Jenny was in her 50's when she noticed a painful swelling in one of her breasts.
(At first, she wasn't concerned, as she had always been told cancer wouldn't hurt.) Eventually, though, she went to get a mammogram, accompanied by a co-worker.
The very next week she was at London Bridge Hospital seeing a specialist.
Her diagnosis was breast cancer.
But thankfully, Jenny took it all in stride.
Initially, her doctor wanted to perform a lumpectomy.
"You'll just have a scar and we'll cut it out," he said.
"But then it came back that I had two tumours on one side that were related, and a separate one on the other side," Jenny said.
At that point, her surgeon let her know that a mastectomy was unavoidable.
Jenny's response?
"Don't let it get you down. What girl doesn't want breast implants?"
Jenny ended up having a breast reconstruction operation with Strattice™ Reconstructive Tissue Matrix, and on the morning after her operation, she went outside and bought cakes. She was totally, completely mobile. There were no complications, she had a quick recovery and she was delighted with the fabulous results.
"I [didn't] want one smaller... I wanted them both the same... you can have muscle taken out of your back, or you can have Strattice. So that's what I opted for."
Jenny was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the bandages were so minimal. "It looks just like you've got a low-cut bra on, with this beautiful pert boob. I mean, it's not, you know, all stitches and blood, nothing. You look wonderful, and you feel good.
You know, in this day and age, people don't roll around in agony when they've had surgery," Jenny says. "You're well cared for, and everybody knows what they're doing. These people are doing it every day of the week.
I think it also has a lot to do with frame of mind. If you are going to be told you've got cancer and think you've been given a death sentence, you're going to suffer. If you can be strong minded and think, 'I'm going to deal with it,' then it's like any other illness.
Don't leave it. Don't sweep it under the carpet, because it will get bigger.
"Talk to your doctor," she advises, "and do what he thinks is best for you.
For this - for what I had - I just couldn't recommend it more."
Strattice™ is a product of LifeCell Corporation indicated for reinforcing soft-tissue during a breast reconstruction procedure. Strattice™ is derived from porcine and contains Polysorbate 20, and is contraindicated for people with known sensitivity to such materials. As you read this please keep in mind that all treatment and outcome results are specific to the individual patient. Results may vary. Complications such as those typically associated with surgical mesh materials and their implantation procedures including, but not limited to, infection, hematoma, seroma formation, recurrence of tissue defect, fistula formation, inflammation and adhesion formation are some of the adverse risks. Consult your surgeon for a more complete list of indications, warnings, precautions, adverse events, clinical results, and other important medical information. Contact customer service or your LifeCell Business Manager for the most up-to-date revision of the package inset, IFU 173p0028.
