Thursday, March 05, 2009 stepaheda asks

Q: Breast Reconstruction part 2???

Hi this is 1stepaheda, I had my expanders removed on 12/08, and my implants put in at that time. I had cancer in the right breast, however I had a bilateral mastectomy. I find that the left side is not healing as well as the right side that had the cancer, Is this normal??? For example: after the surgery the left side was very swollen and hard, where as the right side was soft and healing very nicely. The P/S did say that during the removeal of the expanders he did have to remove a lot of scar tissue from the left breast. I will see my P/S at the end of this month for him to check it out again. He said in January that if it had not improved on this next visit, that in May during the nippling that he may have to go in to make some ajustment. Please tell me what he is trying to say, and does any of this sound normal??? Are should I be concern a little more?? I must say I am a bit concern due to the fact that the left breast still seem a bit tight, a little burning, and tingaling, and very uncomfortable when I breath in and out of the left side. I don't know if this is a part of healing or not??? Looking forward to hearing from you!

1stepaheda

Answers (3)

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Angi

3/ 5/09 12:17pm

what you are describing sound all very normal to me. sounds like more scar tissue forming - and the best thing to do to prevent that is to massage the breast area often to help blood flow. the tightness is also likely due to scar tissue - it's almost like the expanding process because your breast area is struggling to grow cause you have this scar tissue forming around it. I'm sure your doctor will fix it on your next surgery, just let him know it's still bothering you. scar tissue is quite normal and it just happens, and can happen to anyone. it has nothing to do with cancer returning or not healing, it's just cause there is a foriegn object there and it confuses the cells and disrupts the blood supply and cell distribution. don't worry too much about it, just massage you breast, take it easy on lifting/carrying stuff and tell your doctor so he can evaulate if surgery is needed to remove it.

good luck!

Angi

Connie Jackley

3/20/09 7:29pm

I am not quite as far along as you are, but your case sounds allot like mine. It is similar in that my cancer was in my left breast, no cancer found in my right, but I am finding from day one that the non-cancerous breast seemed to be more swollen and painful. My plastic surgeon removed a good amount of fluid from the non-cancer side when he removed the drains the other day (my surgery was just 3/3/09). Now they seem pretty much the same, but after reading your post I am wondering if this will be a problem ongoing for me too? I wonder, how did you make out with your expanders the period that you had them in and inflated? Any problems? I am told now, next visit in a week, I will have my first inflation and he said he MAY have to remove more fluid if it builds up. My drain areas have not weeped at all, but then the fluid, obviously, had built up in the upper area and the drain did not take it out. I wish you luck and hope you do not have any further problems - do you recall how long you had restrictions with the expanders in? They just feel like a rubber band is on my upper body - very weird - and I cannot drive for another week and no full range of motion. So hating this but hope it will be worth it in the end - what is your opinion on it all being worth it??

Connie

stepaheda

3/21/09 12:32am

Hi Connie,

Very happy to hear that you are cancer free and healing at a good past. I know that this is very hard to get use to the uncomfortable feeling much of the time. But beleive me it does get better, and yes it is so worth it. Due to the fact that I also have diabetes with many other health problems that have to be taken into conceration. But for the most part the healthing of both breast are moving alone very nicely. As far as movement it is important that you follow the dr instruction not to reach above your head or lift heavy things in the first few weeks, each person heals differently so that must be taken into consideration also. Now for me I was not allow to drive for 10 weeks, which felt like a life time. But after the first three weeks I started to do streching little by little, then in about 3 months I began to do Qi Kong/Tai Chi. I feel that this is what made the biggest improvement in my healing and the controling of that PAIN around my chest. Meditation is also very helpful in relaxing the muscles around the chest. You have to keep telling your self that it is worth it, and that you will be a much better person on the other side of this life changing experince. There are many forms of exercises that I live by now that maybe I would not have taken the time to do or learn had it not been for this Cancer experince. Here is the name of a book that help me a lot in my first days of recovery. " The Breast Cancer Survivor''s Fitness Plan", by Dr. Carolyn M. Kaelin from the Harvard Medical School. She her self is a cancer survivor, so she had gone through the things we are now feeling and dealing with on a daily basic.

I will have my nippling surgery on May 26, 2009, and just for follow ups that will be the end of my reconstruction. Please let me know how you are getting alone, and if you have any additional questions, please feel free to email me at any time.

Take care, and keep telling your self positive thins, like "all is well with me, and I am love, and I am in the right place at the right time". The are very claming word to keep telling your self as you heal.

Nothing but the Best for you,

1stepaheda

Q: Breast Reconstruction part 2???

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