If your loved one has been diagnosed with breast cancer, she will almost always be treated surgically, first with an initial biopsy and then later with a lumpectomy, mastectomy, or bilateral mastectomy. Additional surgery may be done on her lymph nodes.
A mastectomy is usually followed with reconstructive surgery by a plastic surgeon, right after the breast surgeon has completed his or her work in the same operating room. Emotional scars often follow the physical scars created by breast surgery.
In one of the earliest research studies on the psychological impact of breast cancer surgery on women, cited by Dr. Barron Lerner in his book Breast Cancer Wars, Richard Renneker, a psychiatrist, and Max Cutler, a breast surgeon, concluded that a woman’s breast is ‘‘the emotional symbol of a woman’s pride in her sexuality and her motherhood,’’ so that a removal of her breast attacked the ‘‘very core’’ of her ‘‘feminine orientation.’’ Breast cancer surgery is an invasion of a woman’s natural body. It’s every woman’s nightmare.
Email
Twitter
Facebook
RSS
3 Comments
My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer on 13 October. We are just beginning the journey. Thank you for writing this book and sharing your story. I look forward to meeting you at the Roanoke area book events and gaining strength from your experience.
Warm regards,
-Brian
Brian,
My wife was diagnosed LAST October. She is doing absolutely terrific today. You nailed it by calling it a journey. I captured quite a bit of our journey on a terrific tool called Caringbridge: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/brendafoster/journal/7
If you skim through the journal, you’ll get a sense of what things happened and when. One thing I kept repeating to myself that Dr. Williams said from that first day, ‘this is 100% curable’. It’s still scary as hell.
I hope you get great docs. I can’t say enough about Dr. Williams, Dr. Fintel (my hero), and Dr. Thomas. Hang in there man. This time next year your bride will be looking and feeling great.
Jay
Jay,
Thank you for the encouraging words and the link to your story. It has been a nice read to understand the process and the pace of treatment. I greatly appreciate this resource.
Dr. Williams is running our show. We will be meeting with the rest of the team next week, as we review the MRI results and finalize the battle plan.
Follow our story: http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/deccaknight
Thanks,
Brian