however. 

Donna, thank you so much for your feedback! Your results are amazing. I will continue to investigate my options and so appreciate hearing about others experiences.  No doubt the right answer will come as it has with everything else on this journey. I don't if anyone else feels this way, but the decision making process with all this cancer business can be overwhelming at times…Donna,  like you, I am ready to get this done and move on.  I will be so excited to hear about your stage 2 results. Kim, thank you for your response as well. I did send pics a couple of weeks ago, it is so nice to be able to do some of this virtually to find out about options without going out of state initially! I did hear back from PRMA and Dr Pisano's office indicated I was a good candidate for the stacked flap as did a PS here locally. PRMA will be my 3rd PS consult. First PS recommended a Lat Flap with implant.  Will be going to San Antonio for an in office consult in March.  I see you are scheduled for your surgery in March in S.A.! Who is your PS if you don't mind me asking? Again so grateful for all the great information on this topic. 

Georgie

Goldie - Well, I can't prove it, but yes, I do believe taking Premarin for 2 years lit this fire. I had such low levels of estrogen when I was put on Premarin and yet ended up with highly HR+ (99%) breast cancer which went inflammatory. Also, I was on the pill for 20 some years. I woke up one morning and my left breast was enlarged, pink, and painful. Zero history of breast cancer in my family going back generations. Genetic tests all came back negative.

What's done is done, we can't change it, we relied on doctors to give us good advice so we have to be loving to ourselves. I totally agree with you, I am vocal about the potential dangers of hormones and would like someone to muzzle Suzanne Somers and her dangerous advice about hormone replacement. 

PS wouldn't touch me until 6 months post radiation. 

Surgery went well.  Dr. P had  do clean up after the PS in GR.  I am a bit sore from the sternum being cut.  I just moved from bed to chair.  I guess Wilbur is doing his job.  As I cant seem to do a simple conversation.  I tried to get on my cell phone last night but the password evaded my memories.  lol   So far so good with PRMA.