Breast cancer survivors on this site , would like to hear from you.

[JBRES1]

Good morning,My name is Jim Breslin and I have breast cancer.This past Tuesday 12-15-2015 I had a mastectomy ( right breast )I wanted to hear from other breast cancer survivors about their recovery and return to diving.I hope to be able to return to diving in time for my spring vacation in March.Am still waiting on final pathology but, at this time it looks promising.My concers are with how I will recover, what it will feel like when I put my BP/W on, will I be in pain and too many other thoughtsto go thru at this time.So, if anybody wants to share their story , I would appreciate it very much.Thank you in advance, Jim Breslin ( JBRES1 )

 

[CNYMAD]

First , best wishes on a good recovery. Everyone has a different experience with cancer

as long as you feel comfortable your equipment will work out.. March and April are heart goals. You should be awesome.

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Lymphoma survivor here.

I don't know what your specific treatment was, in my case it was Chemotherapy. Whatever your treatment was I am sure you were given some pretty serious drugs, and you have indicated that you had surgery. Check with your Oncologist, your Surgeon, also check with DAN. Get specific, the internet is a great tool but it won't give you specific medical advice. What it can do is help you to ask the right questions of your medical team.

When you do get back in the water begin slowly. Dive in familiar places. Do shorter and shallower dives at first paying special attention to any small physical concerns. Very gradually get deeper and stay longer. Getting back in the water for me took several dives before I could be certain that my body had not suffered any obvious effects of my treatment. It has been almost 5 years for me and I still take things with extra care.

Surviving cancer is a big deal. Congratulations to you and your medical team. You can eventually get back to where you were before your whole unfortunate adventure started, but don't be in a rush that could jeopardize your safety, and the safety of others.

 

[JBRES1]

Good evening,At this point I do not know where we are going in the recovery. I will be seeing the team of Doctors on Tuesday to talk about the options.Mark, thank you for post about your cancer. How long after Chemo were you able to get back in the water.Thanks, Jim

 

[Mark Vlahos]

Good evening,At this point I do not know where we are going in the recovery. I will be seeing the team of Doctors on Tuesday to talk about the options.Mark, thank you for post about your cancer. How long after Chemo were you able to get back in the water.Thanks, Jim

It was about 3 months. My doctor cleared me at 1 month post Chemo. Of course post Chemo means the end of the cycle after the drugs do their work. In my case that point was a month after the administration of the final dose of Chemotherapy Drugs.

My first dives were recreational profiles in recreational environments. It was about another month before I got back into caves (my primary type of diving) and then several cave dives before planned decompression.

Before cancer I had planned on taking TriMix classes. Largely because of the toll that the Chemo drugs took on my body I have come to the conclusion that deeper diving is not a direction I want to pursue.

Surgery was not a part of my treatment, nor was Radiation.