Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Your Questions

I love the feature of my blog where I can see where my visitors come from and what keywords they googled to get here.

Some of them are the expected words like breast cancer, breast reconstruction and tissue expanders. Others leave me scratching my head. Lately, from all over the United States, I have received hits on my site for people searching for "sick chest tattoos" and "toddler pacifiers." I'm sure mastectomy scars aren't what these searchers are seeking.

Anyways, I receive a lot of private messages asking things about my treatment and tips I may have. I will list a few of the most common ones here.

What did you use during radiation to keep your skin hydrated? 
I used a combination of Miaderm, coconut oil and emu oil.
I greased up every few hours and wore an old shirt. My plastic surgeon is amazed at how good my skin looks now.

Which Minnesota doctors did you use and would you recommend them?
I would absolutely, without a doubt recommend every one of my doctors. They're amazing.

My oncologist is Dr. Hartung. She's hilarious and a straight shooter. I literally trust her with my life.

My plastic surgeon is Dr. Migliori. He is a magician and a big teddy bear. He gave me boobs....freaking awesome boobs. He has the best bedside manner and not once did I see him where he didn't hug me.

My surgeon is Dr. Bretzke. She removed my breasts and lymph nodes. She declared me cancer-free and told me she hoped to never see me again. While I love her dearly, I concur.

What size did you end up?
Yes, strangers ask me that. I find it funny and I'm glad people feel comfortable enough to ask what they want. I asked for a C, but wanted a D.  Dr Migliori said that he would do his best. I am now a 34 DD or a 36 D, depending on the brand. I'm still waiting for a good sizing at Nordstrom's. I have a feeling I might actually be a different size than I'm wearing.

The big difference with real boobs and reconstructed boobs is that I don't have that cone look to my boobs anymore, so some bras have extra material in the cup that I can't fill. Mine are round, but not stripper-ish.


 As always, I welcome your questions. Email me! :)





8 comments:

  1. Very interesting! Looking at the google search terms is so incredibly fascinating. Sometimes, as you say, it makes total sense. Other times I wonder - what the heck?

    But maybe it's kismet that people find your website. You never know, it could help someone who didn't realized they were looking for answers.

    Catherine

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    Replies
    1. Maybe it's kismet...You are absolutely right.

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  2. I am sure your posts are going to help thousands of people because you took the time to post almost dailey since day one.I am glad and proud that you took the time to chronicle your journey for guidance to others.Love,Dad

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  3. Hi,

    I'm a plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction and I was looking for good blogs to recommend to my patients. I found yours and I think your story has been amazingly inspirational. I'm also really impressed that you managed to document everything so well throughout the entire process. You'd be amazed how hard it is to find pictures of real women living with tissue expanders! I hope it warms your heart to know I will be recommending this blog to many women and I'm sure it will help them understand the crazy journey they are about to embark on.

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    Replies
    1. I'm glad my blog will help your patients! I actually do know how hard it is to find pictures of real women going through the steps of breast removal and then reconstruction. I didn't find many and it's the reason that I documented the steps as well as I did. It will, hopefully, make the journey a little less scary for someone else. Thanks for doing what you do!

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