Hi Gudo,

A very warm welcome to our forum.

Having read your post, I thought that you might find it helpful to hear from someone, who has had a double mastectomy and remained flat. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer within a year of each other. First time I had a lumpectomy, then I had a double mastectomy for the second bout. Unfortunately, I was not a suitable candidate for reconstruction, due to previous, non cancer related surgery. My lumpectomy left me with a messy looking breast. I changed surgeon for the second procedure and my surgeon did his best to improve the appearance, when he did my mastectomies. I manage fairly well with an assortment of prostheses for different activities. It has now been 15 years since I had my last operation and I feel happy with the outcome.

It does take a little time to get used to being flat. I was formerly a size 44D and I found that the first silicone prostheses were very heavy, but these have become lighter and lighter over the years. I have now found a lovely lightweight foam breast form in M&S, which is more comfortable for everyday wear. It doesn't give as good a shape as the silicone one, which I still wear when I am dressed up. I did have a few embarrassing incidents, when I first went back to swimming. The swimsuits that are filled with polystyrene beads, floated in the water and came up to my neck when swimming. Some of the silicone ones were so heavy that they pulled my breasts down to my waist. Other materials absorbed so much water, that I was dripping all over the place, when I got out of the water. This meant that I needed to squeeze the water out of my breasts, before I came out of the water - trying to do this surreptitiously was never easy! I'm pleased to say that I've now found better solutions.

I do find that I sometimes have to use a modesty panel at the front of certain clothes, as I can no longer wear a low  "V" neck garment, without showing some of the post-surgical scarring. I am now 75 years of age and find that I often go flat these days. I tend to mask this somewhat by wearing a chunky necklace and layering my clothing, which combats the totally flat appearance. One advantage that has come from the surgery is that I can wear any size of prostheses now. One disadvantage is that I can no longer have a mammogram to check for recurrence, but I can overcome that with other scans.

The two most common donor sites for reconstruction tend to be from the abdomen and the back, but they do involve lengthier operations.

If you have any further questions, I am happy to answer them.

Please keep in touch and let us know what you decide to do. We are always here for you.

I hope that all goes well with the plastics team tomorrow. You will find it helpful to draw up a list of any questions you may have before your consultation. Bring this with you, to ensure that you don't forget anything important.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Gudo,

A very warm welcome to our forum.

Having read your post, I thought that you might find it helpful to hear from someone, who has had a double mastectomy and remained flat. I have had 2 bouts of breast cancer within a year of each other. First time I had a lumpectomy, then I had a double mastectomy for the second bout. Unfortunately, I was not a suitable candidate for reconstruction, due to previous, non cancer related surgery. My lumpectomy left me with a messy looking breast. I changed surgeon for the second procedure and my surgeon did his best to improve the appearance, when he did my mastectomies. I manage fairly well with an assortment of prostheses for different activities. It has now been 15 years since I had my last operation and I feel happy with the outcome.

It does take a little time to get used to being flat. I was formerly a size 44D and I found that the first silicone prostheses were very heavy, but these have become lighter and lighter over the years. I have now found a lovely lightweight foam breast form in M&S, which is more comfortable for everyday wear. It doesn't give as good a shape as the silicone one, which I still wear when I am dressed up. I did have a few embarrassing incidents, when I first went back to swimming. The swimsuits that are filled with polystyrene beads, floated in the water and came up to my neck when swimming. Some of the silicone ones were so heavy that they pulled my breasts down to my waist. Other materials absorbed so much water, that I was dripping all over the place, when I got out of the water. This meant that I needed to squeeze the water out of my breasts, before I came out of the water - trying to do this surreptitiously was never easy! I'm pleased to say that I've now found better solutions.

I do find that I sometimes have to use a modesty panel at the front of certain clothes, as I can no longer wear a low  "V" neck garment, without showing some of the post-surgical scarring. I am now 75 years of age and find that I often go flat these days. I tend to mask this somewhat by wearing a chunky necklace and layering my clothing, which combats the totally flat appearance. One advantage that has come from the surgery is that I can wear any size of prostheses now. One disadvantage is that I can no longer have a mammogram to check for recurrence, but I can overcome that with other scans.

The two most common donor sites for reconstruction tend to be from the abdomen and the back, but they do involve lengthier operations.

If you have any further questions, I am happy to answer them.

Please keep in touch and let us know what you decide to do. We are always here for you.

I hope that all goes well with the plastics team tomorrow. You will find it helpful to draw up a list of any questions you may have before your consultation. Bring this with you, to ensure that you don't forget anything important.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx