1 year ago today....

Yup that's right! One year ago today I underwent my mastectomy, and this time last year i was in pretty much the worst pain in my life. I still would not change a thing I did. I know I made the right decision and that is all that matters. So much has happened since my last blog post which was the end of May. July 9th Brian the love of my life proposed to me It was everything I wanted!!! A surprise horse drawn buggy in Central Park New York, rose petals, down on one knee the whole 9 yards! Of course I said YES! We will be getting married August 25th 2012!! I am so happy to grow old with him. He is an amazing man who has been my rock and sanity for the last 3 years. I love ya babe!

So not only wedding planing like crazy but also we just finished walking 60 miles last month for the Susan G Komen 3 Day for the cure in Philadelphia. A few things I have to bring up from the 3 day that really touched me. I met a few Previvors and got to hear their stories. One lady I met her name was Lori, we even did a show and tell in her tent lol but what was even cooler was she actually works for Myriad Genetics, and also Bright Pink! We talked for  good half hour about nipples and reconstruction which was pretty awesome to know another previvor on the walk.

I wore my Previvor shirt proud! One the 2nd night of the walk i was out side my tent making my shirt for closing ceremony and a lady named Sheryl across from me was curious what my shirt was about. I explained to her how I preventivly had a mastectomy but didn't have breast cancer, that my mother had passed away from breast cancer that she and I both carried the same BRCA1 gene. She must of went to bed that night and really thought about what I said because the next morning she told me that she feels there was a reason we had tented across from one another. After listening to everything I had to share, she had decided it was her time to get tested as well, due to a strong family history. Here is a portion of an email from her a few days after the walk,

 I am so grateful to you for sharing your story with us. I had thought about the testing a few years ago, but I think I was too afraid to hear the results so I just put it out of my mind. Talking with you gave me a different perspective. Thank you....  I have always believed that we meet people for different reasons.  I truly believe that my mom had something to do with us tenting across from one another. I definitely got her stubborn streak and I think she knew that hearing your story would make me listen.

I think this is so beautiful that I could have an impact on someone like that, On November 21st Sheryl will undergo genetic testing! (*Thinking of you*) And that is how I feel too with the BLogs and videos that I do. I love the fact that people are learning things from my experience and I love the fact that I am helping others. I started this whole journey over a year ago searching for help on the Internet, pictures, videos anything. I barely found anything, so I decided to do my own to help me cope and help others at the same time who where in the same boat. I hope I continue to help others and if you need any advise please ask away.

Another update so after my 4th surgery of the the year my cystectomy in May I felt terrible I was constantly in pain on my left side. They couldn't figure out why i kept feeling all these pains and finally as a last resort they decided to remove my IUD (intrauterine device) ie: my birth control that I have had for the last 8 years. Turns out my IUD was what was causing my 3 months of abdominal pain.  If you can imagine my IUD looking at it is normally placed in the uterus and its a T shape. well my GYN Oncologist that did my cystectomy must of moved it around because once it was surgically removed my GYN said my T was positioned like this |--- no wander I was in so much pain!

So I guess I should tell you about how I feel about my boobs a year later, well.... like I had said before I wish I would of went with a saline or silicone implant...The cohesive gel implants that I have are so hard.   I have to get all new winter tops this year because my boobs don't fit into my sweaters anymore :( They are not swishy like they used to be , they still feel like 2 foreign objects n my chest. I think they look amazing don't get me wrong but it just feels weird, it's hard to explain I guess. Regardless if I like my chest or not I still have reduced my risk from breast cancer to 10% rather than the 87%  life time risk I did have due to the BRCA1 gene and prior to surgery. My boobs are always frozen since there is no blood flow going on. I can't feel the cold unless I touch them though so it's not a bothersome thing. last but not least I still have pains on both sides every once in a while. I did talk to my PS about it and he said it is normal. Kinda like when your "tennis elbow" or your "bad knee" acts up with the weather yeah you could say the same thing about my boobs.

So Last thing to get done is nipples. Hmmmm I am still up in the air about nipples. I am 99% percent sure that I don't really want the surgery. I am leaning towards 3D tattoos. So far the only place I am interested in going to is Little Vinnies in Maryland. He is pretty famous in the BRCA and Mastectomy worlds and is known for his work in 3D tattooing and also 3D nipple piercing. Here is his site http://vinniemyers.com/section/105672_Nipple_Areola_Tattooing.html  He charges $350 for both nipples to be done which I think is a pretty decent price. ( I am a tattoo virgin) lol  ok enough with the updating now. Let me wake up Brian so he  can take my new pictures to update everyone. BRB.....ok so here they are 1 year Anniversary of Mastectomy!!!

Front Obviously...you can tell I never lost the 10 pds I gained from surgery

Right Side (the one that didn't have any problems)

Left Side (the Trouble Maker)

Left Scar

Right Scar

ONE YEAR MASTECIVERSARY!