Losing one or both breasts is a reality many cancer patients face.
With a lumpectomy, the tumor is removed and followed up with radiation therapy. In a mastectomy, the entire breast is removed.
While a mastectomy is a more drastic measure, it lessens the chance of cancer coming back.
Choosing between the two isn't easy. Reconstructive surgery, or getting breast implants, is one option for restoring your appearance, but it isn't the only one.
Runi Limary was diagnosed with cancer when she was 28, and opted for immediate reconstructive surgery after her mastectomy.
"I want to look like the average female out there. That's so important after you've been diagnosed. You've been hit and kicked and run over and everything, and the last thing you need to do is wonder, 'Are people staring at me because I'm lopsided?'" she said.
Limary endured a second blow when that breast got infected and had to be removed.
"It was difficult having to lose your breast twice. It really is," she said.
 |  |
 | |  |
| | | | | | | |
Just like a woman
Prosthetics are a non-surgical alternative for women after a mastectomy.
 
| | |
| | | | | |
|
Instead of opting for more surgery, Limary took a different route and invested in prosthetic breasts. They start at about $275 and go up. Insurance companies will generally cover most of the costs.
"When someone hugs you it feels like normal breasts. You're able to put it on in the morning and you don't have to worry about it and you don't have to have another procedure if you don't want to," she said.
Prostheses have been around for decades, but they've significantly improved. The older ones feel like plastic. The newer versions are made out of silicone and feel more natural.
"When I first started the silicone prostheses were much heavier. Now they've come up with much lighter weight forms, which women seem to like," Cindy Steele of Petticoat Fair said. "I have a lot of women who start to cry because they look like they used to. It's very satisfying."
The prostheses can last a year and are designed to withstand any activity, even swimming.
Limary said wearing it makes her feel like a woman again.
"You know my hair is a lot shorter because of chemotherapy but at least my body seems normal again," she said.
