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.
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