My Expansion Process

The whole expanding process has been...well, it's been a lot of things. It's exciting. It's foreign. It's scientific. And it's painful. Today, I offer to you hand-drawn exhibits of each step I've taken in the expansion process. Got questions? Ask! 

right: 150cc, left: 150cc
(rectangles = tape over my incisions)

Exhibit A (October 25): my post-op breast skin over slightly filled prepubescent-looking expanders. Dr. B (plastic surgeon) was able to put in 150cc saline into my expanders. I remember the morning after surgery when Dr. B came to check in on me and peek at my chest. When he was unhooking the "iron maiden" bra I was wearing, I began to wonder what I'd see. Bruises? An Edward Scissorhands type of craft project gone wrong? Zig zags? Concave chest? Much to my delight, I beheld something vastly different from what my imagination conjured up that morning. I had breasts. Well, ok...breast look-alikes. They were small, but they were there. What a great feeling.

right: 270cc, left: 270cc

Exhibit B (November 7): my first fill. Dr. B's office gave me 2 weeks to heal post-surgery before "giving" me any saline. That day, Jill gave my expanders 120cc of saline. Not bad for a first fill, and a noticeable difference - immediately! Also...the pain of the expansion for 4-5 days. Ouch. I posted "cancer porn" pictures about the process in this earlier post.

right: 350cc, left: 350cc

Exhibit C (November 14): my second fill. After giving Jill an accurate account about the first fill and my days in pain - that, and there didn't seem to be a hurry since I'd likely have chemo first and be able to expand slowly - they decided to go easy on me. They stopped at 80cc that day. I only felt pain for 1 day.

right: 470cc, left 350cc

Exhibit D (November 22): my third fill. A lot changed in a week's worth of time. After meeting with Mr. Clinical Trial Guy we learned that, much to my dismay, radiation must come first. Then the clinical trial chemo - per clinical trial protocol. Time to switch into super-expando mode because radiation needs to begin 6-8 weeks after surgery. No later. Heather (Jill's stand-in) was my contact that day. She said that based on radiation needs, it was time to stop expanding the left side and focus only on getting the right side expanded beyond what I'll want in the end.

Radiation in a nutshell:
-My right breast skin will be expanded beyond what I want to end up with cup-wise. This is because of the effects radiation has on the skin. It tightens everything up and although I'll do what I can to keep things "supple," radiation will no doubt result in tighter, not-so-stretchy skin. Being over-expanded on the right gives Dr. B. some skin to work with come time for my "switch-out surgery" (trading expanders for implants). 

-My left breast skin will stay low profile from now through radiation. The radiation planes they need to use on me require some radiation to pass low in front of my left chest area. Nobody wants to radiate anything they don't have to - skin, organs, etc. That's why the left breast skin is going to stay safe under the radiation plane and why it is going to stay small throughout my radiation treatments (5 weeks). I'll get that one filled after radiation - at a normal pace!

Since I kinda had a feeling of what I was in for that day, I prepared for this appointment by taking a muscle relaxant an hour beforehand. (And for 2-3 days after, too.) That's partially why, I'm convinced, I was able to take 120cc of saline in the right breast. Yowzers! That's a LOT. My pecs were unhappy that afternoon, night, and the next day. Oh yeah, and did I mention a PT appointment right after this fill? Crazy! And yet...I think it helped even out the hurt, if that makes any sense.

right: 590cc, left: 350cc

Exhibit E (November 28): my fourth fill. According to Jill, my skin is looking healthy, recovering well from surgery, and responding well to super expansion. I still have more weeks to go by before I'm given permission to swim (boo!), but I can now take my exercise up a few notches and elevate my heart rate to the point where I get pink in the face and sweat. Woo-hoo! I received another 120cc in my right breast and, they think that if I can handle another fill next week, expansion might be done on that side. <big sigh - and finger crossing!>

right: 695cc, left: 350cc

Exhibit F (December 5): my fifth fill. Everything is looking nice and my skin is doing well. I took in 105cc in my right breast and that, folks, is a wrap! At just under 700cc on the right, my expansion pre-radiation is done and it's time to call the radiation oncologist. Thank goodness for diazepam pills. They helped me get through the expansion at the office and helped for a several days afterwards when my right arm and breast were quite uncomfortable.