Getting confidence back after a mastectomy

26th November 2011

 

Angela Beaumont, 60, from Leeds.

Angela's diagnosis was that her breast cancer was initially inoperable, and it meant she needed to receive six months of chemotherapy before surgeons could operate. She eventually had a mastectomy and immediate reconstruction in her right breast in January 2011. Angela met with a breast surgeon and a plastic surgeon, BAPRAS member Simon Kay, before she underwent her mastectomy, to discuss the full range of options available to her at that time. A skin preserving mastectomy with immediate TRAM flap transplantation of abdominal fat was considered to be the best option in terms of outcome, and the one that Angela also felt most comfortable with.

Angela says: "Despite the fact I had been diagnosed with cancer, I can still stay that the whole experience - from diagnosis to reconstruction - has been very assuring, thanks to a really strong team supporting me. Quite simply, I couldn't have had better care."

"I also count myself very lucky to have had six months during which to re-evaluate my life, throughout my chemotherapy. Initially, the idea of coming out of hospital without a breast was difficult to comprehend - I couldn't get my head around it at all. However, meeting with my plastic surgeon made me realise that immediate reconstruction was an option for me, which made the whole thing much easier to deal with."

"I'm delighted with the kind of reconstruction I received - the fact that I was able to discuss this with a plastic surgeon ahead of time meant many of my concerns were answered. Just six weeks after my operation I went on holiday, and to be able to look ‘normal' made all the difference."

 

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