Well defined pecs

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Momof6littles
Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
edited June 2016 in Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy

I am only 2 weeks out of surgery. But everything is moving along and healing well. I have started some simple Pilates and yoga. As time goes on, I would like to know what it will look like flat with more defined pectoral muscles. I'm thin on top, so right now I'm scar and ribs. Anyone know of any pictures out there

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  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited June 2016

    SO happy to hear you are doing so well!

    I am also slim and am 8 years, going on 9 ...and counting.

    My scars have faded some, but I can still see them. My ribs still show and I am still concave. I don't think that will change since the goal was to take as much breast tissue as possible. I do free weights and yoga. Some days it bugs me more than other days.


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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    Thanks wallycat. Glad to hear you are doing so well almost 9 years out. It's kind of weird to see myself so flat/almost concave. It's also kind of weird to see my chest muscles twitch. Just kind of curious how things look as time goes on. Don't really see anything about women's pectoral muscles and mastectomy out there.

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  • wallycat
    wallycat Member Posts: 3,227
    edited June 2016

    I'm no expert and i hope others post, but the muscle is only touched (cut into) if the cancer has gone into the chest wall or if they are doing reconstruction the "regular" way, where they cut and push the implant in there....that was my understanding but I could be very wrong and I know they are doing reconstruction in many different ways now.

    I agree about how weird it was initially. For me, my torso feels "naked"....faceless. I had contemplated tattoos of nipples/aereola to give my chest "a face" but haven't bothered...yet.


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  • Jennie93
    Jennie93 Member Posts: 1,018
    edited June 2016

    Well, I had no recon, nor ever considered it for a moment. But because of the location of the tumor, laying right on the muscle, they had to remove my pec muscle to ensure clean margins. If I thought about it at all beforehand, I had figured that it would look like a man's chest, without the nipple of course, but that general idea. The reality turned out to be very, very different, which came as a surprise since I never imagined it might turn out that way. The left side of my chest looks like it was scooped out and the skin is tight over the ribs which are sticking out (who knew they were so uneven? Not like fake skeletons at all!) and you can even see the heart beating between the ribs. Kinda freaky. My surgeon actually told me the muscle they cut out would grow back! Sorry to say, not true.



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  • hugz4u
    hugz4u Member Posts: 2,781
    edited June 2016

    Sorry but I can't help but say that your surgeon and my new resident doc must have being sleeping most of their classes. Mine said I would get complete nerve sensation back in my double mast. I told him out flat that it wouldn't be happening in my life time and chuckled. SHeesh.. and he's someones oncologist today, ugh...

    Btw my friend has chunks of calf muscle missing from bike accident. It's been 20 years and it hasn't grown back either.

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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    yeah, I didn't think muscle would regrow. Sigh. Some doctors really amaze me. Not in a good way.

    I'm pretty surprised at how little chest muscle I have. They didn't take any with the mastectomy, but my ribs are really prominent. And you are so right Jennie, the ribs are really uneven. Weird.

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  • CrawfordsMommy
    CrawfordsMommy Member Posts: 68
    edited June 2016

    Coolness! I'm 1 week out and going crazy wanting these drains out. They rub against my ribs, which my surgeon warned would happen because I'm thin and my ribs poke out. I want to do the same thing, maybe built up the pecs a bit because I'm also hollowed out. I would say, eating lots of protein with a small calorie surplus over TDEE (but don't eat garbage!) and focus on gentle weight lifting and gradually increase the load (but not too much at once) as your doctor allows.

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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    Crawfordsmommy, I know, the drains are aweful. Much better with them out, but the area where they were is still really sensitive almost two weeks after they were taken out.

    I'm wondering, can Pilates/yoga build decent pecs? I'm thinking sustained plank, elbow push ups (I don't know what you call it-you lower to each elbow separately and then back up to the hands), anything else

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  • coraleliz
    coraleliz Member Posts: 1,523
    edited June 2016

    I'm thin with very visible ribs & clavicles. I have not really built any pec muscles despite, pilates, iron yoga, weight training & working out with a trainer. So, I changed my goal. Trying to keep my stomach from sticking out further than my chest. LOL. I know I'll eventually lose this one(I'm almost 58). Much easier to build abs.

    Awhile back, there was a member who was trying to build pecs. I'm not sure of her name or how successful she was.

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  • happyteacher
    happyteacher Member Posts: 118
    edited June 2016

    Oh hell,

    I didn't even think about that. The stomach sticking out further than the chest. Just had my implants removed a couple days ago due to 5 failed attempts, and now working on adjusting to the whole scooped out concave thing. Looks like I have a lot of sit ups and ab work in my future! How long did you ladies wait until you started to exercise? When I asked my doc he said at about 2 months out I could do a stationary bike, and then gradually move up to an elliptical. Seems like a long time to go, but I sure don't want to injure myself either. Have not been able to exercise for over 2 years due to the faild reconstruction process, so looking forward to getting my life back.

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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    Happyteacher, that does seem like a long time. Once my drains were removed, I was told to wait a week, then could do all of the lower body workout I wanted, but limit the upper body to 20 lbs. that was 2 weeks post surgery. since then I've been doing Pilates daily (making sure to modify any upper body work), focusing on abs, and don't the elliptical. I use the stationary handles most of the time. Pilates has really helped to sculpt my abs. It does help to balance the concave. Search for a beginner Pilates workout online.

    I can't really do any pec work yet (only 3 weeks out of surgery), but I do think abs are a more realistic expectation. I'm sorry, Happyteacher, that the implants failed. But I do hope you heal well and can get back into an active life.

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  • happyteacher
    happyteacher Member Posts: 118
    edited June 2016

    Thank you for the reply. I just realized he might have said this long due to my always taking forever to heal. Drains in 7 different surgeries always took longer than a month to get removed. Even lower body workouts would be welcomed- tired of being a bowl full of jello here!

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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    I just realized there is a typo above. I DO the elliptical (it says don't above - darn auto fill).

    Yes, you definitely need to heal. The eliptical is pretty easy, but does have the arm component, which may be the reason you were told to wait. I actually started the eliptical 3 days after surgery. Just 5 minutes at a time. I needed to move to get my bowels moving after anesthesia and pain meds.

    I hope things look up and you heal quickly after this surgery. How frustrating this whole process must have been.

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  • MT1
    MT1 Member Posts: 371
    edited June 2016

    check out my pecs, i am pictured first in this article: http://sectionbodyembodiment.weebly.com/blog/think...


    i weight lift. I love how my pecs look. Not reconstructed.

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  • Momof6littles
    Momof6littles Member Posts: 184
    edited June 2016

    Thanks MT1. Looks good. When did you start lifting after surgery?

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  • MT1
    MT1 Member Posts: 371
    edited June 2016

    I got a frozen shoulder soon after surgery, so it took me a year or so after surgery.

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  • amygil81
    amygil81 Member Posts: 165
    edited June 2016

    Momof6, I hope it's not too late to put in my 2 cents. I've walked with crutches since I was 13, so my pecs have always been strong. When I had my mastectomy, I looked firm and tight on that side.

    Then I had a chest wall recurrence, my original tumor under my mastectomy scar, growing into my chest muscle.My surgeon had to take out most of my pec to get all the tumor.I call it my upgrade surgery. My left arm gets tired sooner when walking for long distances on my crutches. I'm concave on my mastectomy side now, down to my ribs, like a washboard up to my collarbone. My prosthesis fitter says it's like the radical surgeries she sees on older ladies. As with my other cancer surgeries, I try to think of it as I'm sorry I needed it, but glad I got it. Like Wallycat, some days it bugs me more than other days. Now I just hope it works to get rid of my cancer for good,

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