Extreme makeover, thanks to cancer

In December, 2005, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ was found in my left breast. Although surprised because 13 years had elapsed since my first cancer (well beyond “cured”), my strongest emotion was annoyance. The previous 18 months had been devoted to caring for my dying father, then my widowed mother; by comparison the cancer was just a royal pain. For the first go-round with cancer I had taken the conservative path of lumpectomy with radiation, which ultimately failed me, so this time I was aggressive. I knew I would have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction; I just needed to learn how it could be done, and by whom. Research led me to Dr. Gabriel M. Kind in San Francisco, who has performed the DIEP surgery since 1998. He explained the various options, but I easily chose the DIEP procedure and scheduled it for February 6. By the way, state law now requires insurance to pay for all reconstruction.

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Tagged as: Breast Cancer, cancer survivor, DIEP, Ductal Carcinoma In Situ