I added this page for a couple of women I have heard from asking about my pre-surgery body.  Truth be told, I wasn’t in the habit of taking semi-nude photos of myself in the years before my surgery. I think this is as close as we’re going to get to seeing the general shape/size of my pre-baby, pre-surgery boobs when they were still something to see and not avert your eyes from.

Stuck in Buenos Aires on our honeymoon, but surviving. August 2007.

I gave birth to our twins in January 2010.

01/17/2010 – Belly pic 9 days before delivery

I found out that I am BRCA1 positive in March or April 2010, not long after my sister Alyssa’s breast cancer diagnosis.  At that time, I was still nursing our twins and wanted to continue nursing.  When I quit breastfeeding our girls, I decided to go to Seattle Cancer Care Alliance for biannual screenings until I reached a conclusion about the prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and what reconstruction, if any, I would do.

I met with Dr. Otway Louie for the reconstruction consult on September 19, 2011.  I think, but am not sure, that is when Dr. Louie took these first 5 photos (below).  I assume they were taken last year because the tattoo I now have on my right forearm is missing from the photos.  The next two photos (of just my abdomen) were shot two months before my bilateral mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction.

As I’ve previously stated in my blog, I had a lot of stretched, sagging skin from my pregnancy that I was glad to be rid of thanks to my DIEP flap reconstruction.  I also wasn’t 100% sad about losing my natural breasts since nursing twins truly sucked the life out of them.  What were once perky, full, attractive boobs later became flat, asymmetrical, sagging, and probably precancerous liabilities, complete with wonky nipples.

From September 2011 to March 2012, I worked my ass (and various other parts) off at the gym to lose the last of my pregnancy weight.  I probably lost 15 lbs of fat and replaced it with muscle.  I was so anxious about the potential of having an adverse reaction to the anesthesia and the duration of my surgeries that I wanted to be a lean, mean, healthy heart machine before I went into surgery.  And I was.  But I still had saggy, uneven breasts and enough spare skin to satisfy a couple of burn units.  So, this is what I went into surgery looking like.  I have to say, the potential for my “final product” after my reconstruction stages are complete is looking pretty great.

09/19/2011 – 1 PreOp

09/19/2011 – 2 PreOp

09/19/2011 – 3 PreOp

09/19/2011 – 4 PreOp

09/19/2011 – 5 PreOp

Feb. 2012 – 6 Pre Op

Feb. 2012 – 7 Pre Op