Like many women, Pauline went in to see her doctor for a routine mammogram, only to emerge with the knowledge that she had breast cancer.
As a woman whose mother and grandmother had both been stricken by the disease, Pauline experienced, firsthand, the trauma that breast cancer caused in their lives, as well as the hideous scars it left behind.
But, unlike them, Pauline had someone on her side, right from the start: an oncoplastic surgeon who spoke magical words to her that day:
"I'm not going to let you leave my care any less a woman than you are now."
With that, Pauline knew she had an ally in her fight.
Thus, 12 days after being diagnosed, she underwent a 7-hour operation using the LD flap.
Thankfully, Pauline's surgeon cut along her bra line, then reached down to procure the muscle. (If she wears a bikini, nobody even knows she's had a reconstruction.)
As well, her DD cup was transformed into a much more manageable C cup, an unexpected bonus Pauline is quick to recount:
"My surgeon told me, “you're going to have the chest of a 20-year-old." And I just sat there grinning at him like a fool.
"I've just told you you've got breast cancer," he said.
"But you've just told me I'm going to have the chest of a 20-year-old, so I think that's a win-win."
Looking back, Pauline says, cancer was the best thing that ever happened to her: it gave her focus during a time of intense duress, a time negatively compounded by the fact that she was already going through a particularly challenging time in her personal life.
Now, she's started her own business and is back to living her life, better than ever.
At 51, Pauline beat breast cancer.
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 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.
