Welcome back! Sorry I didn’t get this out yesterday, as I was busy celebrating World Topless Day (no, not really, just had some other things to do). What better way to actually celebrate than to talk about SuperBoob and WonderTit?! While I’m not the biggest fan of the word “foob,” it’s literally the best way to describe reconstructed breasts: Completely and utterly fake. The process of creating “foobs” is pretty extensive and I am certain I clocked in over 20 appointments with the Plastic Surgeon alone. Come to think of it, I had three surgeries with him so there easily could have been more…
Anyway, I’ll go into detail about that later. Today, I want to tell you some things to consider if you take the hard road and decide on a double mastectomy and reconstruction (like me!). So without further ado, let’s do this!
1. This is first and foremost: It is NOT a boob job. It is a boob CAREER!
Not only will you have one surgeon, you will have two: The Breast Surgeon and the Plastic Surgeon. The Breast Surgeon is responsible for performing the mastectomy, while the Plastic Surgeon swoops in and takes care of the reconstruction. Bonus points if they are friends, and practice together often, just like my buddies Dr. Smith and Dr. Holcombe. It will make scheduling that much easier! Because you will have a LOT of appointments.
2. Being that this is a boob career, it is important that you remain committed to the cause.
There is no pushing off appointments for later, or deciding to hit Happy Hour instead. Congratulations, your life now revolves around cancer! Time to suck it up, and get it done.
3. You will have to learn how to be more patient.
There is indeed a lot of waiting involved. Don’t forget a charger!
4. You can change your mind about size at (almost!) any point during the process; however, make sure you understand the full implications of doing so.
When I had decided on reconstruction, I was certain I wanted to be a 34-C, which was slightly larger than what I had before. Right before the expanders were inserted, I decided on going up to a D-Cup. By the time I received my final surgery, I was sitting at 34-DD. Since I decided on larger breasts after the initial surgery, it reduced the amount of skin available to create nipples, so I’m stuck in a holding pattern on those.
5. Do your research on your Surgeons!
Extremely self-explanatory, but you want to make sure their credentials are legitimate. All Surgeons hang their degrees on the wall, and a simple internet search will give you answers. Don’t be afraid to ask them anything about their credentials. They should be more than happy to answer your questions. They should also be happy to provide ‘before/after’ pictures to show off their work.
6. Know your breast shape before the scalpel hits your skin.
This is a very, very important thing to understand when working with a Plastic Surgeon, as it will determine the kind of implants you will end up with. If you are unsure, do not be afraid to ask. This diagram can also help as well. The Plastic Surgeon’s aim is to reconstruct them to look as good as they did before, so if you want to change the shape then speak up!
7. Have a good idea of what you’re hoping the end result will look like, and don’t be afraid to dream big (but, like, two cup sizes big MAX).
This is a second very, very important thing to understand when working with a Plastic Surgeon on what kind of implants you will end up with. Do you want the world to know you’ve had implants, or would you prefer them to be understated? The choice is yours! A great Surgeon will respect your wishes, or explain why going full-on Heidi Montag may not be your best bet.
8. There are three different types of implants to choose from.
Depending on your insurance, you may have a choice between saline, silicone gel, or cohesive gel implants. Both the saline and silicone gel implants are round, while cohesive gel implants are teardrop shaped. As an individual with round, small breasts, I opted for the cohesive gel implants due to their anatomical shape. Also known as “gummy bear” implants, they have less rippling, feel very natural, and add fullness to the bottom of the breast. Many women prefer them due to these facts, as both saline and silicone gel implants have a higher chance of rippling.
9. Consider your frame.
How do your breasts hang? When you look in the mirror, do they generally sit fairly close to each other or does a river run through them? You will want to know this as well to determine whether or not a round or teardrop-shaped implant will work for you. Your frame will also determine the type of reconstruction you decide to have. Surgeons have the ability to reconstruct using other body parts such as the stomach and back (also known as Autologous or flap surgeries).
10. There are three types of profiles for implants, and the best profile for you may depend on your age.
The three profiles are high, medium, and low and the correct profile for you will be based on your age as well as the points I mentioned earlier. The higher the profile, the more narrow the implant. For obvious reasons, a low profile implant may not look very good on a 20-something female. Just to give you an idea on this point: At the time of my exchange surgery, I was a 30-year-old with a wide sternum. The high profiles would have only highlighted how wide my sternum was, so Dr. Holcombe and I decided on medium profile implants.
11. Consider recovery times, and expect the worst.
While I will say that the first surgery was brutal, my final exchange surgery had me recovering for four weeks instead of the normal two week period. Overall, the first surgery went off without a hitch, but I did end up having to go back a few weeks later to fix a torn incision point. The final exchange surgery required a capsulectomy since some scar tissue developed around the expanders, as well as moving the implants a few centimeters towards the center of my chest. It took nearly eight months for the pain in my sternum to dissipate.
12. Expanders are uncomfortable but magnetic, so they’ve got that going for them, which is nice.
There’s no other way to say it except that expanders SUCK. They are placed under the chest muscle to create breasts by slowly pumping them up with saline. This means that while you are getting chemo, you’re also getting your chest stretched out! If you didn’t see the video, click on this link (NSFW, obviously). The built-in magnets make for a fun party trick, as you can see here:
13. Expanders are vastly different than breast implants.
And thank goodness for that! The expanders are oversized on purpose to create the pocket for the implants to fit into. This means you feel them near your collarbone, your armpits, and below the breast area. You actually feel them all the time, which is not fun. They’re much harder than implants and made me feel as if everyone knew I had something done to my breasts. The final result is much more natural looking, as you can see here:
14. Consider your “why.”
Breast cancer treatment is a very complicated, expensive, and exhausting process. Do what is best for your highest good, and do not let the opinions of others cloud your judgment. Don’t end up with small breasts just because your significant other wants them. This is your time to do you, boo! A breast cancer diagnosis may end up breaking the foundation you built with that person, which is what happened to me twice. Luckily, I marched to the beat of my own drum and I’m really happy with my results. My “why?” I was under 30 with stage two cancer who wanted beautiful breasts by the time it was all said and done. Simple as that.
15. Bye-bye, feeling and breastfeeding.
The entire structure of the breast is removed during a mastectomy, including the nipples in many cases. The Breast Surgeon also scrapes out all nerve endings in the area, meaning that you’ll never be able to feel certain parts of your breasts ever again (unless some crazy technological breakthrough makes its way into the future restoring it). In addition to feeling, breastfeeding is also out of the question, which was something I didn’t think about until I sat next to a new mom and her baby on a flight, three weeks after the double mastectomy. And unfortunately, no, you cannot breastfeed your baby with your armpit.
16. You will have drains hanging out of your body for a few weeks after surgery.
Also known as Jackson-Pratt drains, these bad boys drain the abscess out of the body and assist with the healing process. They hang two feet out of the body down to the knees, so it is imperative to have a plan while bathing, dressing, and going about the day. For the first week of recovery, I sat on a stool in the bathtub while the JPs hung around my neck with a rubber hamstring strap and used a handheld showerhead. It was a lifesaver! In addition, I installed snaps on the drains and hung them around my belt loops.
17. The final breast implants take a few months to settle in.
Admittedly, I was quite impatient to be done with everything. All I wanted was to look “normal” again. I’d say that it took me about three months post surgery to be happy with the results.
18. You may develop a love/hate relationship with your foobs.
Some days, I’m happy with them and some days I am not. Unfortunately, I have some slight rippling but this is common for mastectomy patients. My breasts are also colder than the rest of my body, which is an unfortunate side effect for the winter months especially.
19. What about your people?
My family and many friends are out of state, which required a few of them flying in to help. There is absolutely no way you can do it all alone, so don’t even try. Select the most dependable individuals to help you, as you will need meals cooked, help to get in/out of the shower, and driven around to appointments. I am thankful to have been blessed with great people who didn’t hesitate to step in. Never be afraid to ask, either!
20. Are you ready?
Depending on the aggressiveness of your cancer, you may have to be ready sooner rather than later. If you have time, use it! There are a lot of things to figure out, and the last thing you want to do is rush into surgery if it isn’t necessary.
If you have any questions, you can email me at TheCanSurvivor@gmail.com. Best of luck to anyone who is on this path, my heart goes out to you during this time. Feel free to comment, like, and share! I guarantee if you consider these 20 things, you will be more pleased with your results. Take care!
