Probably More Than You Needed To Know

Yes, I'll admit, this may be TMI, but so many people seem amazed at this process, I thought I'd go in to a little more detail. Plus, I had an awesome conversation about it yesterday that I just have to share.

So, I keep mentioning "inflation." I'll eventually have breast implants put in. But, placing the implants at the time of the mastectomy surgery puts too much stress on the tissues. So, instead, they put in tissue expanders. Essentially, they are balloons with injection ports. Each week, the doctor injects about 4 tablespoons of saline through the ports (just under my skin) and into the expander, slowly stretching the tissues until I am the size I want to be. When I reach that point, I have a second (and much easier) surgery to place the permanent implants. Those of you who know me in person, know I was a busty girl - DD cup. Right now, I think I'm an A cup, and I don't plan on going much bigger than a B cup. That's the advantage of this method, I can choose my size, and if I feel like I want a little more, it's no problem.

Something else you may not realize, is that when they do a total mastectomy, they remove everything "breast related" - that includes nipples and areolas. So, right now, I'm "blank." You do have to option of nipple reconstruction, and then they can tattoo areolas back on. I was telling someone about that yesterday, and how I'll probably not do that, and she said "Oh, you should have the tattoos, but get something fun instead - like smiley faces or suns!" I'm considering it.

One

It seems like months since I was first diagnosed. Oh wait, it was months - three and a half actually. Now it's just one more day (because it's almost bedtime, so today doesn't count anymore). It was a busy day - cleaning, laundry - really exciting stuff. I did cast on a new knitting project: a scarf for a friend. I attempted to fix the huge, gaping hole in Karl's sock (failure - guess I'll have to make him another pair soon).

Nobody wants to hear about that pert of my boring life though.

Tomorrow I have my pre-op appointment with the plastic surgeon who's doing the reconstruction part of my surgery. He's the same Dr. that did my reduction surgery, almost 5 years ago to the day. He's great and I have total confidence in his abilities.

Then, late afternoon I have to go to the hospital for my "lymph node mapping". Basically, they're injecting bright blue dye into my right boob so they know exactly which lymph nodes are associated with that area. Then, they'll only take those lymph nodes for biopsy. This is my biggest worry - that the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. When I had my MRI in October, it didn't show any lymph node involvement, but that was 3 months ago. Lymph node involvement equals chemo and/or radiation, and that would suck. I finally have my hair grown out long (after 2 1/2 years of waiting) and don't want to lose it, and we have a big vacation planned for May, and I don't want to miss that!

So, one more pre-surgical post tomorrow, then off to the hospital at o'dark thirty tuesday morning.

One or two?

Wow, this is definitely not going to be an easy decision. Not something I want to take lightly.
One side, or two? There are pros and cons either way. It's not often I have to make a choice like this - one so life altering. This is going to be tough.
I'll look the same either way, so why would it matter? The Dr mentioned that the risk of cancer developing on the other side is about twice that of any woman developing breast cancer. Do I want to completely eliminate that risk? The quick answer is yes, but I also need to think about the recovery from the surgery - how much harder will it be? I'm leaning toward taking both "girls" off. I guess I have a bunch of reading to do.