Happy Revision Holiday

I hope everyone enjoyed Thanksgiving, eating everything in site, filling your belly's and being with love ones. I had my revision reconstruction surgery the week before the holidays, so I was still sore but that did not matter. My family came down for support and my mom cooked a big Thanksgiving feast.

Even though I could not laugh as hard at all the jokes, having them around made my pain not as painful. I'm in week 2 of recovery from surgery and let me just say I am loving the results thus far. I don't want to get too excited, but my doctor did a great job and even had a little liposuction on the sides.

The only issue I am having is the part where he did the liposuction which is normal but it harden up so I have to massage it every single day, but it is getting better. My surgery this time was only 2 in half hours, so it was not that long. The best part was my room. It was a suite. Felt like a hotel room. It was HUGE and I enjoyed every single moment of it.

The procedure:

• Lift
• Bigger size went from 480cc to 590cc. Now I know that may sound HUGE, but its not. It depends on your body frame and trust, I  AM NOT a boob girl lol!
• Liposuction under right arm by the breast. It was creating dimples in my breast.

Caspuslorrhaphy-(Internal Bra)my breast bottomed out. Refer to Crawford Plastic Surgery for additional information but I have the definition below:

Capsulorrhaphy: To elevate the breast and restore a normal appearance, sutures may be placed in the lower pole of the breasts. The capsule that holds the implant is adjusted, and the position and size of pocket is tweaked so the implants sit higher on the chest.

Through it all, I think the best part was seeing the nurse that took care of me for my bilateral mastectomy. She too was going through cancer treatment and she came by to visit. That made my day knowing that she was doing well and LOOKED FABULOUS!

Taking care of someone with the same diagnoses as you while going through your own treatments is true definition selfless. I will always remember and cherish her for the rest of my life. So If you are nervous about getting lumpectomy or bilateral mastectomy just do your research and make sure you are comfortable with your decision because you have to live with it for the rest of your life.

PS:I will post before and afters's later. Love ya!
xoxo
Superbritt

Fertility and Chemo side effects

Okay. How many of you are experiencing changes in your bodies after chemo or during? Well lucky me,  I really did not experience any changes until the end , Oh I forgot weight gain but we already talked about that. So lets get to the nitty gritty.

It was recommended to do fertility treatment because it is a possibility that your ovaries will shut down and you won't have a period. Well, that was music to my ears. Lets face it ladies, we all hate that time of the month but when you are told you may not be able to conceive, it changes your whole perspective. So, I went through the procedure before starting chemotherapy. That's most important. "START BEFORE CHEMOTHERAPHY". Now I hate needles and I am sure I am not the only one being that I had to give myself a shot every freaking day, but it made me a solider. This procedure was easy but the aftermath was painful. This does not happen to everyone. As a matter of fact, my doctor said, I was his only patient that reacted. At the end of it all, I received a called on mother's day that I have 11 embryo's. So I have 11 babies on ice.

I went through a foundation called Live Strong Fertility. They help pay for majority of your fertility medicine which expensive. The only thing I had to pay was for the procedure. Most insurance companies do not pay for fertility. I wonder why??

Anyway, getting a little side track. During my chemo, I still had a period. My doctor was like WOW, I guess you won't be needing your eggs after all. My husband response was " Oh we are using those things, they are already paid for" lol! So lets just say, we will not have the privilege to practice. I was a little disappointed because I looked forward into not having a period. Little did I know, my period stopped when I had TWO MORE TREATMENTS. A little too late for that!

My hair started growing back after my 3rd treatment and by the 7th one, I had a head full of hair but it started to shed all over again, Not a lot. Then that's when I met my worst enemy. HOTFLASHES!! They are the devil. They come and go every hour. I sweat like it's 100 degrees outside and I'm inside with the fan on and air on 60. Now, I know I have this to look forward to when I am older but right now, I'm begging for my period to come back. PLEASE COME BACK!

Lets talk about ACNE. My skin was so clear in the beginning. Smooth, not oily and just looking fabulous. That freaking chemo and steroids was a mix cocktail for acne. I looked like a Dalmatian. Only with just dark skin lol! So, if you are experiencing acne, nothing will help, just keep your face cleanse and moisturize. Now that I am poison free, It is clearing up slowly. Also, my nails did not fall off or turn black, just light brown and they grew like crazy. I should be a case study. I am that 1 in a million person that gets everything.

I like to joke about what's going on with my body in order to not be depress. Sometimes you have to do that. Just know it is temporary and they're so many options out there. Make sure to consult with your doctor about any issue you have. I know going through chemo is not fun but it is what you make of it.
xoxo
Superbritt

LivingFree and Topless

Mastectomy is an option...... is what my breast surgeon told me. Never had a problem with my breast. Matter of fact, I loved my breast, the size and the perkiness of them lol! Being told you have to get a unwanted boob job because of your age and the chance of recurrences is 70% was mind blowing especially for someone who is only 26 years of age. For any other young woman this probably would be a dream but for me it was a nightmare. You're talking to someone who never had surgery and never thought about having surgery unless it was a mommy makeover (after children).

Coming to the realization that I will no longer have my own was a lot but at the end of the day I knew my boobs were replaceable but my life was not. Researching what a bilateral mastectomy entails was heartbreaking for me knowing that I could no longer breast fed, or have a sexually arousal. That was Breaking News for a 26 year old. I had a good surgeon and he explain the outcome of the surgery and what to expect afterwards.

Bilateral mastectomy is the removal of both breast including majority of your breast tissue and is a major surgery and for some not an easy decision. Below is the paperwork I received on the day I made the decision to chop my boobs off. Pretty simple on paper right?
this is before I had surgery. They staged me at a 1. Now once they went in, it was a different story. It was stage 2B with 3 tumors.

• Tumor 1-2.5
• Tumor 2-1.5
• Tumor 3- 0.5
• Went into 2 lymph nodes out of the 3 tested but very minimal

I'm pretty sure this looks like chicken scratch but to me it was everything I needed to know.

My breast never defined me as a women. Well let me take that back. According to text book and evolution and what's in stealed in us as young women .Now wait! before the surgery, my thoughts were not feeling complete and not feeling like a complete women, but now I consider them accessories, warrior wounds and represents a strong, phenomenal black women.

Now that I have completed my chemotherapy, it's time to finish my reconstruction and make them even more perfect. Tell me what you think? These were taken before my final surgery. This was my celebration for finishing Chemotherapy. I CELEBRATED MYSELF. I SAW MYSELF AS A BLANK CANVAS and FEELING LIKE BARBIE! Love ya!
xoxo
Superbritt

PhotoCredit: Todd Patrick
MakeUp: Candace Hampton

Girls Just want to have Fun

 

Having a girls night out was needed after completing chemotherapy. I had so much fun with these girls and sometimes you just need that time to escape from what lies ahead. My breast reconstruction surgery is coming up and I needed to let my hair down LOL! Make sure you surround yourselves around good people going through your cancer journey and have fun. Not everything is about being down and depress. Make the best out of a bad situation.

My Motto: Always Turn a Negative into a Positive.

 I love you all and thanks for all the support and love!

xoxo

Superbritt

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

80/20 Rule

How many of you blame chemo for your weight gain? No matter how hard you try to eat healthy, you still have uncontrollable cravings. Well I have answers.

I went for a visit to my primary care doctor and she educated me on why I am experiencing food cravings like The ALWAYS HUNGRY, NEVER FULL AND DAMN SWEETS.

#1 cause is steroids that increases your appetite.

Honesty, I thought losing weight would be the outcome, but NO, gaining another human-being was mine which was fine by me. Most people loose weight because they cannot keep any food down or loose their appetite. In my case it was the opposite. Every time you receive chemotherapy, you get a lovely dosage of "INCREDIABLE HULK juice" in your IV.

#2 Cause would be your "pancreas" located in the upper abdomen behind the stomach.

It produces insulin and goes into the bloodstream in order to regulate the body's glucose or sugar level. When chemo medications are pumped into the body, it can affect the pancreas and in return cause lack of  insulin being produce which can cause diabetes and the food cravings. After hearing all of this information from the doctor, I realized that I was not CRAZY!

So, I blame 80% on the drugs and 20% on me. I was a fitness junkie before so when I was diagnose that pretty much gave me the green light to eat whatever, whenever and receiving the drugs was no help. I figured since I am going through cancer at least I can enjoy all the foods that I love!

Now that I am approaching the end of my journey, it is time to whip back into shape. 2017 will be my year to focus on my health and fitness and stay Cancer Free!
xoxo
Superbritt

Tis the Season

 

Tis the season to be jolly is what I am looking forward to this year. Amazing how I managed to go through surgery, fertility treatment and chemotherapy less than a year. I find myself staring off into space just wondering, WOW! did I really just go through all of this? Cancer made the world stop around me and my main focus was to get better. It was like being in a movie, watching myself and not being aware of anything around me.

Looking back, to me it was just an "blink of an eye" even though it was 10 MONTHS LOL!

It has definitely change my outlook on life from being this young women ready to tackle the world, planning a future, hesitating on making decisions to now living life in the moment and following your dreams. It takes a strong individual, physical and mentally to go through a cancer diagnoses and what comes with it.

Cancer has allowed me to be free. Not caring what others have to say when it comes to looks, my decisions and MY LIFE. I reach the point where I can just grab life by the balls with no hesitations and do me. I've came to realize that life will not happen as plan, you will have a couple bumps in the road but if you can keep driving with determination, you will lead yourself into a better you and future.
xoxo
Superbritt

Last Treatment: Bittersweet

Finally, finished my last chemotherapy treatment. What an amazing feeling! No more A/C and TAXOL, are should I say "FRIENDAMIES". Will I miss them, NO, but I will miss the workers who spent their days nursing me. I loved being spoiled by them and the only thing I looked forward to besides sleeping. LOL! Even though I was there for something not great, they made me feel like Superbritt. It was home away from home so adjusting will be a little difficult. I know it's sounds crazy, but they became my family for 6 months.
Being free from Chemotherapy feels bittersweet. The feeling of accomplishment gave me a sense of graduating from a school I did not sign up for yet it was the only place I felt normal. I will miss no judgement, peace, chemo buddy chair neighbors, bloodwork, talking to the lab techs, receiving my happy pills and most of all, the people. Now it's time for a new chapter in my life and being a "survivor" is one. I have so many mix emotions because receiving treatment was my safe haven.  Letting go is not that easy, but I know God got me!
xoxo
Superbritt!