So once I felt peace about my decision to have surgery I began setting up appointments when the appropriate doctors. In January 2013, I met with the breast specialist. The same breast specialist who had diagnosed my sweet sister with breast cancer in October.
I came with a list of questions for him:
*Will you test what is removed to see if there's any cancer cells? Yes, everything that is removed will be sent to pathology and they will inspect every bit of it for any signs of cancer.
*If there are cancer cells what would happen after surgery? Would I have treatment? If anything comes back with cancer then I would talk with an oncologist to create a plan of treatment.
*What kind of scars will I have afterward? This answer would come from my plastic surgeon. Her option for me was a scar that basically looks like an anchor.
*Will I have to stay in the hospital or would it be same day surgery? I would have a minimum one night stay up to two nights depending on how I felt and insurance.
*Will I keep my nipples? Because I am no small girl at the top, keeping the nipples was not an option. He told me only girls who are a size A or maybe small B can do this.
*What do I have to do to make sure insurance will cover everything? The doctors talk with insurance about everything and get it approved prior to surgery. The only thing I would have to pay would be whatever I need to meet my deductible.
*Who will remove the breasts and who will do the reconstruction? The Breast Specialist (Dr. Pat Whitworth) would perform the mastectomy. A plastic surgeon would perform the reconstruction.
*How much breast tissue will be left? As little as possible. They want to make sure to get as much as they can to reduce my risk of having breast cancer.
*How will I be checked (self checks, mammograms) and how often after the surgery? Because the breast tissue is removed and the chest muscle is pushed forward because of the expanders, I will only have to do self exams to check for lumps. I will never be able to have a mammogram again (THANK GOD!) and it is also possible to have to do breast MRIs or ultrasounds to check if I feel anything from self exams.
*What will recover be like for me? It depends. Everyone is different, but it's usually at least a 4 week recovery.
*How long can I wait to have surgery? I asked this in January. My mom's oncologist was wanting me to have it ASAP, I was wanting to wait until the summer or fall break. Dr. Whitworth told me waiting until summer or fall would be fine since everything looked and felt like it should with no spots.
*What is my risk now and what will it be after surgery? Since my grandmother, mom, and sister have had breast cancer, coupled with me being BRCA 1 positive, Dr. Whitworth, the breast specialist said my risk of getting breast cancer was 98% and that once I had the surgery it would reduce my risk to less than 10%.
This last question was the one that sealed the deal for me. Dr. Whitworth was the 3rd doctor to tell me it wasn't "If" I was going to get breast cancer, but "When" I was going to get it. Knowing that my chances would go from 98% to less than 10% was huge!
Before I left he gave me some options for plastic surgeons and I left with a name to research and call for an appointment.
Thursday, December 12, 2013
What is a preventative mastectomy?
There's only one difference between a preventative mastectomy and a regular mastectomy.....with a preventative mastectomy you don't have breast cancer. You're doing it to prevent an occurrance of breast cancer happening.
So what do they do? In a nutshell, they cut your boobs off. Ok, not that drastic. They make incisions across your breast and remove all of the breast tissue, mammary ducts, fatty tissue, etc that makes a breast. The way i see it in my mind, its like gutting a pumpkin. they get all of the parts that could contain cancer one day out. The best part is the doctors send every bit of what is removed to pathology to check, check, and double check for any signs of cancer, tumors, spots, etc that may not have shown up in previous scans and tests. They are VERY thorough which is great!
Now most people who have the mastectomy done, also has the first step of reconstructive surgery done during the same surgery. This is what I did. After the breast specialist removed all the old boob(as I like to call it), the plastic surgeon comes in to start on the new boob. Now thisis the cool part...
She puts what is called a tissue expander BEHIND your chest muscle. The expander looks like a very thick implant with some kind of metal spot on it. The metal spot is important because through a series of expansions over the course of weeks/months, patients will go to the plastic surgeon and receive saline injections directly into the tissue expander until they have stretched your chest muscle out to the new size of breast you desire. Isn't modern medicine amazing?!?!? I mean in the same day they "cut off your tatas" they start creating new ones for you that will never sag or move or droop. I will be the only 95 year old woman at the nursing home with beautiful perky boobs in the same spot they were in high school. Bahahahaha!
But seriously, the best part is knowing that I got to choose when I would have a mastectomy...cancer didn't choose that for me. I got to choose to deal with this on MY terms. I was able to pray about it, think about it, talk about it with my family and friends, and really be at peace with the decision instead of having a doctor tell me I have to have it done immediately to save my life. Preventative mastectomies are great if you are at increased risk for breast cancer. Plus you get cute, perky boobs for life!
So what do they do? In a nutshell, they cut your boobs off. Ok, not that drastic. They make incisions across your breast and remove all of the breast tissue, mammary ducts, fatty tissue, etc that makes a breast. The way i see it in my mind, its like gutting a pumpkin. they get all of the parts that could contain cancer one day out. The best part is the doctors send every bit of what is removed to pathology to check, check, and double check for any signs of cancer, tumors, spots, etc that may not have shown up in previous scans and tests. They are VERY thorough which is great!
Now most people who have the mastectomy done, also has the first step of reconstructive surgery done during the same surgery. This is what I did. After the breast specialist removed all the old boob(as I like to call it), the plastic surgeon comes in to start on the new boob. Now thisis the cool part...
She puts what is called a tissue expander BEHIND your chest muscle. The expander looks like a very thick implant with some kind of metal spot on it. The metal spot is important because through a series of expansions over the course of weeks/months, patients will go to the plastic surgeon and receive saline injections directly into the tissue expander until they have stretched your chest muscle out to the new size of breast you desire. Isn't modern medicine amazing?!?!? I mean in the same day they "cut off your tatas" they start creating new ones for you that will never sag or move or droop. I will be the only 95 year old woman at the nursing home with beautiful perky boobs in the same spot they were in high school. Bahahahaha!
But seriously, the best part is knowing that I got to choose when I would have a mastectomy...cancer didn't choose that for me. I got to choose to deal with this on MY terms. I was able to pray about it, think about it, talk about it with my family and friends, and really be at peace with the decision instead of having a doctor tell me I have to have it done immediately to save my life. Preventative mastectomies are great if you are at increased risk for breast cancer. Plus you get cute, perky boobs for life!
My decision to have a preventative mastectomy
When I was 23, my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer at the age of 47. So, breast cancer isn't new to our family. When my mom went through her journey with cancer, the doctors wanted my sister and me to be tested for the BRCA gene mutation that they had found my mom had. Back then it was a newer thing to know of you had the mutation. At 23 and 21 years old, my sister and I didn't think we needed to know if we were positive for it. I mean, there was only a 50/50 chance that either of us could have it. We asked what they would do differently, and they said they would watch us carefully and once we were finished having kids they would discuss mastectomies and hysterectomies. Seriously, that's a lot to process at 23. Plus, I'm a just live life kind of person....everything happens for a reason kind of girl. Neither of us were tested....
Last October, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. My, at the time, 28 year old sister! I was 30. Talk about your world being turned upside down! Your very best friend has a disease that you never thought could show up....at least not this early. And I was MAD because guess what?!She had JUST had her 2nd baby.
The day after we found out she had breast cancer, my mom had her annual checkup with her oncologist. We told her about my sister and I kind of lost it....ok I really lost it. I reminded her that she had told us they'd wait to do anything until we'd had kids and she had just had her baby....I kept asking her what she would've done differently if we had had the test because there was not wait time between my sister having her baby and finding the cancer.
Before we left that day, I was tested to see if I had the BRCA mutation. I honestly wasn't worried about it. Knowing there was a 50/50 chance of having it, my sister and I had always assumed that if one of us had it the other one wouldn't, which was another reason we never had the test done. So since she had it, I just felt like I wouldn't. That was October 4, 2012.
About 4-5 weeks later, I was sitting in the teacher's lounge at lunch. My phone rang and I answered it because it was the oncologist. I'm expecting her to say I'm negative for the BRCA mutation. Instead, she tells me that my test came back positive and I need to get scheduled for a mastectomy ASAP. I told her I needed to think and talk with my family because that's a huge decision to make. Inching up the phone bawling.....I NEVER thought I would be BRCA1 positive. I'm not married. I don't have kids, and the doctor is telling me get my boobs cut off ASAP.....how do you process all of that.
I talked to the 3 most important people to me about what to do. All 3 agreed I needed to do it. I still wasn't 100% settled on the decision. I prayed about it for 2 nights. On the second night, after I prayed, I was almost asleep when I heard a voice that I swear to this day was my grandmother. It said "there is no other option." My decision was made at that moment. I had total peace about my decision and knew that having a preventative mastectomy was what I needed to do.
Upcoming blogs:
*My journey to having a preventative mastectomy
*Surgery: the first step
*Was it worth it?
Stayed tuned!
Last October, my sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. My, at the time, 28 year old sister! I was 30. Talk about your world being turned upside down! Your very best friend has a disease that you never thought could show up....at least not this early. And I was MAD because guess what?!She had JUST had her 2nd baby.
The day after we found out she had breast cancer, my mom had her annual checkup with her oncologist. We told her about my sister and I kind of lost it....ok I really lost it. I reminded her that she had told us they'd wait to do anything until we'd had kids and she had just had her baby....I kept asking her what she would've done differently if we had had the test because there was not wait time between my sister having her baby and finding the cancer.
Before we left that day, I was tested to see if I had the BRCA mutation. I honestly wasn't worried about it. Knowing there was a 50/50 chance of having it, my sister and I had always assumed that if one of us had it the other one wouldn't, which was another reason we never had the test done. So since she had it, I just felt like I wouldn't. That was October 4, 2012.
About 4-5 weeks later, I was sitting in the teacher's lounge at lunch. My phone rang and I answered it because it was the oncologist. I'm expecting her to say I'm negative for the BRCA mutation. Instead, she tells me that my test came back positive and I need to get scheduled for a mastectomy ASAP. I told her I needed to think and talk with my family because that's a huge decision to make. Inching up the phone bawling.....I NEVER thought I would be BRCA1 positive. I'm not married. I don't have kids, and the doctor is telling me get my boobs cut off ASAP.....how do you process all of that.
I talked to the 3 most important people to me about what to do. All 3 agreed I needed to do it. I still wasn't 100% settled on the decision. I prayed about it for 2 nights. On the second night, after I prayed, I was almost asleep when I heard a voice that I swear to this day was my grandmother. It said "there is no other option." My decision was made at that moment. I had total peace about my decision and knew that having a preventative mastectomy was what I needed to do.
Upcoming blogs:
*My journey to having a preventative mastectomy
*Surgery: the first step
*Was it worth it?
Stayed tuned!
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