Overcoming Breast Cancer Twice: A Journey of Pain, Resilience, and Recovery

Well I had a fascinating discussion with a woman today about her breast cancer experience.

It’s her 2nd time getting breast cancer, the first was pretty straight forward, she had a lumpectomy with no chemo or radiation, no major pain or movement restrictions. Some lymphedema which was resolved after about 10 months.

But the second time was very different. She had terrible pain after her surgery, where she needed narcotic medication to control it, and it was months before she was able to raise her arm above her head.

She developed breast implant illness (BII) on the side she’d had a single mastectomy with implant-based reconstruction. The BII, which went unrecognized, led to extreme fatigue, pain, brain fog and depression.

Our best guess of what happened next was she developed a seroma deep to the implant, against the. chest wall, that got infected. It led to a very swollen, red, hot breast that was exceedingly painful.

Then the seroma suddenly burst, absolutely soaking the bed around her and shocking her completely. Then she had to get explant surgery to get the offending implant removed, but the tissues didn’t knit back together properly so she had a hole about the size of a dime stayed open and continued to leak fluid for about 4 months.

She’s only now just stopped leaking fluid and is not sure what she’s going to do next. She’s asking herself, “Do I need another implant? Do I need to recreate a breast? I’m 72, are breasts that important to me anymore?”

She hasn’t come to any conclusions but she was referred to me to have a conversation about her situation because there’s no one else that she’s really been able to talk to about it; only one partial conversation with her plastic surgeon, who did a very brief visual assessment of her chest after and no palpation.

She’s sees the importance of the work that we are doing, providing much needed care to fill in this after-surgical void that’s the current norm.

I believe we are filling the gap in healthcare that so many people are falling into, and every time I have a conversation like this, it makes me more determined to assist people to heal well, living full and happy lives. 🌟💯