JulieMy name is Julie Jenkins and in 1987 I lived in Shepparton, country North Eastern Victoria. I was 31 and a mother of two young girls, when I was diagnosed with lobular carcinoma in situ with invasion of the right breast.
Back then, in Shepparton there were no breast care nurses or any breast cancer support groups. I can remember that I found a lump in my right breast, went to my GP – who to this day doesn’t know why he sent me for a mammogram. He thought it was a cysts, which it was but when they did the mammogram and ultrasound they found suspicious spots in a different part of my breast. Two days later I was in hospital having a biopsy. A week later the surgeon rang to give us the bad news and within a matter of days I was back in hospital, this time having a right mastectomy with axillary clearance. I had safe margins, so no other treatment. Not sure what they would do today.
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I can still remember my first thoughts, when the surgeon rang with the bad news …” I am not going to die, Kristie and Kelly are too young, how will Allan cope. I will NOT die.” I had a positive attitude all the way and only cried when I first received the call.
For over 2 years I didn’t consider having a reconstruction but I hated the prosthesis, it was hot and uncomfortable and tended to fall out. My surgeon kept mentioning the idea of having a recon and in 1989, I decided to go ahead. I had my first implant in 1990, it was a Dow Corning silicon implant. This implant lasted till 2002 when I had my 2nd recon, this time they replaced it with a cohesive gel model. I had both reconstruction done in Melbourne which is around two and half hour drive. I was quite happy with the first recon not so much the second. The second one was never a very good shape and my boob would quite often go into a spasm.
At the end of 2015 we moved to Geelong and my Shepparton surgeon suggested to me to see a plastic surgeon in Geelong, as it was time to have the implant replaced. In April 2016, I visited a PS and he suggested that this time I should go for a DIEP reconstruction, “the Rolls Royce version of recons” he told me. I didn’t like the idea of having to have an implant replaced again in 10 to years, so at the age of 60 I decided to go for it.
At the end of 2015 we moved to Geelong and my Shepparton surgeon suggested to me to see a plastic surgeon in Geelong, as it was time to have the implant replaced. In April 2016, I visited a PS and he suggested that this time I should go for a DIEP reconstruction, “the Rolls Royce version of recons” he told me. I didn’t like the idea of having to have an implant replaced again in 10 to years, so at the age of 60 I decided to go for it.
August 26th 2016… DIEP Day
Day 2 after having the DIEP I told the PS that I had made the wrong decision and wished I hadn’t done it. I wasn’t in a lot of pain, it was that I hated been useless. I hated not been able to get out of bed easily, really I hated everything. This didn’t last very long, I got stronger and straighter every day. I now love my boob, its warm (implants were cold) soft and a great shape. I had a few setbacks with the tummy wound but looking at the big picture I am very glad I did this. I now feel normal and can for the first time in many, many years go without a bra if I choose to. (The last implant I had was a funny shape and different size to other boob so didn’t feel comfortable without a bra.)
I know how hard this journey is and how it’s even harder without support, which is why I decided to become an ambassador for ‘Reclaim your Curves’ in the Geelong area and to start a bi-monthly support luncheon. I found this website and its Facebook page a great help to me during my DIEP journey and I would love to think that maybe I can, in some small way, help someone.
I know how hard this journey is and how it’s even harder without support, which is why I decided to become an ambassador for ‘Reclaim your Curves’ in the Geelong area and to start a bi-monthly support luncheon. I found this website and its Facebook page a great help to me during my DIEP journey and I would love to think that maybe I can, in some small way, help someone.
