Thanks so much for sharing your story. It is hard to even imagine how devastating that must be. I'm amazed that women aren't given the full picture when these decisions have such an enormous impact on their body image and sex life. You're doing a great job in creating awareness.
Warm wishes,
Mia
Mar 25, 2009 Rating
I miss my nipples. by: Jamie
Three years ago had successful mastectomies with reconstruction. I had no cancer in my right breast, and my only regret is that no one cautioned me about the impact of nipple amputation on my sex life. I know, it should be obvious that no nipple equals no pleasure. But such "obvious" things are exactly the kinds of things that don't occur to us when we face life and death decisions.
When men have prostate cancer the top question they ask is, you guessed it, "Will I retain sexual function?" And a huge percentage of men opt for the less invasive, more risky, treatment in order to preserve quality of life. Why is sexual function not considered an important issue when deciding bc treatment, particularly prophylactic mastectomy? It never occurred to me, and no one warned me. In all of my research I have never found a woman who was told about the cost of nipple amputation. Some women say, "I wouldn't miss it. I haven't felt my nipples since I breast fed." Others say, "It would be a devastating loss." The point is informed consent--hear the pros and cons, and make the choice you can live with.
Mar 22, 2009 Rating
Awesome by: crazymikesapps
Jamie, my mother has beaten cancer twice so from personal experience I know this is an emotional challenge. I am glad you joined me on Twitter look forward to hearing your insight into life.
thanks for being you.
anything I can do to help please let me know.
Mike
Mar 20, 2009 Rating
Welcome! by: Mia
Hi Jamie,
What a beautiful smile you have. I am so honoured that you've decided to join our support club. Fantastic that we can all support each other to get our unique messages out there - strength in numbers indeed.
Had fun this morning with our tweets as well. That's a great example of how we can make this work in an informal, genuine way.
Please leave some comments on your page here, or on other members' pages if you have any feedback, ideas or suggestions. The more we converse, the better we can make it work.
