Mastectomy Sisters How did u celebrate/remember your breasts?

I was so emotionally upset after mastectomy, literally sick about it. I celebrated after my DIEP by buying a new bathing suit with my new flat tummy and excellent match to my real breast and I went to Hawaii.

Honestly, I did a "good riddance" instead of a "goodbye", but that was probably due to--aside from the high risk of developing cancer--I had pretty bad fibrocystic breasts that started with that nonsense when I was about 12 so they were always extremely painful to have.

I wasn't the least bit sad to see them go, I was actually excited at the high possibility of not only cutting down a cancer risk but also a high chance that the chronic breast pain I'd had because of them would also be gone.

My husband was, but it's not his body, so he didn't get a say in whether I reconstructed or not (I chose not to).
I let him 'say goodbye' before I went into surgery, but I was glad to wake up with them (and the physical pain I'd always had from them, which ranged from a 7 on good days to a 10 on bad days before my period) completely gone.

In all complete honesty, I'd been looking in to paying out of pocket for a mastectomy the pain was so bad and nothing touched it. I never thought I'd be glad to find out I was at high risk for breast cancer so insurance would cover their preventative removal as it's cheaper for them to pay for that than it is for them to potentially have to pay for cancer treatment down the line.

My PS has before pictures that I'm sure I could get if I wanted them, and I have one nice 'before' I took saved that I don't share as they did look nice. I was a 34DD and they weren't saggy at all, and looked pretty great.

They just weren't great to have.

yeah I am kind of the same as the other ladies that have posted...I didn't say goodbye I just said --> get them off me now! My double MX was a very easy decision with no regret and more relief vs missing the old girls who were "locked and loaded"

You could have a "Ta Ta to the Ta Ta" dinner party, or you could bury a pic of your breast in the backyard/burn the pic with sage/drop it off the Golden Gate Bridge and have a service/funeral/ honoring your breast, you could stand in silence with the people you love and say "goodbye" in your mind...you could write a poem, write a story, journal about it, blog about it, attend a survivor group and share, there are so many ways that you could find some closure....which is what I think you want or are feeling you may want reflecting on your time since diagnosis?

I had just left side, I had DIEP and feel pretty good about the way it looks. I don't think of it as fake just a little rearrangement.

Nope. Didn't say goodbye to my gallbladder either. :-)

sm627:

There is an fairly active list for Exchange surgery that has lots of people commenting on implant exchange surgery. You can ask and many will give recent examples, tips for surgery, bras used after surgery. I went back and read some older posts even (last year, etc.) and this really helped me prepare.

Exchange City:

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics...

Good luck!

sm627:

My experience was good. Exchange surgery -- as you'll read from almost everyone on the Exchange forum -- is SO much easier than UMX/BMX. So much easier. Now, that said, I had lots of pocket work completed due to my tissue expanders being very far apart. And one dropped during the process. All typical stuff but you have to correct at Exchange. But even with that, it's just completely so much easier. I was home that afternoon (morning surgery) -- reading newspaper with coffee next morning.

I tried to be very careful about not lifting and doing more than I should for a few weeks. I'm three months post almost now. Because you'll feel better and feel like you can do those things. That was hard a bit. But other than that, really, you'll do great. Some ladies without pocket work are like, did not even feel it really.

no party, no ceremony. Just a phrase...new boobs for Valentines Day! BMX with immediate DIEP done on Feb 14. Very happy with the decision and do not mourn the old ones or regret the decision.

Sara:

Definitely check out the Exchange forum and ask lots of questions there, too.

My ROM was good after Exchange -- after BMX, it took some time. Your PS should give you detailed instructions about lifting, exercise, etc., but mine was to "not do anything" for 2 weeks (I know, how detailed, LOL) and for 6 weeks or so, nothing over 5 lbs. Everyone gets different advice but I'd say, take great care of yourself in those initial weeks after. You want to preserve the pocket that has been created. I was also told not to lift arms over the shoulder for the first two weeks as well.

I may have been a little sleepy from anesthesia the week or so after Exchange but the length of the surgery is shorter (guessing), so this should be less for you this time, too. Although mine was around 3 hours due to the pocket work. The first 24 hours I was a little groggy but just nothing like BMX.

You'll do great, I bet!!! Try not to worry.

Sara:

I was out for three weeks but I could have gone back sooner. (This was disability and doctor agreement, I was not invovled in timing decision.) However, your job is more active than mine at a desk! You don't want to get sick, though, from the kiddos. So take what you can that work will allow. To rest and be healthy.

Some that I read about on the Exchange forum were out way less than me (no pocket work)! Depends a little on how much your PS is going to have to do. At least you're only one side. That should make everything easier. But just remember to limit yourself. You'll feel better, so you may want to do more. Just take it easy. That is what I tried to do. It was great how much better I felt than after BMX.