Tag: mastectomy

Function and Management of Breast Reconstruction Drains

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The DiepCJourney Facebook group has members from all over the world. The purpose of the group is to nurture an ongoing learning community with people affected by breast cancer and those who serve breast cancer patients. A request was made to make a video about surgical drains. It is not a favorite part of recover but certainly necessary. I sat down with Dr. Randall Feingold of NYBRA, New York Breast and Reconstruction and Aesthetic Plastic Surgery to discuss the function and management of breast reconstruction drains. Why Drains Are Placed at the Surgical Sites I start off the conversation by sharing my own experience with drains for my double mastectomy and DIEP flap. The general consensus from patients is that drains are not something that anyone likes. I feel when patients understand why they are being used, they become a bit more tolerable, especially knowing they are a short-term part Continue Reading →

My DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction Seven Years Later

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This morning I began my usual morning routine. I am an early riser. I open my laptop, check my phone for messages, begin sorting out emails to respond to, and begin my workday. But this morning marks a day on my calendar I never forget, or more appropriately, always remember. December 1, 2014, I was sitting on a gurney being marked up for my DIEP flap breast reconstruction. Writing about my DIEP flap breast reconstruction seven years later? How is that possible? Where did the time go? The Days and Months Leading up to my DIEP Flap My coffee is fresh and warm and my thoughts flood through my mind as I recall the events of the morning I showed up at the hospital. Yes, I showed up. But boy did that take a lot of decision making, planning, and a strong dose of physical and emotional fortitude in the Continue Reading →

Episode 6: Living Flat after Breast Cancer

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Juliet Fitzpatrick is a breast cancer survivor and patient advocate from the U.K. who chose aesthetic flat closure  after breast cancer. She writes about her experience at Blooming Cancer, Living Flat and Recovery after Breast Cancer. In Episode 6: Living Flat after Breast Cancer, on the DiepCJourney podcast Juliet and I chat about her decision to remain flat. She asked a lot of questions and did her research after her breast cancer diagnosis before making this choice. We chat about prosthesis, support groups, blogging, and of course, our combined interest in gardening. These are all on the list of things Juliet is doing since her diagnosis and through her continued recovery, finding the simple passions in life that are important to her. The Breast Cancer Diagnosis Juliet was diagnosed with breast cancer in her left breast after having the second routine mammogram she ever had in her life. She was Continue Reading →

Breast Surgery Recovery Shirt I Wish I’d Had

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Here it is, the breast surgery recovery shirt I wish I’d had and you can order it right here: from the Healinincomfort site. Healincomfort will pay shipping. Now that’s a deal! One part of my job as a patient advocate and Founder and Director of DiepCFoundation.org is finding products making healing and recovery from breast cancer easier for patients. I have been through six different surgeries for breast cancer and breast reconstruction. My double mastectomy and DIEP flap breast reconstruction both required surgical drains. They were not my favorite part of recovery but necessary to drain out accumulated surgical fluid. The amount of time a patient has surgical drains can be a couple of weeks and sometimes a little over a month. It really depends on the individual healing mechanisms of each patient. This is why I am happy to write about the Healincomfort breast surgery recovery shirt I wish Continue Reading →

The Eye of a Restorative Tattoo Artist for Breast Cancer Patients

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There are those who choose their profession based on their interest and background training. Eric Eye was inspired to expand his practice and professional skill as a tattooer after learning about restorative tattoos for breast cancer patients. This blog is dedicated to Eric Eye after I spent time with him in his Seattle studio on Capitol Hill. Eric is the eye of a restorative tattoo artist for breast cancer patients. The streets of Capitol Hill are an eclectic collection of ethnic restaurants, music shops with vintage albums, coffee shops, parking meters lining the streets waiting to be fed, and above ground wires strung from telephone poles draped like spider webs across the streets. There are businesses sharing the same brick and mortar in a single block separated by walls and glass windows with entrances leading to long narrow hallways and locked corridors. A Breast Cancer Patient’s First Visit to a Continue Reading →

Post Breast Reconstruction Nips that Stick

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Wouldn’t it be nice if prosthetic nipples would stick just like window cling? You simply slap them on and they stay on until you peeled them off.  Newsflash: skin isn’t like glass! Our marvelous, living, breathing skin with natural oils and sweat glands just isn’t like the surface of glass – thank goodness! “Nips that don’t stick” is a common and frustrating problem for many types of prosthetic nipples. Falling off at embarrassing moments or potentially getting lost can understandably be deal breakers for women considering nipple prosthetics after breast cancer surgery. Finding a way to provide secure adhesion for Naturally Impressive nipples sticking securely on the breast was one of our first big challenges. We had developed a nipple that looked fantastically real, but when using Pros-Aide water based adhesive, they only stayed on a few days, at best. Often I’d find them in the bed sheets in the morning Continue Reading →

The Elusive Nipple Solution After Breast Cancer Surgery

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For many of us going through breast cancer, by the time we get through diagnosis, surgery, treatment and breast reconstruction, we have an eager anticipation of the final step of getting nipples to help us feel whole and complete. It seems like it should be simple, but often it drags on and on without a satisfactory solution.  Surgical nipples flatten, tattoos fade, prosthetics fall off. I was really fortunate. After my unilateral mastectomy in 2007, while I was still in the breast reconstruction process, my innovative husband was inspired by my plastic surgeon to develop a silicone nipple-areola for me. What a gift! It makes me feel so joyful to look in the mirror after showering or while dressing and see the symmetry of two nipples. It eases some of the sting of what breast cancer has taken from me as a woman.    My Husband & I had no Continue Reading →

Who is Responsible? Aesthetic Outcomes of Breast Reconstruction Surgery

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It is an important topic to discuss. Who is responsible for the aesthetic outcomes of breast reconstruction surgery? The headline in the September 6, 2018, online article from Cosmopolitan reads: These Cancer Patients Wanted to Get Rid of Their Breasts for Good. Their Doctors Had Other Ideas. It is an emotionally filled article from women who chose to go flat. These women woke up after surgery with results that left them angered, saddened, disappointed, and fighting a battle to find out how to change things. In fact, on September 8, 2018, the article mentioned: … she’s organizing the first Not Putting On a Shirt Nationwide Walk in Cleveland, Ohio, in which women will join her to march topless and raise awareness around the issue. A sister march will be held in Los Angeles in the same day. The article speaks of women who chose to remain flat after their mastectomy Continue Reading →

Your Hospital Prep the Morning of Breast Reconstruction

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You are diagnosed with breast cancer or are having a prophylactic mastectomy due to a gene mutation putting you at high risk for breast cancer. You spent days, weeks, or perhaps months talking to others and researching the best plastic surgeon because you have decided to have breast reconstruction. Now it’s the morning of surgery and it’s time for your hospital prep. You enter the hospital early in the morning, sometimes before the break of dawn. You have eaten very little. A hundred thoughts run through your head knowing you will soon be put to sleep while your breasts are removed and replaced with either implants or your own tissue. The shower and prep with the antibacterial soap you are instructed to use the morning of surgery is complete. You feel like you are squeaky clean from tip to toe. You might wish you could have on makeup and deodorant. Continue Reading →

1900 Patients Share Stories About Breast Reconstruction

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Three short years ago in the summer of 2015, I opened a Facebook page dedicated to serve the breast reconstruction community. The Facebook page, https://www.facebook.com/groups/diepcjourney/ grew organically by word of mouth. We started out small, as so many new social media sites do. It is growing daily and now 1900 Patients Share Stories About Breast Reconstruction. What Do We Share? Think about this. You have just been diagnosed with breast cancer. Now you face the tsunami of information about to flood your brain; lab reports and waiting on results, treatment options, surgery, lumpectomy, mastectomy. Some days you feel overwhelmed, depressed, anxious, or even jubilant. Who will understand all these feelings? Who do I talk to who has been on this Journey? Think about this. You are told your best treatment option is to have a mastectomy. Perhaps, for peace of mind, you decide to have a prophylactic mastectomy because you Continue Reading →