Dossier: Breast reconstruction after breast cancer, a personal choice

Breast cancer is the most common female cancer. It touches each year near 49,000 women in France and remains the leading cause of cancer mortality in women. But if it is detected early, it can be cured in 9 out of 10 cases.

The treatment of bad cancer requires in 28% of cases, a bad removal, also called Mastectomy or mastectomy. A heavy surgery for the patients, physically and psychologically.

2 women, 2 visions

Once rebuilt, I will dare more, move on.
Sophie – 54 years old

We followed 2 women in their reconstruction journey. One, Sophie chose to be rebuilt by a technique of bad lipofilling. She goes every 3 months to the cancer center of Rouen, Henri Becquerel center for heavy surgical procedures, fat cell injections into the bad. At each intervention, she is asleep under general anesthesia and is off work during the following weeks.

This torso was something painful and difficult.
Agnes – 50 years old

The second, Agnès underwent 2 mastectomies, the last one 5 years ago, and always refused to have the chest rebuilt. But she feels ready to jump into the water: get tattooed this mutilated torso, she badumes for 5 years now.

A personal choice

The loss of a bad is a difficult phase for a woman and just after the operation many do not imagine engaging in a process of reconstruction. It sometimes takes time to make that decision.
Many people choose to live after external prostheses to find a "normal" appearance, a feminine silhouette. They also allow to find a social bad, the one we show to society. But the use of these prostheses is restrictive, sometimes embarrbading and especially ephemeral.
Breast reconstruction is then a viable solution.
The process must be considered, studied, accompanied by health professionals because it is sometimes difficult for these women to be confronted again with the medical world.
Each woman also has the choice of the bad reconstruction technique that will be the most appropriate. To regain one's integrity, to resume the course of one's life, are the main reasons that push a woman to make this choice.