Confession

I am totally judgemental about reconstructive surgery.


I try not to be. I try to direct my adamant feelings in the direction of "every woman has a right to know what all her choices are." This is what I say out loud when invited to speak about the issue. This is what I tell other breast cancer patients and survivors when the topic comes up. If I were really being honest with them (and myself,) I'd probably say, "reconstruction is ridiculous, obscenely expensive, wasteful and harmful surgery!"

I wouldn't just say it, I'd scream it. I'd plaster the town with home-made flyers calling the surgery "medical mutilation" and begging women to "Stop It!"*

It's not polite to say that. I can't say it to anyone who works in healthcare and helps women to get reconstruction. I can't say it to women who are considering reconstruction or who have had it. I guess that's part of why I haven't called that woman yet...the one who emailed me and asked if I could talk with her. I want to call and give her an unbiased opinion, a relaxed listening ear. But, I can't. I don't have one.

I think what she is doing is wrong. I think it is a bad choice. I think the expander she has in her chest could damage the muscular wall behind her breast, or even her rib cage. I think stretching her skin out to make room for an implant sounds painful and self-punishing. I think the implant itself, whether it's silicone gel or saline in a silicone wrapper, could make her sick, or weak, or disabled. I think the surgery itself could go wrong and she could end up with a deformed lump on her body, instead of an attractive breast. I think she might need repeated surgeries to get a look and a feel she's satisfied with. I think the incision site could get infected. I think she could loose or gain weight in the future and end up looking strange and lopsided anyway.

I think to risk all these complications and negative results for the sake of "self image" says something very sad and twisted about our culture, about women, and about the individuals who undergo this surgery.

So, that's my confession for this morning. I'm not open minded about this issue at all. I'm stuck up and judgemental and politically incorrect. When I say, "All women should have the right to get this surgery if they want to," I almost believe it. It seems a little unfair to me, that we live in a world where 1.5 billion dollars a year is spent on breast implant surgeries, and there are still hungry children in this country. But, insofar as I believe that capitalism is a healthy system for resource distribution (I don't) and insofar as I believe that our medical reimbursement system is sound (what a joke) then yes, I believe that all women should have the right to reconstructive surgery after breast implants.

I also believe all women should have the right to pierce and tattoo their faces until there original features are indiscernible. It's getting to where a boob jobs sound about this appealing.

*That round of flyers would be directed at women who were considering getting implants. The sequel would be directed at women who had already had them put in. These would say, "Cut It Out!"