As The 9th Draws Near.......

Yesterday I met with my Plastic Surgeon. I have a lot of fears about my upcoming surgery and I wanted his honest opinion. I found out that since I first met with the Surgical Oncologist, my Plastic Surgeon has called his office and requested that he NOT remove my tissue expander unless it was absolutely necessary. Originally when in I was in the Surgical Oncologists office and I told my husband that I didn't want to remove the expander, he though it was vain and told me to stop being so stubborn and do what is right. But both my gut and my Plastic Surgeon feel that there is no reason for the expander to be removed - that if the radiation WERE to cause hard spots, they could do a MRI after my radiation and rule out cancer. Besides, my Plastic Surgeon would be going in as soon as it is okay so he can replace my expander with an implant once I am stretched out to the correct size - so he'll see and remove any hard spots. I feel comfortable with that, and especially privileged that he is looking out for my best interests. I'm really hoping to keep the expander, but I was told don't be surprised if I wake up to find that I no longer have it just because it had to be removed. No one knows for sure until they open me up, what to expect. My Plastic Surgeon also set my mind at ease about my fears of going into surgery with a *new* doctor. He has worked in the past with my Surgical Oncologist, so he is confident that I have found myself a good surgeon. Now we just hope for the best - and though I've prepared for the worst, I'm still not quite ready for 7 weeks of daily radiation!