decision time coming up.

Lisa, thanks for your quick response; I can totally understand and applaud your decision.  My God, what a legacy. 

I just don't know what all the initials mean yet.  I went onto the site you gave me and am going to ask my surgeon if anyone in the Kaiser system here does this surgery.  It sounds very good because of the lesser damage to the abs and quicker and easier recovery time.

I know there's a lot of microsurgery involved with the flap too, so am not exactly clear on the difference.  There will be 3 surgeons involved in my surgery, which is kind of freaky.  Anyway, thank you so much for the info and I'll keep you all posted on the response.  Carol.

Hi eula, from what I understand, the decision is all about what you can live with and what you can't.  I didn't want to look at 1 good breast and 1 flat scarred chest.  Altho, when

this is all over, I'll probably still be looking at a FAKE, scarred breast as well as a big scar on the belly.....(altho I won't see that because I don't have a full length mirror in the house.)This whole experience is really awful, ladies.  Trying to do the best thing; trying to trust your doctors; trying to do the least damage to your body whole as possible; trying to bloody stay alive.  I really get very angry about the whole thing.  (I was going to swear but I don't think you can on this web site.) Even if its just a little tiny spot of cancer, we still go thru the whole thing...all the fear, all the doctors, all the decisions.  If someone had told me 2 months ago I would be having a mastecomy next month due to cancer, I absolutely would not have believed them because I feel as healthy as I ever have in my life.  Go figure.  Life is a journey.

Kathy, after your's and other comments, I called my Kaiser breast cancer coordinator today and also my p.s.  Esther, my coordinator, said she thought the p.s.'s here tried to do whatever was possible to spare ab's and skin.  However, i have pretty small breasts and the damage may have been done with the first lumpectomy.  I have an appt. with my "very busy" p.s. to discuss my own personal boobs and what, if he has any clue, they will look like when they are done.  As I think I said, I'm 67 yr. old.  So what the final outcome will be is anybodies guess.  My skin and body are in pretty good shape so we will see.  The photo's I've seen in the last few minutes have been very encouraging.  I think things are going to be o.k.

Kathy K.....my b.c. coordinator said the 3 micro. plastic surgeons here all try to do all the skin saving, ab saving surgery they can.  She said they are all very good.....they even do micro surgery on the hands.  The Microscope surgery is amamzing.  We will see.....I'm sure each patient presents different challenges and a lot of it they don't know until they get in there......good luck honey.

Annette.....IT IS all very confusing and its important that you get as informed as you can.  I think its harder to get a good looking fake breast after radiation and why do you have to have radiation if you are having a mastecomy?   I guess maybe because the cancer has gone into lymph nodes or something? 

Also, regards getting both breasts removed (or whacked off)....I thought of that too.  But the option I have chosen, as of this hour, is to have the tram flap surgery (or some variation thereof DIEP SEIP ETC.) which is using your own tissue from the abdominal area and the surgery for both breasts in this procedure, at this posting is about 12 to 14 hrs. and really compromising the abs and since I'm a pretty active women and one of my breasts is fine, anyway, it was all too much and I decided to only do one and now that seems like a lot. Anyway, I have another appt. with the ps. on Thurs.  At some point we have to trust the drs. to want the same thing we do.....which is to look as normal as possible when its all over with the least amount of pain and suffering......

Hi Kathy....there will be 3 surgeons....two p.s.'s and my dr. bitar to do the mastecomy.  I think Santoro is one of them, but I haven't talked to him.  Thanks for your input.  I don't think there's any way of knowing how a person is going to heal, really.

I guess when its all said and done, I just wanted my own body tissue used if it were possible.  I know its going to be much harder, but I figure if I can get thru rotator cuff surgery which was a total nightmare, I can get thru this o.k.  I'm just really grateful Kaiser will do whatever I want and that the cancer was caught so early. Talk to you later and Happy Thanksgiving everyone!