Coping and Healing After a Mastectomy
- “Strictly Come Dancing” star Amy Dowden, 33, is praising how valuable a post-surgery bra has been for her after a mastectomy. The unique bra has added features that support your breasts while you heal from surgery.
- Dowden was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. Along her journey, she’s undergone chemotherapy and surgery.
- A mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast during surgery. There are several factors to weigh when considering a mastectomy, such as if breast-conserving surgery (or lumpectomy) is possible. Your doctor will evaluate the size and features of your tumor and your family history to make a recommendation.
- Chemotherapy can cause several side effects, including nausea, vomiting, and hair loss. Your doctor can help you manage some of these side effects. Fortunately for hair loss, while it usually begins about three to four weeks after starting chemotherapy and continues throughout treatment, it usually regrows after treatment concludes.
“Strictly Come Dancing” star Amy Dowden, 33, says post-surgery bras made a massive difference for her as she battles stage 3 breast cancer. While praising her post-surgery bras’ support for their added features, such as an easy zipper on the front, she also says the styling maintains a sense of beauty and femininity.
“Just before my surgery, I went to Marks and Spencer to find the right fitted bra for me,” Dowden said in an Instagram video post.
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Dowden said she wore the post-surgery bra for six weeks as she recovered from a mastectomy. Her journey outlines a fine detail many women may not initially think about upon receiving a breast cancer diagnosis. Finding the right bra helps with your overall healing, and luckily, many options are available for women undergoing breast cancer treatment.
Dowden’s candid video post sparked a string of comments from countless other women who underwent breast cancer surgery and struggled to find the right supportive bra.
“I quite agree, just because you have had surgery you still want to feel pretty, I have lots of these bras, fit lovely and look lovely,” Instagram user Linda Johnson wrote in a comment.
Instagram user Emma Beardsley wrote, “I’m currently using the first post-op bra you showed – really comfy, great coverage (especially under the arm).”
“I’m so pleased they have come on, and the bras look lovely. Ten years ago, there wasn’t anything. I have only been using Amoena, which has been fabulous,” Instagram user Theresa Meen wrote.
Helping Patients Better Understand a Mastectomy
Coping with Breast Cancer Surgery
Downden’s experience highlights the need for mastectomy bras after the procedure. However, deciding to get a mastectomy is a considerable step you and your care team must carefully go over.
WATCH: When to consider a mastectomy?
A mastectomy is the removal of the entire breast during surgery. There are several factors to weigh when considering a mastectomy, such as if breast-conserving surgery (or lumpectomy) is possible. Your doctor will evaluate the size and features of your tumor and your family history to make a recommendation.
In some cases, a double mastectomy is a viable treatment option. During this procedure, both breasts are removed to get rid of cancer. A double mastectomy may also be performed as a preventative measure for women who are at a very high risk of developing breast cancer.
How to Choose the Right Surgeon?
Surgical procedures such as a double mastectomy can be an emotional part of a woman’s breast cancer journey. Choosing the right surgeon is extremely important for such a heavy part of the process.
SurvivorNet doctors say women should trust their gut when choosing a surgeon.
“You shouldn’t just ask surgeons how many operations they’ve performed because volume is not necessarily the best indicator of the right surgeon for you. On the other hand, you don’t want a surgeon who is inexperienced,” urologic oncologist Dr. Jay Shah said.
Above all, Dr. Shah says people faced with a choice of surgeons should go with someone they feel they can trust.
Dowden’s Cancer Journey
Amy Dowden’s breast cancer journey began this past April when she discovered the “first lump” just before she was set to go on a honeymoon with her husband.
“I was originally going to have a lumpectomy, radiotherapy, and hormone treatment,” Dowden said during a Coppafeel Instagram conversation.
A lumpectomy is a breast cancer treatment procedure that removes the cancerous area of the breast. Radiotherapy (radiation) involves using high-energy beams aimed at cancer cells designed to kill them. Hormone treatment is used for hormone receptor-positive cancers, which are the most common types of breast cancers. When a tumor is “hormone receptor-positive,” it means that a pathologist has run special tests on the cancer to determine that it is positive for either the estrogen and/or progesterone receptor.
“For women who have hormone-positive breast cancer, it means that they have a cancer that needs estrogen to grow,” medical oncologist Dr. Elizabeth Comen explains to SurvivorNet.
“It needs hormones to grow. So, what we’re trying to do is actually starve the cancer cells or any rouge cancer cells that could have escaped the breast from estrogen. We do that by driving the estrogen levels down or by blocking the ability of estrogen to interact with the estrogen receptor on a cancer cell,” Dr. Comen continued.
“Then, after my MRI, they found another tumor, so then it changed into a mastectomy, and then, after my mastectomy, unfortunately, they found even more tumors,” Dowden added, leading to a stage 3 breast cancer diagnosis. During stage 3, the cancer has spread to nearby lymph nodes.
WATCH: What to consider before a mastectomy.
Dowden was told she needed to undergo chemotherapy to begin cancer treatment, which made her “scared,” but she bravely moved forward with treatment. Her oncologist reassured her, “With chemo [she’s] got a really good chance of a cure,” BBC reported.
Since she must focus on her health, Dowden is sitting out of this season’s “Strictly Dancing” series. Despite being unable to dance in person, she remains in contact with her team.
While undergoing chemotherapy treatment, Dowden entered the emotional stage of hair loss, which is a side effect of chemotherapy treatment. Luckily, with the height of her chemotherapy journey behind her, she can continue to improve as her journey towards remission continues.
What To Ask Your Doctor
If you have been diagnosed with breast cancer, you may have questions about keeping your strength through treatment. Here are a few questions to help you begin the conversation with your doctor:
- What treatment will I be receiving?
- What side effects are associated with this treatment?
- Are there steps I can take daily to help minimize these side effects?
- What physical activity routine do you recommend for me during treatment?
- Do you have recommendations for someone who doesn’t particularly enjoy exercise?
- Can you recommend a dietician who can help me with healthy eating tips and weight maintenance?
- I’ve been having trouble sleeping. Do you have any treatment recommendations?
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