What I wish I knew before my mastectomy
Merryn shares her breast cancer journey, from mastectomy to reconstruction and life beyond treatment.
Being told you need a mastectomy as part of your breast cancer treatment is very confronting. At the time I thought “OK, I want to live, I can live without my right breast”. But I underestimated the impact it would later have on the use of my right arm and shoulder, and my self-confidence.
Once I’d completed all my chemo and radiotherapy treatment, I decided to swim laps. I gradually increased to swimming 1km two or three times a week. This helped me feel strong again. I loved the water but wearing a prosthetic right breast in my swimmers was awkward and made me feel uncomfortably self-conscious.
After two years, I had a breast reconstruction. This was the best decision. Not only did the reconstruction make me feel physically whole again, it also improved my self-confidence and emotional wellbeing. I had completely underestimated how much a reconstruction would help me heal mentally and emotionally. So, with the benefit of hindsight, I would have planned my reconstruction as early as practical.
Ten years of lap swimming later, I developed rotator cuff issues in my right shoulder, which can’t be surgically fixed due to lymphoedema in my right arm. Perhaps I overdid the swimming. It would have been better to be guided by a physiotherapist with experience of mastectomy recovery. (Be proactive about seeking advice!)
Survival rates from breast cancer are increasing – the vast majority of people now go on to live long lives. It’s so important to seek specialist professional support for your rehabilitation after mastectomy, to minimise the long term side effects.
So, with the benefit of hindsight, I would have planned my reconstruction as early as practical. (Do it at the time of your mastectomy if your medical team advises that’s OK.) And I would have sought specialist physiotherapist support for my rehabilitation.
