Meghan Koziel

Plain and simple, especially after having Cancer at any age I would imagine… but more particularly in your 20’s when you are planning out your whole entire life and future, it freakin sucks! The past almost 3 years of my life have been filled with hardly any good medical news… so in a way, I’m preparing myself for the worst… which is a freakin awful way to think but it is just a reality of life, we cannot guaranteed anything about our futures! I do have fears that many people my age don’t necessarily think of like is that bump cancer, or has my skin changed colors and do I have to contact my doctor. So, in preparation for my first 2nd trimester appointment today, I am fighting my scanxiety (of hearing the heartbeat for the first time), and so will preemptively be posting this blog because in my heart I do know that little Baby Kozy is just fine and dandy, and PTSD from stupid cancer can go suck a D!

September 2017- Back to school and still no period:( October 2017– Fall is in full swing and even though I still haven’t gotten a period, I’m starting to wonder if maybe it won’t come back at all. but I still truly don’t feel like I’m gonna have a hard time getting pregnant! They couldn’t clearly identify a pregnancy off of my first HCG blood work test because there was potential of a “chemical pregnancy It’s our baby, a natural baby, our miracle baby!

As discussed in my previous post (Trilogy Part One), this decision was a combination of Capsular Contracture (residual of 30 rounds of radiation and falling down the stairs days after my first reconstruction, my own discomfort from tightness of my right breast, asymmetry due to the tightness from scar tissue build up, and firmness of the implant all together. As stated by the Mayo Clinic, “The FDA believes that women with breast implants that have textured surfaces have an extremely low but increased risk of developing breast implant-associated anaplastic large cell lymphoma (BIA-ALCL). Latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction surgery, which involves an incision made into your back near your shoulder blade, then, an oval section of skin, fat, blood vessels, and muscle is slid through a tunnel under the skin under your arm to your chest and formed into a breast shape– this is a great option for people post radiation because it produces healthy non damaged skin onto the chest with a MUCH less chance of contracting and complications. I requested a simple swap of the implants, cleaning out of my right contracture, then with the addition of liposuction, he could line the implant with fat grafting to “trick” my body from seeing the implant as a forge in object therefore decreasing the risk of another contracture!

Almost one year ago to the exact day, I was preparing for my initial breast reconstruction following 30 rounds of sizzling sweet cancer torching radiation treatments. I remember having a few surgical consultations with my plastic surgeon however I truthfully don’t remember doing a ton of research of breast implants prior to my initial surgery. I remember begging my surgeon from the very beginning to redo my surgery but of course he wouldn’t touch me for about a year post-op to give my skin and surrounding tissues time to settle and heal. So add my fall down the stairs with a feeling of a tear, 30 rounds of radiation with extra boosts because of node positive breast cancer and WAM, you have yourself the perfect candidate for effed up breast reconstruction!