Wrapping Up - Final

Dr. Molly Niedermeyer undergoing chemo treatment post-mastectomy

 In case you need a reminder, this blog was inspired by Dr. Molly Niedermeyer's internal debates and public discussion on whether or not to pursue breast reconstruction after completing nearly a year-long course of aggressive cancer treatment. In case you were wondering about her decision, at this time, Dr. Niedermeyer has decided to wait on further treatments:

So I am left with autologous implants (this means my tissues only).  so I either lose my rectus muscle or take a chance on micro vascular surgery.  In either case it is major surgery.  So I began with asking [the surgeons] when would be optimal timing for this to occur and it really took three visits [each visit was with a different surgeon] and my critical thinking brain and my buddy Mary for us to tease out this information:

1.  The soonest is 6 months after radiation because the chest wall is still healing.
2.  Not until I reach optimal weight, because if I lose or gain weight the "abdominal fat" breast will gain or lose as well.
3.  Finally, since the risk of breast cancer return is highest at year 3-5 then having such a big immune insult as major surgery seems like not a good choice.  

So I am at peace that I have researched appropriately and will revisit this decision in 3-5 years.  Each day I live with my new formed chest I am more accepting of it and think I will NOT be too interested in going under the knife again. 
On the other hand as I get in better and better shape the symmetry of my ever improving body seems a bit out of whack.  Also I do miss the breast and have been AMAZED at the cosmetic outcomes they can achieve.
  -  Blog post: October 1, 2012  "Breast Construction 101"

Dr. Molly Niedermeyer one year after diagnosis

Reconstruction weighed heavily on her mind from nearly the moment of diagnosis until she made a decision back in October. With her medical background, she partook in extensive information gathering and consults with multiple surgeons to attempt to make an informed choice not only medically but emotionally as well. She wrote extensively about the process in her blog, but I also had the opportunity to hear about her struggles first hand. That's because from the start of her long journey of cancer treatment and re-defining her personal meanings of health and well-being, I talked to Dr. Niedermeyer -- my mom -- nearly every day.

I wanted to explore the history of breast reconstruction and how my professional field of psychology conceptualizes women's choices in this serious and personal matter, because that was one of the best ways I could simultaneously educate myself while helping my mother. I wanted to know if psychology had "figured it all out" so to speak and had determined the benefits and limitations to either choice of a delayed reconstruction or no additional surgical interventions.  At the end of this long process of research, uncovering, and sleuthing, I have been surprised at what I personally discovered in the factual history of the development of breast reconstruction from all of the varying contextual understandings.

So I shall wrap up here. I dedicate this lengthy school assignment to my mother and to other women who are faced with difficult choices about their body and their identity, and how those two things may or may not be interconnected. I just encourage all beautiful women, regardless of the scars, burns or asymmetry, to reclaim what is most important to them.