#48 - Radical Mastectomy & Going Flat | Interview with Alicia Duncan (Part II)

Love the podcast? Send us a text!Radical Mastectomy & Going Flat | Interview with Alicia Duncan (Part II) by SurvivingBreastCancer.orgSummary: In this episode, the surviving breast cancer team discusses Alicia’s struggle with her stage III breast cancer diagnosis and the loss of her breasts. The team highlights how a fast cancer diagnosis can take a toll on one’s mental health along with the PTSD that may come in the aftermath of being cured of cancer. Lastly, Alicia explains her tattoos and both Alicia and Angela discuss the strength needed to be a caregiver.Topics:4:51 Losing your breasts18:33 Types of mastectomies22:39 Rapid cancer diagnosis30:51 Alicia’s tattoo34:46 Being a caregiverResources:1:30 Patreon https://www.patreon.com/Quotes: 9:45 Alicia: “You're a woman trying to date another woman who, they're gonna want you to have breasts. That's part of what makes you a woman. That's one thing anyways, you know, it's a big thing. So when you don't have them, that's a very scary thing. You know? couldn't look at myself in the mirror. How do I expect some random stranger wants to date me to look at me in the mirror? So I had a friend tell me and I will PG this. But she said, if someone doesn't want to date you because you have no breasts because you lost them due to breast cancer then F them. And I said, you know, that is 100% true. And so when I did it, Angela and I talked about it. She said, before she even knew that conversation. You know, she said, I don't care that you don't have breasts, I care that you're here and that's what matters to me. So with breasts or no breasts.” 14:10 Laura: “Some days I felt really, really empowered, like I'm doing it. And I'm excited, I can't wait. And then there were other days to talking to people of like, well, if I did reconstruction, and they're taking either like deep flap tissue, or taking like the lat muscle from your back to do the reconstruction, I was hearing interesting stories in my research of, yeah, every time I open the spaghetti sauce jar, and use this muscle, and my breast would twitch. Because your muscle from your back is now in your front. or anytime you do weird things like in your car, moving or like, I heard these interesting stories of like the muscle didn't yet pick up on the memory that it got moved. Oh, and it was flexing.. In weird times. And I'm like, interesting. Well, at the time I practiced yoga a lot, it was really important for me to stay fit. Like, what if? What if changing these body parts were no longer natural? And I just had so many questions.”Socials:YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/SURVIVINGBREASTCANCERFacebook:https://www.facebook.com/SurvivingbreastcancerorgPinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/BreastCancerConversations/Twitter: https://twitter.com/SBC_org Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/survivingbreastcancerorg/_________________________Subscribe to our newsletter https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/subscribe-1Donate to our cause https://tinyurl.com/yc9cgt4eAttend an event https://www.survivingbreastcancer.org/eventsSupport the showListener FeedbackIf this episode resonated with you, we invite you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.You can also click the link in the show notes that says "Love this episode? Send us a text" to share feedback.Messages are completely anonymous.If you would like us to follow up directly, please include your email address in your message so we can respond.Latest News: Join our Mailing List - New content drops every Monday! Discover FREE programs, support groups, and resources from SurvivingBReastCancer.org! Become a Breast Cancer Conversations+ Member! Sign Up Now. Enjoying our content? Please consider supporting our work.