bless the breast minus Cystosarcoma Phyllodes: Time Passes June 2013

I hadn't realized that so much time had passed since I last wrote. All thing seem to become less poignant when you wait. Well, wasn't as long as I thought. You see I had written in January but forgot to post. So, some of this may be redundant.

The end of December I had a little in office surgery on my left breast to help balance things out a bit. It wasn't so bad - a little anti-anxiety med, lots of topical anesthetic, and the cutting out of about 1"x 5" of skin really didn't seem like an awful thing! And it did help to improve the symmetry. No general anesthetic, and no facility charge made it a whole lot cheaper.

As time elapses I still see asymmetry and think that more work is needed, though I will wait until next year. It's hard to get necklines to hit my chest at the right place so that my right "rise" doesn't show. In order to fill in the depression left by the mastectomy we used a larger in diameter implant to help fill some of the space. My insurance doesn't cover fat injections for filling in such depressions. I think I have come to the conclusion that it would be better to have a deeper depression on the right side of my chest than it is to have one breast appear higher than the other and difficulty dressing appropriately.

I was so excited recently to hear that the FDA has approved the long-used in Europe Natrelle silicone implant that does not leak. Thanks to cosmetic surgeons advertising their services on TV I know what to ask for if ever I exchange my current implant for another.

I went for my two year mammogram and checkup in May. Everything looks good. Bless Dr. I. He's such a great surgeon - takes the time to discuss everything from asymmetry to helping educate me on results, self breast exam, and risks. He said that he has seen about 1-2 Cystosarcoma Phyllodes/year over the last ten years. So, they don't happen very often. Frequently I remind myself how fortunate I am that my tumor was benign, and how things could have been so different. It truly changes my outlook in many ways.

We are having a step challenge at work for 6 weeks, so I am walking sometimes 2+hours/day. Between work and walking, I'm not doing much else. However, I am enjoying the scent of flowers in bloom as I walk, and the beautiful blooms. What a lovely way to help balance out the emotions and put things in perspective.

I have been continuing to work with steel and with glass. I'll post a couple photos for you.