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This letter is being written from my heart and with my most sincere and deepest conviction of being truly honest with you dear reader.
As I am writing this letter I am currently in my third week post operative of a bilateral mastectomy..
I know this sounds pretty horrifying to you however this is the most positive time of my life. In fact I will be celebrating my baby boomer birthday-
that is a definite hint-in two days. All birthdays at my age are as my husband calls it, Happy plenty nine!
My mastectomy is my birthday gift to myself and my family,now I know with my trust in my surgeon and medical science that I will see my
daughter graduate from medical school and in my future there will be many more candles on my cake.
You see dear ladies, my operation was a preventative and elective surgery which I will do my best to explain in depth towards the end of this letter.
My late Mother,she herself was a registered nurse and nursing administrator. She was always very proud that she had her masters degree from
Johns Hopkins and I know that Mother would be very pleased from where she is now that I mentioned this in my note to you.
I remember vividly going through all of the shock and tears with my mom from the very beginning of her calling me to help her with her doctors
appointment as she said over the phone ,¨dear ,I don't want you to worry but I think Ive found a lump in my breast and I better get a check up:.
My Mother in that era of her life was retired from her decades of service in public health
When I was a little girl Mother took a position in New Mexico in public health administration specifically for my Father,s health( a warmer climate
had been suggested by the doctors ) so we moved from the lush greenery of the magnificent emerald forests of the northwest to the desert of
Santa Fe.
I had great memories of going with her to the Indian reservations and playing with Spanish speaking kids who were totally unaware of it themselves
that they were existing in squalor and living literally out in the middle of nowhere -but the visiting nurses little girl with the funny puffed sleeved
dress had a hula hoop( this was the craze of the 50s) in the back of the car and that made me all the more welcome with my pale face amongst all
those smiling curious brown faces eager to know what this big red plastic hoop was all about . One of the most sacred and time honored dances
of The Hopi Indians is the Hoop Dance, believe me they taught me a few moves!
Father passed away -his ashes as for his request were strewn out in the desert near Camel Head Rock.
We moved back to the green of Washington State. Mother never married again. She devoted her life work to public health.
It was those memories of a Hispanic way of life that made it all the easier for me to move much later in my life with my husband and our ten year
old daughter to Costa Rica. My husband was a successful restaurateur and hotelier. Hes German and he had always loved Costa Rica from his
previous trips there before our marriage. Now he was able to retire early and he easily convinced me to pack up our family of three to live in Costa
Rica.
We were older parents (my husband was a bit older than I- better to be an older mans darling than a young mans fool as they say- so my silver
haired handsome husband , his darling wife and daughter (who was at that time ten and three quarters as she would proudly say) were indeed
moving to Costa Rica.
The house had been sold -two containers sent on their ocean voyage to the tiny country that most Gringos had confused with Puerto Rico. Let
alone to discover later that one had better clarify if you were an American if you were North, Central, or South American. We were going to live
the retirement dream in the tropical sun- whilst our daughter would be educated in The British School and later The German Humboldt School.
Costa Rica has some of the finest private schools (which I of course had painstakingly investigated)they boast and rightfully so in their public
schools as having one of the highest rates of literacy. What impressed me the most of the schools in Costa Rica from earlier visits(when we were
testing the waters before the final plunge) was seeing children walking freely in their perfectly laundered blue and white uniforms on their way to
and from school. Children walking alone was unheard of in the states and in the area where we lived every soccer mom drove their child
everywhere period. Violence had already raised its hideous head with school shootings along with the usual drugs and profanity. I, we wanted our
daughter to grow up learning languages and as every embassy from the Taiwanese, French, British,U.S. Is politically situated in this diverse
country, I knew our daughter would be exposed to not only other languages but other cultures as well. We had our tickets everything packed and
gone and we were ready to leave in the following week. Everything on my to do list before the big move had been done except for minor things like
my last check up with my doctor ,my mammogram.
Four days later the call. Mrs. H the doctor needs to see you . They had found a lump in my left breast. Our insurance was now canceled with our
imminent move. I cried and cried. I was in my thirties, I was devastated. I remembered exactly what my Mother had gone through with her breast
cancer. She had a radical mastectomy the same day the same day that Elvis Presley had died. I remember that well as once she was back in her
hospital room out of recovery, the nurse who was attending her in Mothers room seemed more interested in turning on the news to hear more of
the details of Elvis. My Mother always sharp witted even under the influence of post operative drugs quipped,¨well Ive only lost my breast and a
few lymph nodes-Elvis lost his life. I guess I haven´t had that bad of a day!”
Later after my Mother had been released from the hospital I remember driving her home from in the hot sun, the air conditioning for whatever
reason wasn't working. She kept moaning and flopping her head from side to side and mumbling to herself how angry she was at her insurance
company that they wouldn't handle anything reconstructive.”well it doesn't matter your Fathers been gone so long but I was hoping I could meet
him in heaven looking a little like the woman he married-let alone the hospital wouldn't keep me another night without my paying for it in full-
insurance, insurance, and for what? All of those years of payment faithfully and then they want to spit you out of the hospital like a watermelon
seed.”
It was horrible driving her home we were on the 15 freeway in rush hour traffic stuck in the hot heat and my Mother was passing out.
I was at the steering wheel stupidly not knowing what to do other than calling out to her ´¨mom , mom´don´t fall asleep now!” trying to keep her
awake as I thought that might help.
We had moved to Costa Rica where I went to see a doctor in regards to my lump. He was the most compassionate doctor with my dilemma. He
later scheduled a biopsy which thankfully turned out to be benign.
Costa Rica surprised us as having their own national health insurance which all Costa Ricans have to participate in. Even foreigners (such as
myself) which are in the tens of thousands can participate. Time passed quickly still more problems with my breast and I decided along with my
same doctor to have a lumpectomy in Costa Rica. After the surgery and going home to recover I waited for the dreaded call as to the outcome of
the biopsy-thank god it was benign.
I went faithfully every six months (with taking Tamoxifen along the way) for my mammograms and ultrasounds. Different technicians, different
doctors another lump to be watched with this area seems to be changing as was mentioned to me time and time again. Give yourself self exams
and return on time for your next mammogram. In the interim of all of this I felt cancer free-not me yet!!
With our retirement we built a house with a guest house and one for a recreation area as well as for our staff. To shorten my story I was hoping
that our international family and friends would be coming to visit but unfortunately not as often as I would of liked. Fortunately my life took a big
leap in a new direction. After I had designed and decorated every room (which is what I had done as a career in the states) I found myself
wondering what to do with all of this time on my unused hands that were so used to keeping busy.
My daughter had a friend in the German school whose mother is an American who had her credentials as an R:N: from the states. She had been
working for a cosmetic surgeon who was just about to retire. She kept telling me I had one of the most perfect locations for people to heal after
cosmetic surgery.
“Ingrid,” she would say in her most delightful authoritative voice(nurses do have that power)”You have a beautiful villa with guest houses your like
the Hollywood Hills of San Jose. You've got the mountain on one side for nature lovers and the city below for city lovers -let alone that fantastic
view at night of all those city lights -plus your close to all of the hospitals. Ingrid do it your place is perfect for post surgical patients. Trust me they
don't want to stay in hotels with no care and being gawked at by little kids.'
And so it began. “Nip Tuck is just a television show,we're the real thing.” I would often tell our guests with a wink.
We are now in the aftercare facility business with years of experience and staffed with excellent people. Petra our administrator is not only a friend
but she ran and owned her own women's clinic (which performed surgery) in Amsterdam for fourteen years . She speaks a handful of languages
and is fully trained as a technician in X ray and ultrasound.
Ms. Melissa is our head nurse. This beautiful young lady is no Nurse Ratchet, not only is she dignified and blessed with the beauty of Costa Rican
Ticas she is highly educated, fully bilingual and has a great sense of humor as well as her bedside manner. She is a surgical R.N. and has worked
with the top cosmetic surgeons and she is especially knowledgeable in breast procedures.
In the course of these years I have met many wonderful guests who have had breast cancer who have come here for reconstruction from all over
the world. Costa Rica is tops in medical tourism and has some of the finest reconstructive plastic surgeons in the world whose credentials boast of
not only their native University but also those of Oxford to Johns Hopkins.
We have the finest of surgical talent and most of all it is affordable.
One of my favorite guests was coming again to stay with us for cosmetic surgery when she related to me that she would have to cancel as she had
found out that she had breast cancer. It was through the inspiration of this courageous and lovely woman who had a bilateral mastectomy
procedure at the prestigious Mayo Clinic hospital who had been such a help and friend in my making my decision.
She returned to Costa Rica because she was not happy with her implants(which were saline) and how she was looking. Now please keep in mind
this is a beautiful woman with very good insurance and an excellent hospital. You can't get any better than the Mayo clinic on your side however
cohesive gel silicone implants that have been approved of for the last twelve years in Europe are not used in the states only for reconstruction after
the fact that the woman has cancer and these implants(co-hesive gel) have only been used in the last two and a half years in the U.S.
Attached at the end of my testimonial is the medical studies in Europe regarding the incredibly high statistics of preventative mastectomy in a
positive favor of extending life as well as more information on reconstruction with cohesive gel implants.
The cohesive silicone gel implants are often anatomically designed so they look like a real woman and the real you !After my surgery my daughter
even exclaimed, 'Mom you've got a great décolletage and your bust line will look great in all of your fancy dresses!”
My one weakness on a personal note was from my opera days (which I studied diligently in my early twenties) was my love of elegant and
sometimes outright- do I dare say flashy beaded evening gowns. I am worse than Elizabeth Taylor or some divinely aged drag queen diva when it
comes to what my husband refers to as The Never Ending Collection of Dynasty Fluff. I mentioned this as there isn't one woman that I haven't met
who doesn't have that secret dress or bathing suit that only she knows about. She more than likely if she was like me fibbed about how she went
about paying for it if not to herself when juggling the checkbook or to her husband with, ¨you must of forgotten to give me the money for the
phone bill that is overdue darling. Little does he know that The Nordstrom's sale has begun and the gown foundation as in my case was about to be
fed
A prime example of the secret closet was when a nursing friend of mine back in Oregon who happened to be a top notch surgical R.N. and who
worked for a world renowned cardiologist approached me about some fund raising ideas. We got together for several fund raising events and our
most memorable was our infamous fashion show with proceeds going to battered women. The fashion show was a cocktail party where you were
to bring along that ¨”secret” outfit that you had stashed away in your closet and auction it off. You could either wear the item or walk down the
runway”modeling” the garment on a hanger.. This auction was for women only from the hospital staff from Doctors to the janitoress and whom I
felt privileged to be invited to be a part of.
One lady who was a good size 18 to 20 had on her hanger tight leather black pants with a matching low cut leather(I mean really low cut) top.
“ I know it's a size 8 but I always thought I'd get there someday anyway I bought it after seeing Michelle Pheifer as Cat woman!” she exclaimed
while proudly displaying her leather cat digs.
A most quiet and demure lovely lady who was an accountant for the hospital surprised us all by bringing her “secret Dress” which was a very low
cut red sequined floor length gown that was slit up on the one side. I remember thinking that even Barbie couldn't manage getting into this little
number. She jumped out of her chair and boldly thrust the shimmering gown right into our gaping awe struck faces.
“I know I dress plainly for work that's what accountants look like by day; but in my heart of hearts I am a Bond girl. !Which Bond of course is my
secret you will never know-Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore? That's my secret, but this is the dress he picked for me. She giggled with a wink.
I am only mentioning this to my testimonial as this portrays all the more that women (and trust me as the owner of an Aftercare Facility which
mainly deals with the ongoing quest of glamor and perfection that women truly want to feel and be beautiful, it is on our DNA Do Not Adjust. It is
our birth right of being women who are intelligent, strong and feminine. From queen Elizabeth to First Lady Obama we all want to be first and be
queen for a day at one time of our lives. This is why I want you to know dear reader that considering a preventative mastectomy as I have done-
does not mean that you will look deformed or feel that you have lost your femininity- that you will never feel your child or grandchild nestled on
your breast or share that intimate embrace with your spouse-or lover.
You will look fantastic in that little black dress with just the right amount of décolletage revealed. As I said I am exactly three weeks and two days
post operative, today is my birthday and I am going out with my husband and daughter for an early lunch(I still get tired). I am wearing my black
dress with my black medical post surgical bra which is a little low cut. My implants are from Holland which makes me happy as Amsterdam was
and is always a beautiful and romantic city to me, let along where Petra our Administrator owned her own Women's Clinic for fourteen years.
The surgical incision took place above the aureole(nipple), the breast tissue(mammary gland) removed and then the implants were put in place and
then Instant Reconstruction!
I went in for my surgery at 7 am and I was able to go home by three PM of course I was going home to my own Aftercare Facility and my
GLORIOUS head nurse RN Melissa stayed the night with me. She is Costa Rica's Florence Nightingale. The surgery itself took about three hours.
I have sent so many guests off to surgery with a hug and “everything will be fine-we will be here for you when you return after you are released
from the doctor. Everything will be just fine dear!”
I even rode in that morning of my surgery with a fellow guest who was having a minor surgical procedure at the same Clinic. I professionally did
not want her to know that I was on my way for my preventative mastectomy. I went along to hold her hand when she had no idea that she was
really holding mine in return.
The doctor called me in, took my photo and drew the procedure lines on me. I changed into my green surgical gown slippers and head covering, in
the Operating Room my doctor and her all female staff were waiting -nurse, anesthesiologist, attendants all women; they helped me on the surgical
table and I looked at the IV drip above me. They were all smiling at me and I think I said in Spanish “Pura Vida” (which is a classic and Costarican
saying that means Pure Life. I thought to myself I want to live my life pure and free of the fear of developing breast cancer. I wanted not only to
be a part of the race for the cure for breast cancer but I wanted to participate in my own race running as far and as fast as I could from the fear of
being next in the chain of the relay team of genetics that tags us that we are next to die from this disease. To be honest I felt like I was living with
a time bomb in my bra. Now I will run for prevention.
This elective surgery could very very well save my life. And many many women such as myself in the same predicament.
I opened my eyes and asked my doctor as she gazed over me with her concerned eyes peering over her surgical mask:
Are we getting ready to start?
She smiled and said “it's all over, you're doing great”
I could not believe it was over, my fear, my distress, my curse, it was over. In my post surgical slur I thanked her over and over again.
I am so glad you went to Medical School dear Doctora.
This is dedicated to all of the mothers and daughters and sisters and brothers(1190 cases in men in US only in 2008), aunts and sister in laws, lady
co-workers, best friends, worst friends, ex wives, devoted loved Madonnas of womanhood who have passed of breast cancer. This is also my
dedication that as an example of myself and my own testimonial that we can take matter so serious as breast cancer into our own hands along with
the skilled hands of our medically gifted surgeons and assistants. We do not have to wait for breast cancer. We can have de tissue of the breast
removed so that cancer has no place to grow. The statistics are in our favor with a preventive mastectomy. And most of all we can have
affordable operations of this kind done here in Costa Rica with the finest of surgeons and with the highest of credentials in the world.
I am living proof as a lady in you fifties, sixties and forties and even thirties; you can be free of living in fear of your next mammogram you do not
have to wait for that lump to become cancer. You may have this surgery done along with a beautiful reconstruction and be over with it once and
for all.
The operation is in the $5.000 to $11.000 compared to $40.000 to $100.000 in the US. What a gift for yourself and your loved ones.
Let us all blow those birthday candles and I promise your bust line will look great as you lean on the cake!
Who said you can't have your cake and eat it too!! By the way make my frosting Pink!
If my Testimonial may be of any help I am so happy. You are not alone.
With Love and conviction
As I am writing this letter I am currently in my third week post operative of a bilateral mastectomy..
I know this sounds pretty horrifying to you however this is the most positive time of my life. In fact I will be celebrating my baby boomer birthday-
that is a definite hint-in two days. All birthdays at my age are as my husband calls it, Happy plenty nine!
My mastectomy is my birthday gift to myself and my family,now I know with my trust in my surgeon and medical science that I will see my
daughter graduate from medical school and in my future there will be many more candles on my cake.
You see dear ladies, my operation was a preventative and elective surgery which I will do my best to explain in depth towards the end of this letter.
My late Mother,she herself was a registered nurse and nursing administrator. She was always very proud that she had her masters degree from
Johns Hopkins and I know that Mother would be very pleased from where she is now that I mentioned this in my note to you.
I remember vividly going through all of the shock and tears with my mom from the very beginning of her calling me to help her with her doctors
appointment as she said over the phone ,¨dear ,I don't want you to worry but I think Ive found a lump in my breast and I better get a check up:.
My Mother in that era of her life was retired from her decades of service in public health
When I was a little girl Mother took a position in New Mexico in public health administration specifically for my Father,s health( a warmer climate
had been suggested by the doctors ) so we moved from the lush greenery of the magnificent emerald forests of the northwest to the desert of
Santa Fe.
I had great memories of going with her to the Indian reservations and playing with Spanish speaking kids who were totally unaware of it themselves
that they were existing in squalor and living literally out in the middle of nowhere -but the visiting nurses little girl with the funny puffed sleeved
dress had a hula hoop( this was the craze of the 50s) in the back of the car and that made me all the more welcome with my pale face amongst all
those smiling curious brown faces eager to know what this big red plastic hoop was all about . One of the most sacred and time honored dances
of The Hopi Indians is the Hoop Dance, believe me they taught me a few moves!
Father passed away -his ashes as for his request were strewn out in the desert near Camel Head Rock.
We moved back to the green of Washington State. Mother never married again. She devoted her life work to public health.
It was those memories of a Hispanic way of life that made it all the easier for me to move much later in my life with my husband and our ten year
old daughter to Costa Rica. My husband was a successful restaurateur and hotelier. Hes German and he had always loved Costa Rica from his
previous trips there before our marriage. Now he was able to retire early and he easily convinced me to pack up our family of three to live in Costa
Rica.
We were older parents (my husband was a bit older than I- better to be an older mans darling than a young mans fool as they say- so my silver
haired handsome husband , his darling wife and daughter (who was at that time ten and three quarters as she would proudly say) were indeed
moving to Costa Rica.
The house had been sold -two containers sent on their ocean voyage to the tiny country that most Gringos had confused with Puerto Rico. Let
alone to discover later that one had better clarify if you were an American if you were North, Central, or South American. We were going to live
the retirement dream in the tropical sun- whilst our daughter would be educated in The British School and later The German Humboldt School.
Costa Rica has some of the finest private schools (which I of course had painstakingly investigated)they boast and rightfully so in their public
schools as having one of the highest rates of literacy. What impressed me the most of the schools in Costa Rica from earlier visits(when we were
testing the waters before the final plunge) was seeing children walking freely in their perfectly laundered blue and white uniforms on their way to
and from school. Children walking alone was unheard of in the states and in the area where we lived every soccer mom drove their child
everywhere period. Violence had already raised its hideous head with school shootings along with the usual drugs and profanity. I, we wanted our
daughter to grow up learning languages and as every embassy from the Taiwanese, French, British,U.S. Is politically situated in this diverse
country, I knew our daughter would be exposed to not only other languages but other cultures as well. We had our tickets everything packed and
gone and we were ready to leave in the following week. Everything on my to do list before the big move had been done except for minor things like
my last check up with my doctor ,my mammogram.
Four days later the call. Mrs. H the doctor needs to see you . They had found a lump in my left breast. Our insurance was now canceled with our
imminent move. I cried and cried. I was in my thirties, I was devastated. I remembered exactly what my Mother had gone through with her breast
cancer. She had a radical mastectomy the same day the same day that Elvis Presley had died. I remember that well as once she was back in her
hospital room out of recovery, the nurse who was attending her in Mothers room seemed more interested in turning on the news to hear more of
the details of Elvis. My Mother always sharp witted even under the influence of post operative drugs quipped,¨well Ive only lost my breast and a
few lymph nodes-Elvis lost his life. I guess I haven´t had that bad of a day!”
Later after my Mother had been released from the hospital I remember driving her home from in the hot sun, the air conditioning for whatever
reason wasn't working. She kept moaning and flopping her head from side to side and mumbling to herself how angry she was at her insurance
company that they wouldn't handle anything reconstructive.”well it doesn't matter your Fathers been gone so long but I was hoping I could meet
him in heaven looking a little like the woman he married-let alone the hospital wouldn't keep me another night without my paying for it in full-
insurance, insurance, and for what? All of those years of payment faithfully and then they want to spit you out of the hospital like a watermelon
seed.”
It was horrible driving her home we were on the 15 freeway in rush hour traffic stuck in the hot heat and my Mother was passing out.
I was at the steering wheel stupidly not knowing what to do other than calling out to her ´¨mom , mom´don´t fall asleep now!” trying to keep her
awake as I thought that might help.
We had moved to Costa Rica where I went to see a doctor in regards to my lump. He was the most compassionate doctor with my dilemma. He
later scheduled a biopsy which thankfully turned out to be benign.
Costa Rica surprised us as having their own national health insurance which all Costa Ricans have to participate in. Even foreigners (such as
myself) which are in the tens of thousands can participate. Time passed quickly still more problems with my breast and I decided along with my
same doctor to have a lumpectomy in Costa Rica. After the surgery and going home to recover I waited for the dreaded call as to the outcome of
the biopsy-thank god it was benign.
I went faithfully every six months (with taking Tamoxifen along the way) for my mammograms and ultrasounds. Different technicians, different
doctors another lump to be watched with this area seems to be changing as was mentioned to me time and time again. Give yourself self exams
and return on time for your next mammogram. In the interim of all of this I felt cancer free-not me yet!!
With our retirement we built a house with a guest house and one for a recreation area as well as for our staff. To shorten my story I was hoping
that our international family and friends would be coming to visit but unfortunately not as often as I would of liked. Fortunately my life took a big
leap in a new direction. After I had designed and decorated every room (which is what I had done as a career in the states) I found myself
wondering what to do with all of this time on my unused hands that were so used to keeping busy.
My daughter had a friend in the German school whose mother is an American who had her credentials as an R:N: from the states. She had been
working for a cosmetic surgeon who was just about to retire. She kept telling me I had one of the most perfect locations for people to heal after
cosmetic surgery.
“Ingrid,” she would say in her most delightful authoritative voice(nurses do have that power)”You have a beautiful villa with guest houses your like
the Hollywood Hills of San Jose. You've got the mountain on one side for nature lovers and the city below for city lovers -let alone that fantastic
view at night of all those city lights -plus your close to all of the hospitals. Ingrid do it your place is perfect for post surgical patients. Trust me they
don't want to stay in hotels with no care and being gawked at by little kids.'
And so it began. “Nip Tuck is just a television show,we're the real thing.” I would often tell our guests with a wink.
We are now in the aftercare facility business with years of experience and staffed with excellent people. Petra our administrator is not only a friend
but she ran and owned her own women's clinic (which performed surgery) in Amsterdam for fourteen years . She speaks a handful of languages
and is fully trained as a technician in X ray and ultrasound.
Ms. Melissa is our head nurse. This beautiful young lady is no Nurse Ratchet, not only is she dignified and blessed with the beauty of Costa Rican
Ticas she is highly educated, fully bilingual and has a great sense of humor as well as her bedside manner. She is a surgical R.N. and has worked
with the top cosmetic surgeons and she is especially knowledgeable in breast procedures.
In the course of these years I have met many wonderful guests who have had breast cancer who have come here for reconstruction from all over
the world. Costa Rica is tops in medical tourism and has some of the finest reconstructive plastic surgeons in the world whose credentials boast of
not only their native University but also those of Oxford to Johns Hopkins.
We have the finest of surgical talent and most of all it is affordable.
One of my favorite guests was coming again to stay with us for cosmetic surgery when she related to me that she would have to cancel as she had
found out that she had breast cancer. It was through the inspiration of this courageous and lovely woman who had a bilateral mastectomy
procedure at the prestigious Mayo Clinic hospital who had been such a help and friend in my making my decision.
She returned to Costa Rica because she was not happy with her implants(which were saline) and how she was looking. Now please keep in mind
this is a beautiful woman with very good insurance and an excellent hospital. You can't get any better than the Mayo clinic on your side however
cohesive gel silicone implants that have been approved of for the last twelve years in Europe are not used in the states only for reconstruction after
the fact that the woman has cancer and these implants(co-hesive gel) have only been used in the last two and a half years in the U.S.
Attached at the end of my testimonial is the medical studies in Europe regarding the incredibly high statistics of preventative mastectomy in a
positive favor of extending life as well as more information on reconstruction with cohesive gel implants.
The cohesive silicone gel implants are often anatomically designed so they look like a real woman and the real you !After my surgery my daughter
even exclaimed, 'Mom you've got a great décolletage and your bust line will look great in all of your fancy dresses!”
My one weakness on a personal note was from my opera days (which I studied diligently in my early twenties) was my love of elegant and
sometimes outright- do I dare say flashy beaded evening gowns. I am worse than Elizabeth Taylor or some divinely aged drag queen diva when it
comes to what my husband refers to as The Never Ending Collection of Dynasty Fluff. I mentioned this as there isn't one woman that I haven't met
who doesn't have that secret dress or bathing suit that only she knows about. She more than likely if she was like me fibbed about how she went
about paying for it if not to herself when juggling the checkbook or to her husband with, ¨you must of forgotten to give me the money for the
phone bill that is overdue darling. Little does he know that The Nordstrom's sale has begun and the gown foundation as in my case was about to be
fed
A prime example of the secret closet was when a nursing friend of mine back in Oregon who happened to be a top notch surgical R.N. and who
worked for a world renowned cardiologist approached me about some fund raising ideas. We got together for several fund raising events and our
most memorable was our infamous fashion show with proceeds going to battered women. The fashion show was a cocktail party where you were
to bring along that ¨”secret” outfit that you had stashed away in your closet and auction it off. You could either wear the item or walk down the
runway”modeling” the garment on a hanger.. This auction was for women only from the hospital staff from Doctors to the janitoress and whom I
felt privileged to be invited to be a part of.
One lady who was a good size 18 to 20 had on her hanger tight leather black pants with a matching low cut leather(I mean really low cut) top.
“ I know it's a size 8 but I always thought I'd get there someday anyway I bought it after seeing Michelle Pheifer as Cat woman!” she exclaimed
while proudly displaying her leather cat digs.
A most quiet and demure lovely lady who was an accountant for the hospital surprised us all by bringing her “secret Dress” which was a very low
cut red sequined floor length gown that was slit up on the one side. I remember thinking that even Barbie couldn't manage getting into this little
number. She jumped out of her chair and boldly thrust the shimmering gown right into our gaping awe struck faces.
“I know I dress plainly for work that's what accountants look like by day; but in my heart of hearts I am a Bond girl. !Which Bond of course is my
secret you will never know-Pierce Brosnan or Roger Moore? That's my secret, but this is the dress he picked for me. She giggled with a wink.
I am only mentioning this to my testimonial as this portrays all the more that women (and trust me as the owner of an Aftercare Facility which
mainly deals with the ongoing quest of glamor and perfection that women truly want to feel and be beautiful, it is on our DNA Do Not Adjust. It is
our birth right of being women who are intelligent, strong and feminine. From queen Elizabeth to First Lady Obama we all want to be first and be
queen for a day at one time of our lives. This is why I want you to know dear reader that considering a preventative mastectomy as I have done-
does not mean that you will look deformed or feel that you have lost your femininity- that you will never feel your child or grandchild nestled on
your breast or share that intimate embrace with your spouse-or lover.
You will look fantastic in that little black dress with just the right amount of décolletage revealed. As I said I am exactly three weeks and two days
post operative, today is my birthday and I am going out with my husband and daughter for an early lunch(I still get tired). I am wearing my black
dress with my black medical post surgical bra which is a little low cut. My implants are from Holland which makes me happy as Amsterdam was
and is always a beautiful and romantic city to me, let along where Petra our Administrator owned her own Women's Clinic for fourteen years.
The surgical incision took place above the aureole(nipple), the breast tissue(mammary gland) removed and then the implants were put in place and
then Instant Reconstruction!
I went in for my surgery at 7 am and I was able to go home by three PM of course I was going home to my own Aftercare Facility and my
GLORIOUS head nurse RN Melissa stayed the night with me. She is Costa Rica's Florence Nightingale. The surgery itself took about three hours.
I have sent so many guests off to surgery with a hug and “everything will be fine-we will be here for you when you return after you are released
from the doctor. Everything will be just fine dear!”
I even rode in that morning of my surgery with a fellow guest who was having a minor surgical procedure at the same Clinic. I professionally did
not want her to know that I was on my way for my preventative mastectomy. I went along to hold her hand when she had no idea that she was
really holding mine in return.
The doctor called me in, took my photo and drew the procedure lines on me. I changed into my green surgical gown slippers and head covering, in
the Operating Room my doctor and her all female staff were waiting -nurse, anesthesiologist, attendants all women; they helped me on the surgical
table and I looked at the IV drip above me. They were all smiling at me and I think I said in Spanish “Pura Vida” (which is a classic and Costarican
saying that means Pure Life. I thought to myself I want to live my life pure and free of the fear of developing breast cancer. I wanted not only to
be a part of the race for the cure for breast cancer but I wanted to participate in my own race running as far and as fast as I could from the fear of
being next in the chain of the relay team of genetics that tags us that we are next to die from this disease. To be honest I felt like I was living with
a time bomb in my bra. Now I will run for prevention.
This elective surgery could very very well save my life. And many many women such as myself in the same predicament.
I opened my eyes and asked my doctor as she gazed over me with her concerned eyes peering over her surgical mask:
Are we getting ready to start?
She smiled and said “it's all over, you're doing great”
I could not believe it was over, my fear, my distress, my curse, it was over. In my post surgical slur I thanked her over and over again.
I am so glad you went to Medical School dear Doctora.
This is dedicated to all of the mothers and daughters and sisters and brothers(1190 cases in men in US only in 2008), aunts and sister in laws, lady
co-workers, best friends, worst friends, ex wives, devoted loved Madonnas of womanhood who have passed of breast cancer. This is also my
dedication that as an example of myself and my own testimonial that we can take matter so serious as breast cancer into our own hands along with
the skilled hands of our medically gifted surgeons and assistants. We do not have to wait for breast cancer. We can have de tissue of the breast
removed so that cancer has no place to grow. The statistics are in our favor with a preventive mastectomy. And most of all we can have
affordable operations of this kind done here in Costa Rica with the finest of surgeons and with the highest of credentials in the world.
I am living proof as a lady in you fifties, sixties and forties and even thirties; you can be free of living in fear of your next mammogram you do not
have to wait for that lump to become cancer. You may have this surgery done along with a beautiful reconstruction and be over with it once and
for all.
The operation is in the $5.000 to $11.000 compared to $40.000 to $100.000 in the US. What a gift for yourself and your loved ones.
Let us all blow those birthday candles and I promise your bust line will look great as you lean on the cake!
Who said you can't have your cake and eat it too!! By the way make my frosting Pink!
If my Testimonial may be of any help I am so happy. You are not alone.
With Love and conviction
Breast Cancer Prevention
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