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Bilateral Mastectomy Scars Healing Timeline
Breast Cancer | Last Active: 2 days ago | Replies (21)Comment receiving replies
Thank you so much for your reply. Do you wear prosthesis and bras? How do you go swimming 🏊♀️? Im in such a quandary. Did you have to have chemo or radiation treatment as well? Or immunology treatment? Many thanks for your help
Replies to "Thank you so much for your reply. Do you wear prosthesis and bras? How do you..."
@sart
Hello, to start I was 66 when diagnosed with invasive breast cancer. I carry the BRCA 2 gene so a double mastectomy was recommended. The surgery itself was tough and so are we!! Even at my age I was heartbroken to lose my breast as as time goes by you learn to accept the fact. I had reconstruction with implants no nipples. My surgeon recommended a company called Pink Perfect who makes realistic nipples and WOW did they bring my confidence back. Just a recommendation to add to your replies
@sart I'm sorry this reply took so long. I am planning on wearing some sort of bra or prosthesis but have not gotten that far in my recovery yet. I am going to do Chemo because of the tumor grade which was aggressive. I will be doing 4 rounds of the TC regimen. I am very thankful that I do not need to do what they call The Red Devil it is much stronger. I will not need radiation according to my oncologist. I don't know anything about Immunology at this point. It has not been mentioned by the oncologist so I'm assuming I don't need it.
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@sart
My surgery was more than a year ago. I woke up feeling very painful because I didn’t have nerve blocking. The pain disappeared quickly after the nurse administered painkillers through IV. I only took painkillers at night for five days mainly for good sleep, not for the pain. With nerve blocking you won’t feel the pain for at least 2 days. My sister had nerve blocking and she didn’t have to take any painkillers at all. I went flat and am happy with my decision. The drains are not painful, they are a nuisance. I have 2 on each side. Make sure you wear compression bra for at least a week.
I don’t wear prostheses. There’s a site that sales inserts that I use for swimming. They are light and not expensive. A member here recommended to me.
It took me 2 months before I can start therapy due to a large and thick hematoma. I’m doing fine now. I agree with @briarrose, it takes 6 months to a year for things to settle down. I don’t have dog ears, but does it matter much? Wish you all the best.