An Update on My Progress, by Caroline

Everything is going smoothly for which I am sooooo grateful.

I had one change in my protocol. I cannot go on Tamoxifen. One of the side effects can be blood clots and since I have a history of having a DVT, I would have to be on a blood thinner for the entirety of the 5 years I will be on the drug. That is not something I am interested in. The alternative is to take a drug called Femara, which basically accomplishes the same thing without the clotting risk. The only caveat is that you have to be post-menopausal, which I am not. I am peri-menopausal – part way through. So, they will start administering Lupron shots which shut my ovaries down completely and will throw me the rest of the way into menopause. Hot flashes, here I come! They were coming anyway, so no biggie.

I have been scheduled for February 7th for a fat grafting procedure. My plastic surgeon, Dr. MacKay, will perform liposuction on my love handles to extract fat to place between my breast skin and where the expanders are currently (which will be replaced with the implants). My skin is thin and Dr. MacKay believes this will give me the best chance to have a successful transition to implants. Plus I have the added bonus of getting rid of my love handles! And all that is an outpatient procedure. I will have general anesthesia, but will get to go home that day.  The liposuction will apparently leave me in a fair amount of pain and I have been told to get some high waisted Spanx because it will help keep things from hurting too much for some reason.

Seven weeks later, I am scheduled for the swapping surgery, as I call it. Dr. MacKay will re-open my original incisions and remove the expanders and replace them with the implants. Since I have very little feeling in my breast tissue, I do not expect this to be bad at all. It is also an outpatient procedure and I’ll be home the same day.

All in all, I am so blessed to be under the care of amazing doctors who put my best interests first. I’m looking forward to getting all this finished. I miss yoga!