The breast expanders what does that mean in Cancer battle

Basically I heard so many words I didn't understand. What do they mean? So many choices, ouch which one shall I use. They all seem ok but they all have ups and downs, my mind is whirling, what to do and what not to do.

You will make the right choice. But for me this was it.

#sharing #awareness #iamstillawoman #myjourney #survivor

During implant reconstruction, if you're having the implant inserted at the same time as mastectomy (immediate reconstruction) and enough tissue is available to cover the implant, your plastic surgeon will place the breast implant under your chest muscle after your breast surgeon has removed the breast tissue.

If a large amount of skin is removed during mastectomy or you're having the staged approach to implant reconstruction (delayed-immediate reconstruction), your plastic surgeon places a tissue expander between the skin and chest muscle after your breast surgeon has removed the breast tissue. A tissue expander is an implant that’s more like a balloon. It stretches the skin to make room for the final implant.

Unfilled tissue expander
A Tissue expander -- unfilled
B Port
C Catheter
D Syringe
E Ribs
F Pectoralis major muscle
G Other muscles of the chest wall
Filled tissue expander
A Tissue expander -- filled
B Port
C Catheter
D Syringe
E Ribs
F Pectoralis major muscle
G Other muscles of the chest wall

If you have an expander put in and there is any chance you will have radiation therapy, be sure your surgeon uses an expander with a plastic port, not a metal one. A metal port interacts with the radiation right around the metal and produces excessive, unnecessary skin damage. If you already have an expander with a metal port, ask the plastic surgeon about possibilities that include:

replacing the expander with an implant before starting radiation therapy
quickly finishing expansion so an implant can be inserted before starting radiation therapy
inserting a permanent expander (with a plastic port) that will become your implant after radiation therapy is finished

Comments

Kate Jackson Breast Cancer a flash back

THE MOST MOMENTOUS CHANGE IN Kate Jackson's life began early one morning in January 1987, during her fourth season on the hit TV series Scarecrow and Mrs. King. After a phone call informed her that the show's taping was canceled because costar Bruce Boxleitner had the flu, Jackson went back to sleep. When she woke several hours later, "It was out of the blue, but perfectly clear," she recalls. "I sat up in bed and literally said, 'You have to have a mammogram.' " She did, and two days later a biopsy confirmed her vague fears: A minute growth found in her left breast was determined to be malignant. "I was forced to face, squared up, my own mortality," says Jackson. "I had to decide whether I wanted to live or to die. And if you choose life, as I did, it's never the same." For three TV seasons 16 years ago, she was famous as Sabrina Duncan, a girl-next-door gone glamorous and the character critics dubbed the brainiest o

"Hard nipples" - areola or nipple skin

Someone once wrote"... when i get really cold, or get goosebumbs all over my body, the whole things really scrunch up, like, my entire areola scrunches itself up into a wrinkled little mound. it looks really weird and ugly, and i haven't ever seen other people's breasts do it. what is wrong with my areola/nipples??" The answer: Well nothing is wrong. This is what my areola does too. It's a normal reaction to the coldness or to irritation / stimulation. The little muscles in the areola do a similar goosebump thing as your other skin can do. People often call this phenomenon "hard nipples". Also note that skin on areola has less feeling or sensation to it than other areas of your body. If the areola was very sensitive, then breastfeeding would probably be quite uncomfortable because the baby pulls and tugs it! The nipples are sensitive but the sensitivity changes with hormonal changes, such as occur at mestrual cycle or pregnancy. Also this v

The four stages of breast development

In Stage 1 shows the flat breasts of childhood. By Stage 2, breast buds are formed as milk ducts and fat tissue develop. In Stage 3, the breast become round and full, and the areola darkens. Stage 4 shows fully mature breasts. (Illustration by GGS Information Services.) period begins. Usually these signs are accompanied by the appearance of pubic hair and hair under the arms. Once ovulation and menstruation begin, the maturing of the breasts begins with the formation of secretory glands at the end of the milk ducts. The breasts and duct system continue to grow and mature with the development of many glands and lobules. The rate at which breasts grow varies significantly and is different for each young woman. Breast development occurs in five stages: Stage One: In preadolescence, the breasts are flat and only the tip of the nipple is raised. Stage Two: Buds appear, breast and nipple are raised, fat tissue begins to form and the areola (dark area of skin that surrounds

I am still a woman - Confessions of a twice cancer survivor - my journey by Nina Ann McCurley

Search This Blog