Growing up, I was in constant denial regarding the size of my bra. I swore that I wore a 36C, when in actuality, it was more like a 38DD. Since I underwent breast cancer reconstruction my life has changed in many ways with my new set of breasts -- most of them good.
1. I am now in my 50s and my boobs are perky. They do not hang down around my waist.
2. I know that when I arrive at the nursing home when I'm 80-years-old, I will be quite popular with the gentlemen as they will still be perky and lifted.
3. I don't have to wear two running bras anymore; my boobs don't bounce when I run. I actually don't think they bounce at all.
4. I can wear cute little dresses and tops now. They may not necessarily be age-appropriate, but... I don't care. I'm wearing them anyway.
5. Half of the time, I don't even need to wear a bra. My apologies to Victoria's Secret, but I am saving a fortune.
6. I no longer wish for a breast reduction.
Breast reconstruction is not for everyone. There are always risks with any surgery. Infection can cause problems, which for me was constant over the course of four years. And, surgery hurts.
For those of you who lived with smaller breasts, my hope is that if you wanted larger ones, you got them.
The way I see it, there has to be some perks (no pun intended) for we who have lived through breast cancer that have chosen mastectomies and/or lumpectomies and are not capable of living life content without breasts. Although I'm not a doctor, I imagine any breast cancer surgery is likely to leave some kind of scar -- not always to our liking.
Sure, immediate reconstruction from mastectomy to implant sounds great and seems to be the new way to go. I thought that my experience would be similar with the tissue expanders and that after little skin stretching, implants would be inserted and I would be finished. It just didn't work out that way for me and it took a little longer to get where I wanted to be.
I did not get to keep my nipples unfortunately. New ones had to be formed leaving me without the wonderful sensation that I do indeed miss.
The optimist in me believes that one day, an extremely dedicated and intelligent plastic surgeon and/or neurologist will develop a new surgical procedure where they can just slap on a new nipple, connect the nerve endings and voila, the sensation is back; perhaps just in time for the nursing home.
Until then, I am in wonder of the new boobs I have!
For more information about Lisa Masters, visit her at www.Build-A-Boob.com.