Here they are!

It's already 45 days past reconstructive surgery and I'm finally getting around to posting pics. Sorry!
I have had virtually no problems since surgery.

My ribs are still a little sore. I thought the pain was from the expanders; now I'm not really sure what is causing the pain. It's minimal.

I'm extremely happy with my new boobs. Are they perfect? No. have they EVER been perfect? Hell, no.
I didn't just have a boob job. I had my breasts completely removed from my body. I had Aladerm added to where I no longer had tissue and had breast expanders placed to make mounds where there were none. Every day, I am more in awe of the entire process.
With a shirt on, I look normal...better than normal, actually.

Here they are:

This pic shows my right side when I bend down. Rippling happens with reconstruction and can be fixed. I need more volume. Dr. Migliori is a perfectionist and recommended I do skin grafting to round out both sides and make them more symmetrical and full.
Unfortunately, he will have to do liposuction on my thighs and tummy to harvest the fat to inject in my boobs.
I'm totally kidding about the unfortunately part. My response to Migs, "AYFKM? Free lipo on my tummy AND thighs and even BIGGER boobs? Sign my ass up!"
I now have a surgery date of 12/20. :) I love that man.

Post Surgery

I'm sorry that I haven't updated yet.

Dr. Bretzke said that my umbilical hernia was worse than she expected, so she did have to use mesh in my stomach.
It still hurts sooooo bad. It's definitely comparable to the pain from a c-section.

When Dr. Migliori went in to take out my port, he said that I was definitely lucky that my surgery was when it was. As he cut my skin, he was able to see that the port was only about a millimeter from the surface and there was old dried blood surrounding it, like a hematoma. He thinks within a few days, my body would have expelled the port and I would have been left with an open direct line to my heart and possible infection. Thank God my surgery was when it was!

Dr. Migliori was able to place 550 ccs implants in. I am ecstatic; he wasn't sure I would be able to even get 500 ccs because of what radiation typically does to your skin. He praised me for taking such good care during the process. I think he was a little shocked that I didn't use anything special, just coconut oil.

I have very little pain in my chest and boobs for now.
I have to wear an underwire bra around the clock for three weeks.
Here are an obnoxious amount of pictures. :)

Waiting patiently for the anesthesiologist.

                                                                            Chatting

Because I had lymph nodes removed during my mastectomy, I can no longer have blood pressure taken or blood draws done from that arm. Doing so would put me at an even higher risk for lymphedema.

This is a little reminder for everyone in the surgery room. 

                                                       Post surgery. Good drugs!

This is me on surgery day. This picture shows all of the areas that I had worked on. I'm so swollen; I can't believe I'm posting this. 

 This is day 2. Eric and I went to Edina to meet with Dr. Migliori again. He said everything looks awesome and he was able to take off the Ace bandage. One more day until I can shower.

Dr Migs guaranteed me that my boobs would look better one the swelling went down. I'm happy with them already. The black bra I'm wearing in the picture is a D cup. I had hoped to be a large C or small D. I got my wish! I have only a tiny amount of blood around the cut he made and virtually no bruising.

                             This is my miracle worker, Dr. Migliori. Love, love, love him!!

Thanks again to everyone for the calls, emails and facebook messages. You guys are rockstars!!

I love youtube.

For my lovers of gore, I found a clip of what my surgery will most likely look like. I will be having my breast tissue expanders taken out (I love how they just pop out in the video) and my new implants put in.

Surgeries are fascinating!

If you're easily grossed out or have no interest in the process, don't click the link.
Surgery Link

Disclaimer: This is NOT me.

My Odd Tissue Expanders

I sometimes check my blog traffic to see what exactly people google to end up on my blog.
I see a ton of "tissue expanders"and "what will I look like after my mastectomy?" traffic.
I'm not surprised. That's exactly what I googled when I was first diagnosed. I found very little.

To make this blog work to it's fullest potential, I will show you what I look like. I hope it helps you to see that they're odd little buggers....but temporary.
It doesn't mean this is what you will look like, but it's a good starting point.

I have a serious love/hate relationships with my expanders.
I like them because they make me appear to have boobs....really large boobs, actually.
For someone like me, who had virtually NO boobs prior, I kind of enjoy them.

In the middle of the night when I can't get comfortable because they're poking me- and I feel like my ribs are breaking, I'm not such a fan.
It all evens out. Temporary, temporary!

Here's the good part to my story.....Dr. Migliori said that since my skin responded insanely well after radiation, I don't have to wait the full six months to have my exchange surgery.
I will be getting my new boobs on August 30th. Woo hoo!

This is pretty fabulous news.
Here are some pics of my crazy boobs now. The whole process of boobs, cancerous boob, no boobs, small boobs to big boobs is truly amazing.

Since my mastectomy on January 3rd, I have been inflated 500 ccs on the left and 540 ccs on the right.
The expanders were put in wide because of my need for radiation through the middle of my chest.
I have not worn a bra since January 3rd. I can run with these bad boys and they don't move an inch.
I should run more. :)

The last picture shows a dot in the middle of my ribs. That's one of my radiation tattoos. I have (I think) four of them. They're permanent.

Hello, Old Friends!

Hello!

It's been a while. It seems that now that I'm not going from appointment to appointment, I have very little to write about.
I'm really enjoying my (boring) life! :)


Here are some updates:

My scabs from radiation are gone. My boobs are as smooth as rock hard baby butts.
I'm surprisingly sleeping okay with the expanders. Only 5.5 more months until these suckers come out.

I'm starting to like the way they look. Yes, they're too high, too hard and completely unnatural...but I have to admit that I really dig not wearing a bra. I have not worn a bra since December 2011. I feel so freeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
I really think that once my implants are put in, I'm going to have some pretty rockin' tatas.

I have my next Herceptin infusion on April 16th. My list is getting pretty long with concerns I want to talk to Dr. Hartung about.
Now that I have no evidence of disease, (I'm still dancing with NED!) I'm pretty nervous I'm going to get cancer somewhere else.
It's a normal fear, I suppose.

I really want a hysterectomy. Previously, Dr. Hartung thought that the side effects would outweigh the benefits; but I want to revisit the conversation again.
I already have PCOS and have always had issues with cysts on my ovaries. I think they're little time bombs. I want all that junk out.

I also want to start taking Zometa. There are new studies out that shows it makes bones stronger so cancer would have a harder time metastisizing to my bones, if it were to come back. It will probably make me feel like crud, but it's worth talking about.

I am also at the point where I will begin taking Tamoxifen. It's a drug that I will take daily for five years. It has some side effects, but I guess I'll take being fat over dying of cancer.


I have NO signs of Lymphedema yet. My chances of getting it after chemo/lymph node removal/radiation was greater than 50%. It can still onset at any time, it just hasn't yet. I'm hopeful that's one effect of cancer that I will avoid.

My family is doing AWESOME. I couldn't ask for more.
Eric's parents came here for Easter and we had a great holiday.
We found a great new church (Eagle Brook) that even Eric's dad approved of! :)
I have already signed up for new member classes, small group and even baptism.
I feel like this is the missing piece to our puzzle- and we're excited to grow more with God.

Life IS much better without drains.

Anyone I have ever talked to regarding breast reconstruction or augmentation has said that once the drains come out, it's all easier. It's only been a few hours but so far, I agree.

The plastic surgeon I generally see had to fly home for a family emergency today, so I saw one of his partners.

He checked my fabulously meticulously self-upkept output chart and agreed that those disgusting drains were ready to be removed.
He also confirmed that my skin looked great and were ready for another fill.
Could this Friday the 13th get any better?!? No, it certainly cannot!

Eric came with me for the appointment which was awesome. Appointments are always better with someone that cracks me up...and then takes pictures of me. :)

I will have another appointment next week for another fill.
The surgeon advised me to start trying on clothes so I know how much more we want to push in these puppies.
He, of course, didn't use those words, but that's what I got out of the conversation.
So, I'm supposed to just keep coming every week for fills until the shirts I like fit. That sounds easy enough.

I'm a walking breast cancer ribbon poster child some days.
Some people get peeved by the ribbons and logos. I don't. I like them.

I like when obviously ill people wear "their color" so I know which type of illness they are fighting. It's like a little unspoken language between everyone. It saves me time thinking about it.
I can just see someone obviously with cancer wearing a pink ribbon and think, Hmmm... Breast cancer. That sucks. Then I say a quick prayer for them. If I see someone wearing a logo or colored ribbon I'm not familiar with, I google it. Gotta stay educated on the causes!

I like to think that all of these ribbons really are spreading awareness.
Even if they're not, maybe there are some people like me that just like to drop random prayers for people wearing cause ribbons.
That works, too. :)

First and foremost, how adorable is this guy?
I mean, seriously?? He was just sitting in the plastic surgeons office and I knew I had to take a picture.
Actually, this is my adorable husband, who doesn't get nearly enough props on my blog. He is AMAZING.

One reason he is super amazing is that he doesn't care if I wear crazy hats or pink wigs. He doesn't get embarrassed. He takes me everywhere and anywhere without thinking twice. He's one of those guys that really gets the whole "in sickness and health" part of his vows.
Here is the hat I wore today. It's cold as hell here.

Cancer Hat...check!
Cancer shirt...check!
See how easy it is to determine why I'm bald?
You're all welcome! ;)

Here's what an expander looks like that is sitting on a cold counter top and hasn't been filled yet. I found it in a drawer. I'm super nosy at doctor's offices. It's a deceiving little sucker. This one looks so nice and soft and cozy. In fact, once it's placed and filled, it feels similar to a softball. The surgeon I had today said that I could "easily knock a little kid out with them." I might try that before bed. Kidding.
Instead, I will spend the next 6 months learning how NOT to sleep on my stomach or side.

'Weighing my options' with some fun implants I found in another drawer. They're really lucky that people don't steal their cool drawer stuff. I don't know what my fascination is with doctor's office drawers. I couldn't care less what people have in their house drawers and cabinets, but put me in a doctor's office unattended and I'm like a kid at Christmas. Ace bandages and gloves?? Score! :)

Tastes like chicken!

Getting ready to have the drains removed. The doctor and nurse counted to 3 and pulled them out at the same time. It was a little sore for a few minutes but feels great now. Easy Peasy.

Here is the handy stud finder. He uses this to find the little silver circle in my expanders. That's where they insert the needles for my fills.

This is me trying to persuade them to throw an extra 75 in each one. He flatly told the nurse to stop at 50 for today. Come on, man! Let's stretch these suckers!

If I weren't actually going through this right now, I would totally think people were just making it up as they describe the breast reconstructive process.
How can you not just lie there and laugh as two people simultaneously shoot fluid in your softballs with gigantic syringes? It looks like an SNL sketch!
I love my life.