Following Mom’s second breast cancer diagnosis in September 2011, she was tested for a BRCA mutation. She tested positive, explaining why she had been targeted by breast cancer twice in only twelve years.
Twelve years ago, in 1999, she was given the choice between a mastectomy and a lumpectomy. Twelve years ago, she didn’t know about the BRCA genes; not many people did, since the BRCA genes had only been discovered about five years earlier. Why have a mastectomy when the cancer tumor could be removed, and any remaining cells could be attacked with chemotherapy and radiation? A mastectomy meant losing her breast and dealing with even more surgery; a lumpectomy seemed like a much easier solution. So she had a lumpectomy.
Twelve years later, it was obvious that a mastectomy would be the smart choice for dealing with this second case of breast cancer. Her BRCA mutation meant that any breast tissue could turn lethal; having a lumpectomy might only be a temporary stop to breast cancer.
On November 9, 2011, we drove over to UCLA Medical Center at the crack of dawn for the mastectomy. Mom had showered and braided her hair the night before and was in all around good spirits. The three of us (Mom, Dad, and me) waited in a small pre-op room. Throughout the next hour, various people popped in to say good morning and explain any last minute surgery details: We saw her breast surgeon, Dr. Helena Chang; her (and later my) plastic surgeon, Dr. Jaco Festekjian; and many members of the anesthesiology team.
Here we are before Mom’s mastectomy…notice her braids! Smart choice.
Mom’s breast reconstruction, done by Dr. Festekjian, was a combination of a DIEP Flap procedure and a tissue expander insertion. Fat tissue from her stomach was used to create a left breast (the DIEP Flap procedure). This was necessary because her left breast, which had been radiated twelve years before, could not support an implant. Some women are able to use the DIEP Flap procedure to recreate both breasts, but Mom was too skinny for that! A tissue expander (like mine!) was inserted under the muscle of her right breast.
Dad and I sat in the hospital waiting room for hours during her surgery. A television screen monitored the progress of each patient, tracking if they were still in surgery or if they had been moved to a recovery room. After more than eight hours, Mom was moved from a recovery room to a hospital room. We were finally allowed to see her.
As expected, she was very drugged up and was also having problems with nausea. But she’s a trooper, and the next few days were easier. I tried to visit her each day after work or school, bringing her food or small gifts. One present was a 20 Questions electronic game. We had a lot of fun with that one, and her nurse was delighted because she had recently purchased the same toy for her grandson but had no idea how to use it! It’s a good thing I was there to teach her. =P
The 20 Questions toy!
After Mom’s mastectomy, her breast tissue was sent to a lab to be biopsied. Since she already had breast cancer, they studied the tumor to determine the next course of action. We were all delighted when Dr. Chang called to say that the tumor was very small and contained, meaning that chemotherapy would be optional! Yahoooooo!
Since it was Mom’s choice and she had already gone through the trauma of chemotherapy and radiation once before, she opted to forgo the optional extra treatments.
Mom, relaxing at home in bed in the days following the mastectomy. Note the Stuffed Usurper, a stuffed animal version of our dog Madeline, who was on vacation in San Diego with her auntie and uncle.
Over the next few months, Mom returned to Dr. Festekjian to have saline inserted into her tissue expander. She also started to see Dr. Amer Karam (my breast surgeon…isn’t he cute?!) about having a prophylactic oopherectomy. Dr. Karam is a gynecologic oncologist and breast surgeon–a true Renaissance man!
A BRCA mutation is not just about breast cancer; it also means an increased risk of ovarian cancer. Since Mom went through menopause already, removing her ovaries (an oopherectomy) was a practical decision.
The timing worked out that Mom’s oopherectomy could be at the same time as her implant exchange surgery, on February 27, 2012. Dr. Festekjian swapped out the tissue expander on her right side for a permanent silicone breast implant. He also took care of a few aesthetic issues associated with the DIEP scar. Dr. Karam performed the oopherectomy.
Since both surgeries were more minor than the mastectomy, Mom was able to come home later that afternoon…and I was able to go to Vegas with my girlfriends the following weekend without worrying about her, whoohoo!
Her recovery has been great since both surgeries. When she regained strength in her upper body, Mom joined the LA Pink Dragons, a dragon boat team of breast cancer survivors. She rows with them twice a week in Long Beach, and she loves it!
Physically, she looks HOT. The DIEP Flap procedure was in essence a tummy tuck, and her reconstructed breasts are slightly bigger than before, making her a large B cup/small C cup. If you’re going to get cancer, you might as well reap the benefits of fighting it off…get a rockin’ bod!
Ticking Time Bombs 
This is the first time in my life anyone has ever said I had a “rockin’ bod,” and I can’t tell you how much that makes me smile. Paddling with the LA Pink Dragons has been a fantastic experience, wonderful physical exericse, and a huge help in combatting the lymphodema in my left arm from the removal of lymph nodes. Interested survivors should check to see if there is a Breast Cancer Survivor dragon boat team in your area…they’re all over the U.S. and the world!
In 1999, when so little was known about the BRCA genes and Triple-Negative breast cancer, I actually wasn’t even given a choice of a mastectomy…the thinking at the time was that it was too radical a procedure (even though I was stage 2 because of the size of the tumor). The worst part for me was when I learned in 2012 from my oncologist, Dr. John Glaspy at UCLA, that the chemotherapy cocktail I was given in 1999 has now been proven ineffective against my type of cancer, so that whole horrible experience was for naught. In Dr. Glaspy’s words, “If we knew then what we know now, you would have had a bilateral mastectomy then and we wouldn’t be sitting here today.”
Interesting. In all of those files I was going through about your cancer in 1999, it said something like “Patient was presented with information about a mastectomy or a lumpectomy.”