Seeing surgery scars for the first time

Hi, it’s a shock isn’t it? I had a lumpectomy in 2013 and I was shocked by my scar, neat but all around the nipple and so obvious. Gradually it faded so you could hardly see it. Roll forward to 2021 when I was diagnosed with a second breast cancer and two poor medical students missed that scar in examining me. Hopefully you’ll have the same thing and in a year you’ll be surprised how much it’s faded, all the best x

Hi Mildred,

I had surgery 16 weeks ago followed by RT which finished 6 weeks ago.  My scar is about 7 inches long (I needed quite a lot of tissue removed) from mid armpit to half way down my left breast, and my BCNS encouraged me to look at, and feel the scar at the earliest opportunity.  In my case it that was after only five days (complications with the surgery), when it wasn’t even healed very much.  The ‘feel’ bit naturally comes a bit later, but she stressed it was very important, so that you can become comfortable and accepting of the ‘new’ you, and also that you are able to pick up any new changes at the earliest opportunity.  I found that aspect much harder than just looking, but I’m there now.   The scar wasn’t particularly nice (what scar ever is?), and has changed much over the past weeks.  It got better post surgery as the swelling went down, and worse again during and after RT.  I can say though, 16 weeks on, I think the scaring would not be noticed by many, for example, when wearing a swimsuit, although the ‘missing’ bit of my breast would be, but that’s another matter.  One thing I told myself if I felt I was dwelling on what I’d had done, was that surgery is the primary ‘cure’ for BC, and none of would have as good a prognosis as we might have, without it.  

I wish you all the best in your on-going journey.

Pollyanna x

I guess I was lucky in a way, in that my hospitals breast surgery unit uses glue rather than covering the scar with dressings. It is a dark colour but it does mean you are aware of the scar much earlier in the journey. I found the first surgery (I had a node biopsy before the mx with implant) a bit of a shock seeing the purple-ish colour of the glue but it was ok after the first look. 

It also means no stitch scars.

hugs xxx

Hi, I was quite surprised and amazed  at how neat my scars were last year tbh, and watching them gradually start to heal, neaten and start to fade a bit. I had a lumpectomy with the scar running accross my boob from the nipple towards the underarm and also 3 clear lymph nodes out.  I can hardly see the lymph node one now, about 9.5 months on.

I had to have a re'-excision in May for better margins and whilst the scar is very neat, and fading gradually it's now a bit indented.

However i am fine with it ( I kinda take the view that the scar is there because surgery has potentially saved my life).  It's been helped by having a very supportive and reassuring partner tho, who is super positive about how things now look, when at times I have been critical and  unhappy.  But this has been more to do with getting a bra to fit, now that I am slightly uneven rather than about scars..

I hope you can come to accept your scars as part of you, in time x

Thank you for the reassurance i’ve had exactly the same surgery and to be honest i can now see a massive improvement after three days less redness Ithink it was pure shock and nothing prepares you. 

So true, it is really hard, the changes in your body do take time to get your head around. I’ve subsequently had a mastectomy and recon and decided to tattoo over all my scars, best thing I ever did xx

Thanks for sharing your experience. I will be 10 days post operation on Saturday and am already dreading taking off the dressings. Even showering just now fills me with anxiety looking at the area around the dressing. It’s reassuring to know that others are going through the same thing. Wishing you well with recovery.

After the initially shock I am more accepting of them and can reassure that they are already improving and are less angry I also apply a small amount of bio oil after speaking with my surgeon and breast care nurse at review.

What a relief showering was just letting cool warm water run over them   Bliss 

hope all goes well for xx

That’s good to hear. I am looking forward to showering normally. Best wishes for your continued healing. Xx