tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post270029616796844653..comments2024-03-20T09:47:02.453-04:00Comments on BreastFree Blog: Like Mother(-in-Law), Like Daughter(-in-law)Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-38409410992192355082017-10-10T22:53:59.892-04:002017-10-10T22:53:59.892-04:00I am sorry you have to go through this at a young ...I am sorry you have to go through this at a young age. While it's true that reconstruction pictures far exceed examples of women without reconstruction, there's definitely been a shift during the past few years, with many more younger women opting not to have reconstruction. And now there are groups like Flat and Fabulous, as well as articles in newspapers and magazines highlighting the non-reconstruction option. One just came out this week in the Philadelphia Inquirer: http://www.philly.com/philly/health/in-a-breast-obsessed-world-more-women-go-flat-after-mastectomy-20171004.html. And I was recently interviewed for an upcoming article in CURE Magazine. Best of luck and I hope you feel you still look incredible once you've had your surgery.Barbarahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08024374769958052453noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-21301779700634021722017-10-10T22:31:40.580-04:002017-10-10T22:31:40.580-04:00you still have readers..... I am likely going to g...you still have readers..... I am likely going to get a bilateral mastectomy just for DCIS, due to young age etc. but can't fathom having fake breasts. Yet women with implants often appear like "nothing happened" at all, which can seem to benefit them. I just don't feel confident in the possible results, especially if they are numb. My mom went that route and hugging her is like confronting a hard breast wall. I don't like it at all. So I will go flat. Yet I'm quite sad over my incredible bod being altered for life. I don't want to have to change. It's hard to look in the mirror and imagine the future. Trying to focus on how nice it will feel to have a flat chest, and other things I can do to improve my physical form. The internet is drowning way too much in reconstruction videos and pictures. I feel like a total minority. I wish I had a positive example to follow or have inspire me.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-46256227603171699272009-06-09T14:49:11.813-04:002009-06-09T14:49:11.813-04:00Thanks so much I am 9 months out of a double maste...Thanks so much I am 9 months out of a double mastectomy and did not do reconstrution after reading all the different input of others. It was and is still very informative and I am ever so grateful to all of you. I am having some lymphodemia in my arm, back and chest for which I just picked up a compression bra that I think is going to make my life more comfortable. I wish there were a support group in my area (breastfree) so we could get together every once in a while it would be fun.maryannnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-31038568321752016202009-05-31T09:38:09.239-04:002009-05-31T09:38:09.239-04:00Barbara,
You pointed me toward this blog when I w...Barbara,<br /><br />You pointed me toward this blog when I wrote into one of the discussion boards on breastcancer.org. Thank you so much for doing so--Reggie's story and your own are so inspiring. I know in my heart that reconstruction would for me make an unreal situation even more so, and your website brings that instinct even more into focus. I'll continue to read your blog for inspiration, information and support. lynnmarieUnknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09051642362897235012noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-69675010378361617672009-05-11T23:09:00.000-04:002009-05-11T23:09:00.000-04:00I've been living one-breasted since Feb. 2007. I s...I've been living one-breasted since Feb. 2007. I still may have reconstruction, but one-breastedness has become political for me. In her Cancer Journals, Audre Lorde compares survivors to Moshe Dayan. No one tells him to put in a glass eye instead of an eyepatch, she writes. (Back in 1980.) Lorde writes: "Prosthesis offers the empty comfort of 'Nobody will know the difference.' But it is that very difference which I wish to affirm, because I have lived it, and survived it, and wish to share that strength with other women...women with mastectomies must be visible to each other."Cancer Bitchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02493964569973156968noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-32363535938425851382009-05-07T10:35:00.000-04:002009-05-07T10:35:00.000-04:00Thanks for this site. I came here before my doubl...Thanks for this site. I came here before my double mastectomy which was 5/1/09. The information aided in my choice to have no reconstruction. I am so grateful to the brave women who posted their photographs here. Just having seen those made it easier when I first looked. I make the decision to look down and see cancer gone..Yesterday when doctor called to say path report showed more cancer in right, but that she got it all; I ran outside and danced in my yard...I win Cancer lostAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-48082831692971598472009-04-28T15:17:00.000-04:002009-04-28T15:17:00.000-04:00just found your blog, I had a double mastectomy, t...just found your blog, I had a double mastectomy, thanksAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-45588286387102428682009-04-28T11:53:00.000-04:002009-04-28T11:53:00.000-04:00Thanks Barbara for this blog and your website. It'...Thanks Barbara for this blog and your website. It's been a VERY helpful resource for me--I am deciding to go the breast free route after my upcoming double mastectomy.amyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17035261413583643395noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-13785015393824178372009-03-29T11:38:00.000-04:002009-03-29T11:38:00.000-04:00I love the fact that you are giving permission to ...I love the fact that you are giving permission to others to be more "transparent." Not just about being "breastfree" but in so many other occasions when they "take the road not taken. Now they will feel free to tell others about their path. That's the connection we all have to your endeavor. Thanks to you, some day Google will realize that breastfree is a word.Kim Mosleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17658600791743162004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-1849006638466441892009-03-29T08:14:00.000-04:002009-03-29T08:14:00.000-04:00For complicated reasons, I had to wait six months ...For complicated reasons, I had to wait six months between my decision to have a bilateral mastectomy and the actual surgery date. I'm a journalist, so I'm used to tracking down experts and ordinary people with firsthand experience. And it was easy to find people to tell me about reconstruction. Plastic surgeons provided consultations, albums of their work, even movies about the various procedures. I also had friends who had had reconstruction, and I listened to their accounts (one showed me the impressive result). But I couldn't find any experts or ordinary women who could tell me what it was like to take the route I was considering—no breasts at all, inside or out. So eventually I just had to wing it. I'm happy with my decision, though it's one that presents daily wardrobe dilemmas since most clothing in America today is designed to highlight an ample bosom. I wish there was a clothing sector--like the plastic surgery or prosthesis industries--catering to my particular clothing needs. But aside from some fairly expensive boutique options, I've been left to my own devices. Not a tragedy, certainly, but something I'm forced to think about every day two years out from the surgery.Miahttp://underthestinkwoodtree.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-5227287950488401632009-03-29T01:53:00.000-04:002009-03-29T01:53:00.000-04:00What a beautiful and inspirational story!~elaine~(...What a beautiful and inspirational story!<BR/><BR/>~elaine~<BR/>(starzhere on BC.org)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5326592408611482570.post-75327859899117535052009-03-29T01:34:00.000-04:002009-03-29T01:34:00.000-04:00What a lovely tribute to a lovely woman! You have...What a lovely tribute to a lovely woman! You have already offered a great deal of support to people facing the myriad decisions breast cancer entails. I look forward to following your blog! DawnAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com