October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Doctors, to cope with a terrible disease, remove women’s mammary glands. But how to live after a mastectomy? A word to the psychotherapist Karol Louvel and the psychoanalyst Francoise Brühlmann.
Two years ago, Angelina Jolie shocked the whole world: in order not to get cancer, like her mother, she underwent a preventive double mastectomy – she removed both breasts. The surgeons, of course, restored the ideal figure of the actress with the help of plastic surgery. The desire to have a breast augmentation is the first thought that comes to mind after the operation. But can plastic surgery bring back the old life? Olga, 46, says no. “When I was in the hospital with bandages on my already flat chest, I had no doubts – of course, plastic. How is it, at forty years old and without breasts? But I endured the plastic surgery to restore the breast even harder than its removal. A prosthesis cannot replace an amputated arm. Implants will not replace breasts: a part of me, my body… After all, I breastfed my children! The operation will not bring back the old days, it will not help to “forget everything”. Artificial roundness can deceive others, but not yourself.
Read more:
- Breast Cancer: “Photo Diary of My Trial”
According to the Curie Institute in France, out of 12 mastectomy patients annually, only 000% agree to a follow-up operation. But why do so few women decide to take this step, if the thought of plastic surgery is the first thing that comes to mind? Psychoanalyst Françoise Brullmann is sure that, having learned about the upcoming mastectomy, women cling to the possibility of a future plastic surgery to restore the breast, hoping that it will become their salvation. Psychotherapist Carole Louvel, herself a breast cancer survivor, agrees. “Women are not to blame. To come to terms with the absence of breasts is difficult, impossible. But the majority then refuse plastic surgery, because they believe that they have endured enough due to the disease, their bodies are already crippled and isn’t it time to leave them alone? .. And some want to tell the world: “Yes, now I am like that, without breasts cut and sewn up. Accept me for who I am.” And that’s a very powerful message.”
Read more:
- Angelina Jolie Mastectomy: Why Do We Care So Much?
57-year-old Daria decided not to restore her breasts after the operation (both mammary glands were removed). “I love beautiful lingerie, I always had a large selection of lace and silk sets in my closet … Therefore, at first I was sure that I would do breast augmentation. At first I wore special bra inserts, but one day I asked – why am I doing this? Why? Is it really just so that they don’t look at me as a sick person? And I realized that I do not want to depend on other people’s views. This is my story, these are my scars. It happened to me and there’s no point in hiding it. I threw away the tabs and started wearing light dresses and thin t-shirts… It’s not easy: I want to warn all women – you will have to learn to endure the views of others. You will be looked at as a disabled person, with surprise, pain, shock. You will have to learn to speak – yes, I am different, but I am a woman, as before.
Katerina Gordeeva
“Beat Cancer”
This book is a continuation of the NTV television project of the same name. Katerina Gordeeva talks about the latest research in the fight against cancer, combining it with the stories of those who survived this ordeal.
There is a direct connection between the word “femininity” and the diagnosis of “breast cancer”. “The disease brings a woman back to the past. Involuntarily, questions about growing up, sexuality come up … What were the views of those around you: lustful, admiring, mocking? says Françoise Brühlmann. Oksana, 52, burst into tears as her husband looked at and stroked her scar for a long time. “It was only then that I realized that I had not ceased to be a woman. My being was wounded, crippled, abused, both because of the removal of the breast and because of the chemotherapy. But it seemed to be waiting for the moment to be reborn. Accepting me for who I am (what I have become), my husband seemed to be telling me that I can be desirable – and for this I do not need breasts … This attitude is much more important than plastic surgery. Angelina Jolie once admitted that without the support of her husband, she would not have been able to survive a three-month cycle of operations: “Brad was present at each. Even in the most difficult moments, he managed to make me laugh.
“To decide whether or not to have a breast augmentation, a woman needs the support of her partner,” confirms Karol Louvel. How a woman feels about her loss depends in part on how her lover feels about it. Of course, true femininity is not limited to breasts or lack thereof.
Read more:
- My wife, her cancer and me
40-year-old Svetlana resolutely refused lipofilling1 chest. “I didn’t even want to think about the fact that I would be cut off something on one side and attached to the other! Again operations, again suffer and endure? No, I can’t and don’t want to. I want the years of fear and sickness to be forever in the past. I want to enjoy life. And I also want my transformation to be beautiful, despite all those who are sure that life is over. Now Svetlana is thinking about creating beautiful lingerie for women like her.
And 42-year-old Valeria is looking for a good tattoo artist to turn her scar into a garland of delicate flowers. “This scar is a sign of the suffering I have endured. I want to learn to live with it, I don’t need to erase it. You can’t erase a part of life, but you can force yourself to smile and enjoy even after the most terrible experiences.”
Having a breast augmentation means going back to life before the diagnosis. But those who have had a mastectomy say it’s impossible. And today, thousands of women do not strive for this: their life goes on, no matter what.
1 The lipofilling technique allows the breast to be reconstructed by injecting fat taken from another area of the body.