Wow! Things are getting serious. I had the pre-op appointments with my surgeons this past week. If I were to back out of the planned bilateral mastectomy, now would be the time, or at least some time in the next week, because that's all I have! Having the pre-op appointments really made it hit home what I'm about to do.

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When I initially made the decision to have this surgery, I was looking at statistics; numbers that told me if I didn't have this surgery, it was highly likely that I'd get another breast cancer. Being in a scientific field, numbers are easy for me to comprehend, making the decision pretty easy.

But now I look in the mirror, and realize I'm about to chop off a significant chunk of my body! Just the thought of it is amazing. But don't think for a second I'm regretting the decision. Not only will I drop my chances of a recurrent cancer from 65 percent to 2 percent(!), I'll also exchange two sorry saggys for a perky pair! There are benefits!

During the appointment with my plastic surgeon, I had the opportunity to see what the process looked like on two women. One was in the middle of the process and showed me what the expanders looked like. The other had her implants and even had the nipple reconstruction finished. It may seem odd that total strangers would be willing to bare their breasts for me, but I'd probably do the same for other women. Because as I think about it, they're not so much breasts anymore, they're works of ... well not really art, but they are created by a surgeon's hand!

Amazing, what modern medicine can do. For the woman who had finished the process, aside from the scarring, I would never have known that her breasts had been totally reconstructed. And another benefit -- I won't have to wear a bra for a while! I don't know if it's that thought, or if I'm just in need of new bras, but the ones I wear now are seeming more and more uncomfortable each day!

For those of you who don't know, here's what I understand (which really isn't a whole lot) about mastectomy and implant reconstruction. The breast surgeon begins by cutting out the nipple and removing the breast tissue. The nipple must be removed in mastectomy because it contains a significant amount of breast tissue. Next the plastic surgeon cuts away more of the skin, then places something called an expander beneath the skin and muscle tissue. The skin is then sewn together and you're left with a flat chest.

Once the incision begins to heal, the expander is "pumped up" to stretch out the skin. When the expander is inflated to the desired size, it is replaced by a semi-permanent implant. I say "semi" because implants don't last forever. It's possible that I will have to have them replaced as I age ... um ... I mean, increase in maturity!

If I stop to think about it all, it really can become overwhelming. So I'm not going to! In fact, I'm taking the kids to visit my brother on his dairy in New Mexico. Talk about your saggy mammaries! If they could, I wonder if cows would complain?

I may be on vacation, but I that doesn't mean you can take a break from self-exam diligence. Keep getting to know your breasts!

Until next time...
Pam Daale
The Happy Cancer Patient

You can e-mail Pam Daale at Pam_Daale@TheDenverChannel.com.