Dec 8th UPDATE: Due to lingering inflammation and edema in my breasts following reduction surgery, my surgeons highly recommended delaying my Nov 2 surgery. New date is coming up fast: Wed, Dec 19th.
When I had my breast reduction on Aug. 6, November seemed so far away. Today is Friday, Oct 5, and my mastectomy is four weeks from today, on Nov 2. I have a lot going on this month to prepare for that surgery, including pre-op appointments with Dr. Helene Dumont (primary care doctor), Dr. Pamela Wright (breast surgeon) and Dr. Coleman Brown (plastic surgeon). I also have a pre-op mammogram scheduled, as required by Dr. Wright -- presumably to make sure there is no cancer before she operates on me.
I am totally recovered from my last surgery. I LOVE having a smaller bust, and wish that I had decided to do a breast reduction years ago. I don't miss the 2.6 lbs of breast tissue that Dr. Brown removed! There was one spot under my left breast that took a long time to heal. I had to have a 10-day course of antibiotics at one point, because it got infected. Dr. Brown says that's a common trouble spot because it's the "T" intersection of two incisions. Blood flow is reduced there, and there is stress on the stitches. I was concerned about it not healing because they will use part of those same incisions for the mastectomy. In spite of the healing issue, I am very glad I decided to do that surgery first. Not only do I get to keep my own nipples (rather than having them be reconstructed or tattooed on), but it makes the mastectomy easier since a less tissue needs to be removed and Dr. Brown has already "sculpted" my final shape.
I was really looking forward to having two full months (Sept/Oct) of rowing with my team after missing so much practice this year. However, while I got to row 2 days the week after Labor Day, we had no practice at all for the rest of September because of all the rain and the boathouse having to remove the docks due to the high water level. We finally got to practice the second half of this week. SO GOOD to be back on the water with my rowing buddies, getting exercise, and enjoying the sunrise. It's hard getting up at 4:30am on rowing days, but so worth it.
I keep wondering why I am feeling so calm. I worry a little that right before or after the mastectomy I'll have some sort of emotional breakdown, but I think I've worked through most of the fear and the sadness about losing a part of me. The way I deal with health crises is to research and learn as much as I can, find competent doctors, and ask them lots of questions. Writing this blog is helping me, too. I've shared it on several BRCA Facebook groups that I've joined, and have already had people getting in touch with me to get more information about my surgical choices. For example, I've spoken with a woman a couple times who is trying to decide if she wants to get a hysterectomy along with removing her ovaries and Fallopian tubes. She is close to my age and found out she was BRCA+ recently, like me. I chose to keep my uterus and she wanted to know why. It makes me feel good that my blog is helping people who are going through the same things! And I have found a whole community of people on Facebook who have gone (or are currently) through what I'm experiencing. Great resource!
Meanwhile, dealing with my insurance company (United Healthcare) has been a nightmare. They denied pre-authorization for my breast reduction so I had to pay for it entirely. They wouldn't even cover the pathology on the tissue that was removed! I went ahead with the surgery since I knew I'd have to wait 3 months for the mastectomy and didn't want to delay everything while I fought with UHC. So, I decided to fight it after the fact. Dr. Brown agreed to help me appeal their decision. They sent in a whole packet of materials and medical records, including a letter from Dr. Brown and a letter from me about why we are appealing their decision. This coming Tuesday morning, Dr. Brown and I will be telephone-conferenced into an "appeal hearing" on my case. We'll see what happens...
Comments