Back to the Surgeon

After several days of stalking his office trying to get an appointment finally got in to see Dr R. Does every doctor have two offices? Does that give them more golf course options? The good thing is this office is actually closer to work than his Stone Oak location. Mom had an appointment of her own today so it's just me and Dad this time. Dad is my official note taker for these appointments.

So there are three options on the table:
1. Lumpectomy with lymph node extraction. Chance of local recurrence and probably a very odd looking breast. Radiation is also a probability with this option.
2. Single mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. The odds of the two breasts matching is somewhat low. Also burn the bridge for using the stomach mound for breast tissue should I get cancer in the right breast. That is a one shot deal. Will always have to worry about and closely watch the right breast.
3. Double mastectomy with either implants or the flap surgery (natural tissue) for reconstruction. This option lowers chance of recurrence dramatically as the only breast tissue left is basically the skin. No need to have MRI and ultrasound followups every six months. Also breasts will match. Hey I'm 40and single, it matters.

No matter which option the nipple is gone. Bye-bye. Hasta la vista, baby. Had a nice 40 years together but probably won't make it to 41. I really don't ever want to deal with this again. I used to wonder at women who get perfectly good breasts removed because of the chance of cancer, not any more. Take them, get them both out of here. Now just to decide if I want the expanders or the free tummy tuck.The recovery time for having fat moved from one area to the other is longer, and it's more involved than I thought, as it includes blood vessels to keep the tissue alive. Having expanders with either saline or silicone is the other option, perky breasts for life, but it is not as natural looking as unlike with getting them for enhancement purposes, there is now no breast tissue to hide them behind. They can look a bit, well, bumpy and need additional cosmetic surgery to even out the edges. Insurance companies will cover either as the natural breasts are more expensive on the outset, but do not require long term care (or replacement). 

I decide to go all natural even though it's a 6 hour surgery with a 5-6 day hospital stay. I'm wondering if I'll be in the hospital for my birthday. Oh yeah! Maybe I'll get a candle in my Jell-o. I really don't want to deal with any of this later on though. Besides I'm more of a natural type gal, and oh ya, there's the free tummy tuck. Finally I get something out of this. Next week I get to see plastics. Never thought I'd say that, but my surgeon says these guys at PRMA are experts at reconstruction, that is what they do, it's not a side job for them after nose jobs and butt lifts. Also have an appointment with a gastroenterologist next week as my genetic tests showed a mutation in the gene for colon cancer. I'm so looking forward to having that checked out. I can't wait for 2013 to be over.