1. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sat, Jul 04, 2009, 2:55 pm PDT

I am a breast cancer survivor - (14 years) and I think it is WRONG of you to put so much emphasis on what the breasts LOOK like, before and after......we are talking about LIFE here, not LOOKS!!! - No woman wants to loose her breast to a mastectomy, but when faced with the disease spreading, there is no contest. As far as Playboy - please, lets be serious here. Sexiness comes from WITHIN, and accepting ourselves as we are inside, altered or not. I am thrilled to hear that more women are being allowed to keep their breasts intact and even more so the lymph system, but again, the real focus is on LIFE!

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2. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Sun, Jul 05, 2009, 10:01 pm PDT

That's one issue I'd actually buy.

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3. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jul 07, 2009, 11:06 am PDT

I had seen pictures of women who had mastectomies without reconstruction and it really bothered me to see the long scars. When I decided to have a bi-lateral mastectomy, I thought that I would need to go for counseling if the scars were a constant reminder that I had had cancer. I was in the mode of focusing on Life and not breasts. My breast surgeon told me that I must see a plastic surgeon first and that has made all of the difference. I had reconstruction with implants (not enough fat to use my own tissue) and I look in the mirror when I get out of shower now and feel normal. Reconstruction for me was not about being sexy or wearing revealing clothes, it is about being able to get on with your life and feel whole again.

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4. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jul 07, 2009, 9:48 pm PDT

★★★★ Your healthy questionnaire : http://mybody.cc/cancer.htm ★★★★

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5. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jul 07, 2009, 9:49 pm PDT

★★★★ Your healthy questionnaire : http://mybody.cc/cancer.htm ★★★★

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6. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Jul 08, 2009, 4:06 am PDT

great article very easy to read & understand thanx from all females

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7. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Jul 08, 2009, 7:29 am PDT

I am a 3-time cancer survivor (ovarian stage I, breast stage IIa/IIb, colon stage I). I came across this article and clicked on the link, hoping to find some great info and advocacy. Instead? I found an article that did nothing other than say a lot of useless fluff. I understand the need to describe what a mastectomy was like years ago. However, if I had been a newly diagnosed patient, and read this article, I would have been completely misguided. You said nothing at all about what a mastectomy is "like." I had a bilateral mastectomy, and your words did not even touch upon the raw emotion involved in recovery. When I woke up from my 6 hour surgery, my first thought was, "I changed my mind!!" I had a prophylactic mastectomy on the non-cancer side, because I wanted a better quality of life. I did not want to spend my days worrying about whether or not it was going to come back. Of course, in reality, things did not go according to my carefully structured plan. I DO worry each and every day about cancer coming back. I DO struggle with having gone from DDD to barely a B cup. I DO struggle with the breasts I now have, because I HATE them. Your article made it sound like a piece of cake. You don't even mention how horrific a recovery the DIEP or TRAM flap surgery can be for some women. You don't mention that implants totally suck and if you asked women who had them, a lot of us would grumble and moan. A mastectomy (today) is oftentimes EXTREMELY painful, can really do a job on a woman's self-esteem, and the scars that remain are both inside and out. I think you could have really used this article to help women who are just beginning the journey, but instead, you told us how the first surgeon thought an 8cm tumor was relatively small. Nobody really cares about that if they are getting ready for surgery. What they care about is if it is going to hurt, how they will feel emotionally, how their intimate life will be. Please choose a different path the next time you write about breast cancer. Help the women who need help.

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8. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Jul 08, 2009, 6:16 pm PDT

I had a tram flap masectomy almost five years ago and am still cancer-free (whoo-whoo!). I had two lumpectomies and three biopsies before deciding to remove the entire breast. I chose not to have implants because I wanted a "one shot" surgery, to be over and done with it after so many months of worrying. I did not want to have to go back to get the implants inflated and worry about rupture. Looking back, and with today's improvementsI might make a different choice. They let me stay in the hospital four days and sent me home alone. While it was extremely painful for the first week, the drugs helped you sleep. I had "drains" that needed to be cleaned at home which was gross, but a necessity. Within two weeks, I was up and walking around, and back to work (a necessity). I am very happy with the results of the breast. My husband has never made me feel self-conscious, and you can't tell even in a bathing suit. The breast was swollen and too firm at first, but it became softer and more realistic. I chose not to have implants because I wanted to be but didn't know I could develop a "fat" hernia on my left side from weakening of the abdominal wall. It is not painful or dangerous, but disappointing. They tried to correct it with mesh reinforcement, but it came back so I gave up and accepted it as a new part of me. Instead of two lady lumps, I have three! And a side-to-side scar, but it is very low and hidden by my bathing suit bottoms. Another thing that I was not prepared for: I had no feeling or sensation to hot or cold in the surgery site, from the breast down to the incision above my pubic bone. No feeling at all. Not even to the touch or a hot cup of coffee. The positive was that I had no cramps or gas pains for four years! The sensations are slowly coming back after five years and I have spotty areas where I can feel the touch of a hand and some temperature, but it's like when your hand goes to sleep. I also miss my nipple, but it could not be saved as I had ductal carcinoma. I have a circular scar and a brown tattoo, which faded. But it worked fine on the topless beach, nobody stared or gawked! All in all, I am just happy to still be here, and I wish you the best surgeons like I had!

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9. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Jul 09, 2009, 7:45 am PDT

The chirpy, cheery tone of this article does not reveal the very real psychological, emotional toll that losing a breast takes on women. It's not enough to say that surgery options are improved. All options, including the best reconstruction options out there, still leave women numb, without sensation. Yes, Lillie, I've read your books and know you're one of the rare women to get some sensation back in your reconstructed breasts. But let's not kid ourselves - it's not the same - will never be the same - no matter what falsely cheerful face you put on it. If I could have, I would have elected to have lumpectomy. Hands down - no question - better a changed breast that is my own, sags and all with sensation - than the best recon available. Fresh, perky breast-like mounds that are numb is no real substitute. This article reads more like an ad for your surgeons, not an informative piece for women facing the challenge of deciding an appropriate course of treatment for themselves.

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10. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Fri, Jul 10, 2009, 8:26 am PDT

The fake nipples are freaky looking - do these guys think that nipples are that big? do the women plastic surgeons (the few that are out there) make such large nipples? Is there a medical reason (like need for blood supply) that requires the nipples be so large? And bb - reconstruction methods have improved - there is much, much less risk of hernia with the DIEP method (no muscle taken) and other free flap designs - they still are no substitute for the real thing - and there still isn't any sexual sensation - maybe a turn on for the partner - but nothing for the woman.

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11. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jul 14, 2009, 5:41 am PDT

I would have loved for this procedure to have been available 10 years ago when my mother had her masectomy done. She doesn't talk much about not having her breast or skin left for breast reconstruction and the blow on self esteem she has taken, but as a woman I know is there, hidden between her strong character and her will to live.

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12. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Tue, Jul 14, 2009, 1:16 pm PDT

Why Playboy magazine?!? Why not any normal womans magazine? Why promote porn?

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13. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Wed, Jul 15, 2009, 12:39 pm PDT

One of my best friends just had this surgery four days ago-she has her own nipples and minimal pain...emotionally it is tough...but she does not regret beause she knows herself well enough to listen to her inner voice...I think that is the key here, on this and on other women's issues...we need to trust ourselves, to honor our inner strength instead of the external voice of paternalism. Thank you, Kali

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14. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 11:24 am PDT

While I hope to never need to use this information.....I am glad I know that perceived "womenhood" can be maintained. Thanks

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15. Posted by A Yahoo! Health User on Thu, Jul 16, 2009, 7:45 pm PDT

After reading the previous coments I feel especially blessed to have had the oppertunity to leave first opinion and dignosis of my local Dr. and move on to a new hospitat and Doctor who beleived in breast preservation. I had lobular cancer in my right breast and ductual in the left. After chemo to reduce the 5cm to a 2 the mass was removed with NO scaring and no disfigurment. I was treated with love, dignity and respect. Moffitt Research and Treatment center has the best Doctors and oncologest in the world. Thank God my daughter insisted that I go there.. Erie

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