Ready or not, Prophy here I come!

It’s strange to give a big piece of my life such a small space on here but I think that’s for the best. I want to be a resource for women considering this procedure while also respecting that this subject can be overwhelming and triggering for others. This topic has also taken up so much of my life over the last several months that while I want the obligation to inform, I still need to take a step back from where I’ve been which is being completely consumed by it. But I guess that should give hope to those here because of this topic. What consumes you today will be in the past before you know it!

I’ve chosen to write about my experience with this because when I was looking for information, most of it was related to cancer and not prevention. There’s also so many useful tools for women going through mastectomies but I didn’t feel good about utilizing those resources as a prophy patient because I felt like I was taking something away from a cancer patient. I know….to each their own but this is how I felt. This surgery was a choice for me and sadly a requirement for so many other women. I continue to challenge myself to find ways to help both groups separately!

Did you know that the average woman has as a lifetime risk of 12.9% of developing breast cancer? Family history, genetics and lifestyle all play a role in whether or not that number is higher or lower. After my little sister’s diagnosis, I went in for a mammogram to make sure I was okay. Long story short, I am all good, but it took a week or so to get that answer. My mammogram came back abnormal which led me to an ultrasound. The ultrasound showed abnormality and the Radiologist gave me a bi-rads 4 score which means suspicious of cancer. I completely melted! They scheduled me for a biopsy, which resulted in a full blown panic attack and then an MRI which thank the Lord showed it was a fibroidadenma and not a bad tumor.

When my other sister went in for her scans, she said the tech said “hey, weren’t you here with your sister?” We both laughed and I said, did you tell her “yes, the crazy topless one that was crying on the table….yup, that was her!” Thank God for being able to find humor during some of this.

After that, I met with a high risk specialist who determined my lifetime risk was 32.1% with the high risk threshold starting at 20%. No freaking thank you! Not to mention, I am emotionally not prepared to get scanned for this disgusting disease every 6 months.

Watching my sister receive her diagnosis and endure treatment made my next decision pretty simple…prophylactic aka preventative mastectomy. I know this isn’t the same decision a lot of other high risk women come to and that’s great too! I am thankful that this is not a once size fits all decision.

My next step was to meet with a breast surgeon. I felt sick to my stomach waiting for that appointment; what if she told me no? But once she walked in the room I immediately chilled out. She was incredibly compassionate and recognized that though many others have a higher risk than mine, my mental health needed to be factored in to this decision. I left her office with a plastics consultation in January and a surgery date, February 8th!

I’m all smiles, even under this mask!

Love, Lanie