Goodbye boobs - the countdown has begun.

So it’s official; I will be saying goodbye boobs on November the 25th and honestly I’m so excited!

As you may know (I have mentioned it a few hundred times!) I was pulling my hair out waiting for a surgery date as I felt like someone had pressed pause on my life. But last Tuesday I received the long-awaited call and was told my surgery has been booked for the 25th of November.

I felt tremendous relief that I finally knew when I would be able to say goodbye to these killer breasts, get prepared for surgery and make plans again. Of course there were also very apparent feelings of fear as the whole situation was suddenly extremely real. I realised that I will actually be having a mastectomy; a fact I don’t think had actually sunk in before.  

Right now however I just feel extremely excited! Excited to have the waiting over and to be able to look forward to the future again. I’m excited to see what my new boobs will look like, excited to start recovery and excited to be able to say that I have survived my genetic predisposition for breast cancer. I mean how incredible will it be to be able to say ‘I will never get breast cancer’.

I feel like my surgery and everything that surrounds it has been weighing down on me for so long. It’s a huge weight that I’ve been carrying on my shoulders for over 18 months and the thought of being on the other side of it, of getting back to me, is such a liberating feeling. I’m reminded why I made this decision in the first place and I feel empowered. I was lucky enough to be warned of my fate and I’ve chosen to change it.

The next step takes place next week: I’m meeting my surgeon to discuss the finer details and to be measured by my implants. Having control over what my new boobs will look and feel like is one of the nicer parts of this roller-coaster journey.  

Another thing that will be discussed next week is the possibility of filming my surgery. Through this journey I’ve been trying to raise as much awareness as I possibly can and my surgeon has mentioned that they can film me in the hospital and even in my surgery if I so wish. I will be discussing this with him in more detail next week but it’s another exciting part of my story and I hope that I can use this to raise even more awareness.

Since I found out my surgery date I’ve spent a fortune on new bedding, pillows, new pyjamas, slippers and other comfy items of clothing ready for my few weeks of hibernation. It’s perfect timing with slightly less than six weeks between my surgery date and the New Year. Starting 2016 a fresh will be incredible.

I do realise however that I have got a challenging month coming up. My sister Charlotte has her surgery two weeks before me and I think I may struggle more seeing her go through it than when I go through it myself. I know that my Mum is going to struggle with both of her daughters going through major surgery two weeks apart from each other too.

The important thing is though that however hard the next step is I will get through it and I will come out of it better off. I am surrounding myself with positive people and will be concentrating on my recovery.

The finish line is in sight and I am ready!

Lots of love, Katie x