This afternoon I will have a second expansion in my right side (right “boob-like structure . . . don’t know what else to call it, it certainly isn’t a breast and isn’t really boob-like, but, all in time, I guess).
I am nervous about it. I know what it is like to undergo expansions prior to radiation, but, I do NOT know what it is like to have it after radiation. The skin and muscle are damaged by the radiation treatments I had and so expansion is trickier. It is already clear that one area will not allow for expansion. This is not a problem, I don’t think, but, it does mean more surgery . . . my surgeon says that she will “lift” the left side a bit in order to compensate for the right side coming in higher. The right side is higher because the skin and muscle, in the lower part of where my breast used to be, will not allow for any expansion. It will be okay. This is just all part of what I bargained for when I decided to go forward with radiation treatment.
I had one or two oncologists tell me that radiation treatment was optional. But, my UCLA oncologist thought I should do it and so did my radiation oncologist at Hoag. And, in Canada, they have been opting to radiate women with breast cancer who have no lymph node involvement and have found that the survival rates go up. The US is currently doing clinical trials on radiation and lymph node involvement (Canada is a bit ahead of the US with respect to breast cancer treatment). So, many physicians here look to what is being done in Canada. In any case, I opted for having the radiation treatment and I can not afford to have any regrets about it now.
Besides, the whole point of doing it was to avoid having regrets . . . I didn’t want to look back after all of this treatment and think: darn, I wish I had gone ahead with the radiation treatment . . .
So, it is what it is. I may have to have some extra things done in order to have “breasts” work out, but, hopefully it was the right decision. No second guessing things now 🙂
Wish me luck today with my expansion . . . ouch, well, hopefully no ouch 🙂
Love and peace,
Lisa
cancerfree2b 
Good luck today, Ms. Cancer-Free!
And not that you asked my opinion, but here it is anyway: radiation was definitely the right thing to do. You don’t want to leave anything on the table, so to speak, when it’s life and death. You do EVERYTHING, and who cares which part actually killed off the cancer cells? The point is that they’re gone! So enjoy being cured, and take a moment to savor the bright blue southern California sky today. 🙂
Love,
Sandy
Hello, my dear friend!
Thank you! I don’t have regrets about doing the radiation. I am just anxious about today’s procedure . . . and the several to follow. But, this too, like all of what preceded it, shall pass. I can’t wait to be through the surgery, through the recovery. In the meantime, I am enjoying this first period of time without so much cancer interference. I had two gigs this weekend, it was a lot, but, it was fun. I can’t say I am back to being much of a bass player yet, but, my blues group is either extremely patient or deaf 🙂 I love them for which ever it is 🙂
Thank you for your words of encouragement . . . and, of course I want your opinion! 🙂
I hope to see you very soon! Oh, and I went for a quick (very short) run on the beach today, so I did get a little time out in the sun . . . it is a beautiful day today!
Hoping to see you soon,
Much love,
Lisa
Oh yeah, and I do enjoy being cured . . . thank you for reminding me of that . . . 🙂
Not like I could ever forget it, but, still . . . it does tend to put things in perspective, doesn’t it?
Love,
L.