Before
her diagnosis, Debbie was an active young woman who visited the gym
regularly and participated in Pilates and yoga. She took pride in her
health. But for five months following double mastectomy surgery, she
stopped exercising. With so much changing in her life - from losing her
hair and breasts to postponing her wedding - and so much uncertainty in
her future, she had trouble finding a place for physical activity in
her new life.
Maintaining a healthful, balanced diet was difficult, as well, because the side effects of chemotherapy meant going from one extreme to another quickly - from no appetite at all to extreme hunger. She also gained weight from steroids she took to prevent nausea during chemotherapy. Debbie had become depressed about her weight gain and inactivity. She also noticed that certain muscles had begun to atrophy as a result. She was fortunate to have a surgeon who believed in a holistic approach to medicine - treating the entire body and the mind, not just the area that needs medicine. He recognized her unhappiness and recommended a physical
Physical
exercise was important for more than vanity reasons, however; giving
her muscles a workout also helped repair and lessen the scar tissue
from her surgery and give her better reconstruction results. In these
pictures, you can see Debbie's new exercise regimen beginning to show
weight loss and greater muscle tone. These pictures represent Debbie
expanded to a size C, following the partial removal of the saline at
the second expansion. This meant that Debbie would only be a size B
once her permanent implants were put in, one size down from her goal.
Although Debbie could have gone through with the larger expansion she
had hoped for, she felt her body was telling her that her surgeon was
correct: She wasn't meant to be that size. Another factor that
contributed to her inability to get to a larger size was her exercise
regimen. As she lost weight, it showed in the muscle and skin around
her chest, as well, decreasing the capacity for expansion. At this last
expansion, her surgeon added 50 cc's, replacing what he had taken out
following the second expansion.
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