Breast cancer

Hi Heather-g,

it's great to hear that you feel so well after the surgery.

I don't really know, how I can help you with your fear of the scar.

But I wish to mention, that the scar may frighten you first. But it will look much better after it has healed for some weeks.

It is important that you do your exercises, and then later scar massage, too.

I was shown pictures of scars before I had the mastectomy. They looked more frightening to me than my own, when I saw it, after the dressing was removed.

Hi

Nothing that is a concern to you is minor .

Its now 6 weeks since my surgery 4/7 and I'm comfortable looking at scar. I was lucky that I sneaked a look almost straight away ,hardly conscious lol .

I also had a BCN who visited ,sat down and demanded to know if I had looked when I said yes she answered I mean a proper look ! Do it now while I. Here to answer questions ! The dressing was still on so felt ok . By the Third day in hospital myself and another patient 

" shared " our scars  lol.

All I can say is it never looked as bad as I thought It would .. not pretty but hey ho ! Not horrific either . Just the new me .

A better me ..beating the beast earning my scar . All sounds very deep but hopefully helping you to feel differently about looking at your scar .

I know we're all different and our reactions to what we are going through are as diverse as we all are .  I use a small hand mirror to check scar . That might help you as you only see scar not where it is .

A visit to your BCN might help you as the viewing of your scar would be more medical . I can only reassure you that I believe it won't be as bad as your imagination . 

I will remind you how upset and anxious you were before op and then relaxed and relieved when home

It is all in the eyes of the beholder twice now my surgeon has said what a lovely wound looks really good my answer was .. matter of opinion

Hello heather, I know how you feel, I couldn’t look at mine either. When the nurse checked it before I was discharged I looked away!! I left the dressing on until I saw my consultant for the 2 week follow up, he took the dressing off, stood me in front of a mirror and took a long time explaining the scar and how it would heal etc. To be honest I was very surprised how very neat it was.

Having only ever had 1 boob due to Poland’s syndrome I now have a matching pair! Every cloud and all that..........

dont feel rushed, you’ll do this in your own time and you’ve enough to process as it is.  Be kind to yourself. 

Much love and hugs x

Hi

I had my surgery 8 weeks ago and I think its the thought of seeing it is worse than actual seeing it for the first time. I was nervous to see mine but kept telling myself I can live with a scar and so pleased that the cancer was out of my body. The more you look at it an as they will probably tell you to moisturise daily you will find that horrible feeling will go. I just look at mine daily and I am so thankful to be alive and cancer free. I am sure you will be fine when you get use to seeing it daily and I can understand how hard this is for you but keep positive and you will get there

xx 

Thank you Margaret for your reply. Hope you are recovering well yourself ?i’m seeing  my Surgeon tomorrow. Sure he’ll want to see my scar !!  

You’re right when you say how anxious I was before my op to where I am today. Think once I see my scar....... i’ll “ nurture it” in a way, it’s my battle scar.. Take care Margaret... continued health xx

Thank you Rita for your words of comfort. You’re right, you can live with a scar.... the cancer has left, that’s the best news ever.  I know I will see it eventually, think it’s just the unknown. ?  I just have to talk to myself and say “ why do I have a scar”.  Hopefully i’ll get the results that say the “ beast” has gone. !!!  Take care , continue to improve xx 

Hi Ruthie2 so good to hear of your advice. So good to hear you now have a matching pair ! I’m seeing mybConsuktant tomorrow. He’ll want to see my scar,,,, maybe i’ll have the courage to take a look,, Hope so, . Think once I can do that.... I can move on with my life. One step at a time and all that .......  love and hugs xxxx 

Hello 

Good to hear you are recovering really well.  

I am a bit blase about my scar as I have so many others.  When I was 17 I had a major motorcycle road accident and the front of one of my legs was de-gloved to a part of my shin had 1cm depth x 10cm length of bone showing.  I had to have muscle transplanted from my calf onto the front of my leg to cover the bone and my leg was sewn back on at the knee.  So, from my knee downwards to my foot my leg is all scar tissue, and a very random shape due to the muscle graft and then as I had a skin graft over the muscle, I have a skin graft scar on my thigh.  I also lost my elbow in that road accident and had it plated, so I have a scar from my upper arm to my forearm over my elbow area and the plates stick out too. (needless to say, I always wear trousers!, but no-one even notices my arm).  I have had some funny moments with my leg as I normally warn any medical person about the state of it (smear tests etc) so they aren't shocked when they see it.  I had to see my plastic surgeon a couple of years ago due to an infection in it and I forgot to warn his nurse assistant.  It was the biggest sharp intake of breath I have heard from a nurse when I rolled up my trouser leg for him to see its progress.  When I first saw this particular plastic surgeon in 2016, they took loads of photos of it for their students (I guess making it look pretty back in the 80's wasn't a priority), so it's going to be used for what not to do these days, ha, ha. 

I guess what I'm trying to say is you might not want to get used to it, but you will and it's important to try and look at the scar as something that is part of you. 

 Despite being told at 17 that due to the massive injuries in my leg that I'd be in a wheelchair at 40, I am still walking at 53 - so much so that not many people realise I am disabled. Plus when I was admitted, the surgeon told my parents it was 1 in a million chance of saving my leg.  So, I see my scars on my leg as a huge positive because I still have that leg.  I look at my breast scar as a positive, because without that operation I wouldn't have lived because the cancer would have spread. 

If it really upsets you once you have seen it, perhaps you could look towards reconstructive surgery in the future? My latest plastic surgeon offered me this for my leg, but I have lived with it and lived with it well for too many years to have extra surgery - it is part of me and what has made me me.  Your mastectomy scar is part of you and being someone who has got through it you will no doubt be a stronger women for what you have been through.

Kindest wishes,

Hi Heatherg, 

I had no option but to see my mx scar virtually straight away as it was glued rather than having a dressing. It was no big deal, my surgeon had explained that she would join up two previous op scars (in previous times I had two cysts removed; at the time they removed rather than drained cysts) and that my scar would be sort of horizontal across my new breast (I’ve had an implant). The whole op then had to be repeated as I’d bled, producing a big haematoma, so 30 hours later I was in theatre again. The same line of incision, the same position of scar and again it was glued. I was glad to see how neat it looked in spite of the glue which was grey and quite wide in area. But I could still see the line and was ok about it. 

I now wonder if my breast unit deciding to glue was a result of patients being afraid to look under their dressings? Or maybe a definitive way of preventing any possible post op infection. Who knows?  But it was definitely a good way to go, I think. It removes the ‘afraid to see’ as even straight after I came round I was able to look. I can’t remember if I was encouraged to look as I was still ‘fuzzy’ but certainly my surgeon had a look and was happy with how it seemed straight away. It was when she saw me the following morning it had swollen and was very painful, and straight away she knew I had to have that follow on surgery. 

Hope you gain the strength to see, maybe when you’re with your BCN as they will help give you that moral support. After all, it’s a result of you getting totally rid of the nasty intruder that is cancer! 

Hugs xxx

Hi

I'm good thanks Heather ,first chemo this morning not as bad as I thought but one down 5 to go . Off to bed shortly for nana  

Good idea to have a look when with surgeon as I said mine was so proud of his neat work !! What I have noticed with mine is that I have nurtured the scar making sure dried properly etc . Using separate towel for that area etc and now using E45 to keep it moisturised . 

What a difference in 7 weeks , I can see the healing process and how much better it looks .

Hope all goes well with your review 

xx