Discussing Breast Cancer

Alright, let me bring the new readers up to speed since my story is taking months to tell (truth be told, I purposely digress at times).

I was initially diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ) in July of 2003 at the age of 35; I had a partial mastectomy and radiation therapy then went on Tamoxifen and was supposed to stay cancer free.

I was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma) in April 2006 at the age of 38; I chose to have a double mastectomy and wanted immediate reconstruction. Having had radiation therapy before, implants weren’t my best reconstruction option, so I decided on a pedicled TRAM flap. My plastic surgeon, Dr. Narayan, explained how he’d take my abdominal fat and muscles and move them to my chest. If you’re a skinny minis, you wouldn’t have enough to work with, but apparently I hadn’t dedicated my breakfast time to Special K. Dr. Narayan could certainly pinch an inch and actually, he could pinch 3 inches. In each hand.

“What is your cup size,” Dr. Narayan asked me.

“I’m a ‘C’ cup,” I replied.

“Hop on,” he said as he patted the exam room table. I climbed up, lied down, Dr. Narayan lifted my gown to expose my stomach and literally grabbed my two handfuls of my belly then said, “yes, you’ll have enough.”

I’d never felt so glad I had some belly fat.

Then the real kicker.

“Did you ever smoke?” he asked.

“Socially,” I replied. “In college.”

Then the disapproving look. Apparently when you combine even limited cigarette use with previous radiation therapy you’re at risk for TRAM flap failure. Who knew?

So Dr. Narayan wanted to do a preliminary procedure to ready the tissue for the surgery, to improve the blood supply to the area. He called it a delay procedure (don’t let the name fool you, it happens before the reconstruction). The delay procedure was an ambulatory surgery. It was supposed to be a piece of cake. In and out. No big deal.

No big deal???? HA!

Dr. Narayan sliced a six inch piece of my abdominal pie then the nice nurses at the Temple Surgical Center sent me home. Goodbye!

I couldn’t walk. I could barely sit. I couldn’t believe it. I had an incision in my abdomen as big as those my friends had gotten when they had C-sections and I thought I was going to walk out of there and resume life as normal. Holy crap, talk about underestimating ambulatory surgery.

It was ten days prior to my mastectomy. I was supposed to have those ten days to get myself mentally prepared for ‘the big day.’ Instead, I had ten days to freak out because I was so incredibly unprepared for my delay procedure.

Of course, just when I started to get better … I was headed to the OR again.

Breast Cancer, Mastectomy, Reconstruction, Surgery, TRAM flap