Pregnant breast cancer patient with single mastectomy

Stories of Reconstruction: Meet Inessa

Here is Inessa’s story.

Five days after my son’s first birthday, I was diagnosed with a rare malignant phyllodes tumour in my left breast. I also happened to be six weeks pregnant with our second child. My response to the doctor was: “How can I have breast cancer?…I”m so young! And pregnant!”. Moreover, I had been feeling great – I had returned to work early while my husband took four months of parental leave, we had just taken our son on his first trip abroad, and I had just stopped breastfeeding – finally giving my breasts a break – or so I thought!

After an excruciating first week spent Googling survival rates while I waited to meet my surgeon, I prepared myself with questions to ask, not the least of which was “Am I going to die?”. Luckily the response was ‘probably not’. My pregnancy complicated things. I had to wait until I was at least 12 weeks along by which time the aggressive tumour had grown to 10.5cm. Immediate reconstruction was out of the question as it involves a much longer surgery, which poses more risk to the baby. Luckily my single mastectomy (which I had at 13 weeks) was quick and uncomplicated. As I write this at 22 weeks, the baby and I are both doing great. There is no chemotherapy that’s been proven effective for my tumour, but I will be having 25 rounds of radiation two weeks after I give birth. Don’t ask me how I’m going to pull that off because I have no idea!

I plan to have DIEP Flap (where fat, skin, and blood vessels are cut from the wall of the lower belly and used to rebuild your breast) reconstructive surgery about a year after I have the baby, once she’s in daycare and I can take time for myself to recover.

Reconstruction Pros and Cons

Reconstruction is an incredibly personal choice and there are a lot of pros and cons; I’m still debating it. The biggest challenge for me is the downtime. I’ll have to spend 3-4 nights in the hospital and I won’t be able to lift my babies for three months, which seems impossible. After my mastectomy I felt a lot of guilt about taking time off work, not being able to lift my son, and laying ‘useless’ on the couch so I struggle with having to go through this again. The other aspect I have to consider is the future me wanting kids. My surgeons recommended that I don’t have children after the surgery due to risk of hernia. Even though my husband and I only ever planned on having two kids, I don’t like having that choice (or future possibility) taken away from me.

The reconstruction pros for me is not being constantly reminded of the cancer every time I have to put in a prosthetic. I’m only 32 and I feel like I would be more comfortable and happier with myself after reconstruction. I have to admit that I’m also looking forward to the ‘tummy tuck’ aspect of DIEP Flap surgery – let’s just say after two kids I’ll have lots for the surgeons to work with! Most importantly, having reconstruction feels like I’d be closing this very difficult chapter of my life.

A cancer diagnosis can mean a lot of difficult decisions; here in Canada we are lucky to have choices available to us, but they are not always easy. I would recommend everyone considering reconstruction to weigh their own pros and cons and ultimately, be comfortable with whatever decision they make. There is no right decision, only a right decision for you. – Inessa

Click here to read more reconstruction stories.

SPECIAL THANKS TO KNIX FOR PARTNERING WITH US ON THE RETHINK COLLECTION, A LINE OF INTIMATES THAT SUPPORT RETHINK BREAST CANCER WITH EVERY PURCHASE, FOR THE MONTH OF OCTOBER.

You may also be interested in

What You Need To Know About Tissue Expanders
Cute Styles When Your Hair is Growing Back
Cancer is Crap: One Year Later
50 Carroll Street Toronto, Ontario Canada M4M 3G3
Phone: 416 220 0700
Registered Charity #: 892176116RR0001

Join Our Movement

Follow Us

Donate Now

You can make a positive impact in the lives of people impacted by breast cancer

CLICK HERE