9/24/22: (3 Years Post-DMX) Breast Surgery Scars

It's been over 3 years since my double mastectomy (DMX) surgery. After posting about my BSO scars, I figured I'd circle back and also post about my DMX scars.

To be honest, I don't spend much time worrying about my DMX scars because 1) they aren't visible to others, and 2) I have an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude about them, and I just don't look at them much. I mean, why would I want to? I still have zero regrets about going flat, and I have no interest in getting reconstruction, but I am not exactly happy to be flat. It's still a difficult reminder of having had cancer, and feels like a permanent loss, the cost of getting rid of that cancer. Three years later, and I'm still getting used to it. 

The most notable thing is that my dog ears (extra skin at the outer edges of both incisions, near the armpits) have gotten a lot smaller. They are not totally gone, but the puckering is minimal, and there is only a slight bulge. The flesh under the dog ears used to feel thick and hard, and I used to massage the area frequently. Now I think it must have been scar tissue, because even though I haven't massaged it in a while, the area feels soft, more like just regular skin.  

Around each armpit, there's a broad area - including back muscles behind the underarm, the dog ears, and muscles at the edge of my clavicle - that's still numb and tight. I'm always having to stretch my arms and massage the area, especially on the right side, which had more lymph nodes removed than the left.

I think the scars themselves look good, as far as scars go. The skin is flat and smooth, and the scars are kind of wobbly-looking horizontal lines, just a lighter color than the rest of my skin. Each scar is about 6 inches long and the width varies, but is generally like 1-3 mm. It's still tingly if I touch it. 

Apropos of nothing, but kind of interesting to me, each breast scar is about the same length as my C-section scar. But my C-section scar is dark, rather than light, and it's a very thin, straight line all the way across, no real width or wobbliness to it like my breast scars. 

9/20/22: BSO Incisions Fully Healed

I haven't been diligently tracking my oophorectomy scars, but every now and then I'd feel the left incision area and confirm there was still a little bump under the skin. It did appear to be getting smaller, so I haven't really worried about it.

This morning, I randomly checked the left incision and it feels practically normal! There is a permanent "shelf" at the left incision site, though. And both the left and right scars are still quite dark. But honestly, as long as they are medically healed, I don't really care how they look, since - unlike my port scar - they aren't visible to anyone but me.