Hi Silverdays,

I was unable to have reconstruction after my double mastectomy, due to scarring from previous unrelated and non-cancer surgeries, so I cannot offer you any pearls of wisdom.

I can understand the difficulty of living with one breast and hope that all goes well when you have your Diep reconstruction. Have you got a date for this yet?

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Silverdays,

I am still a night owl 13 years after diagnosis, but I find that this is when most newly diagnosed or worried people come to this site and I try to reply to as many as I can. I actually found the double mastectomy easier than my lumpectomy. I can imagine that living with one breast can be challenging. Living with none, can be challenging too, especially in the early days when I was trying to find suitable prostheses for certain activities. 

I found finding a pair suitable for swimming brought about a few embarrassing - and comical moments too. I initially had  a silicone prosthesis, which was so heavy that it was around my waist when I came out of the water. I then went to the other extreme with one that filled up with water while I was swimming and left my boobs looking like a balloon which was dripping water,as I left the water. I had to try and wring my breasts out sureptitiously, as I came out of the water, to look anything like normal - sometimes this inflated my boobs so much, that I had difficulty seeing where I was going when I was swimming! 

 I haven't had any remedial surgery since my mastectomy, but the right breast, which had the lumpectomy, was quite a mess. I had myofascial release on this and on other scarring, I had from previous surgeries and this has improved the appearance considerably. It had also released a lot of the puckering and tension that was in the scarring and is a lot more comfortable now. I hope that you get your appointment through soon and that it all goes well for you.

Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on.
Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

I find it difficult to get to sleep and then wake up in the middle of the night! I have just bought a prothesis for swimming so we'll see how that goes when I finally get to the pool. I haven't been going since Covid. My masectomy scar doesn't cause me too much grief but it looks so unattractive the lumps and bumps under my arm. I've been waiting 6 months to hear about the operation, can't really plan anything so may call the hospital this week. Actually terrified .... thanks for your reply

Silver 

Hi Silverdays,

Your sleeping issues just show how much this is all preying on your mind. It should get easier once this operation is over, as this is a long procedure, even though the cancer has already been removed.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx