Posted 2/14/2021 4:37 PM (GMT 0)
I can't live with the koala face I have for a breast after my surgeon gave me a lift, without telling me anything. This was my second cancer, same breast, and I do praise my surgeon for offering me a lumpectomy instead of the mastectomy I thought I had to have. I would have opted for a double mx because I'm fairly large, but less surgery is a blessing.
But the lift gave me a stage 3 inverted nipple that looks like a toothless mouth and a big bulging very painful breast that's way higher than my old, well used, sagging one which I don't mind since I'm over 3/4 of a century. I was expecting a simple thin scar like the first surgery a dozen years ago. This looks like it was for a 20-something and sticks up like a big round water balloon with an ugly sucked-in mouth.
I'm looking for an oncoplastic surgeon but haven't found one within 150 miles. My first question is whether corrective surgery has to be done before radiation. My experience is that rads basically cook the tissue, and I suspect I would be stuck with my koala if I wait for repair. My original lumpectomy and rads on the other side of the same breast, gave me what feels like a flat piece of cooked meat. That result at least matched its mate.