Christa and her partner were ultimately able to resolve these difficulties.
Transcript
As far as the sex part goes, I felt not very feminine. Of course, when I had no breasts at all, I felt self-conscious of my scars and everything. So I talked to my sister about it, just so she just kind of helped me go through it. And I’m, he won’t even touch my scars. I didn’t know if he was grossed out by them or what he thought but I think he just didn’t want to pay any attention to them. And so, there was a bit of, kind of, difficulty. He’s like “Yeah, I don’t care, I don’t mind.” But it’s not like I want him to fawn over my scars or anything but just have it not be affected. And so, I think that I felt like there was, it just, I didn’t feel sexual. I think the Tamoxifen kind of did that too. Also the Effexor as well, all of those things made me feel not sexual for a while. Just giving birth. I was heavier and just the lack of sleep. So there was, there’s a period of time where things were very difficult for us as a couple. We both dealt with it in our own ways. And for me, I couldn’t sleep and I think I drank more alcohol at that point in time too. Just because, I just wanted to feel numb. I just didn’t want to feel crappy so… or I wanted to be able to get to sleep at night.
And now, I don’t find, now we have a great relationship and we have for a few years. I do think having the breast put back on, but I can’t tell how much of it was how I felt about myself or how he felt about me. I know that he loves me and he loved me and all that kind of stuff but you still want to feel desirable to your partner too.
More content
- Reconstruction surgery – ChristaChrista was satisfied with the results even though the tattoo faded over time.
- Messages to others – ChristaAs a teacher, Christa noticed that some children think they can't do something when it is new. She encourages others to give yourself time and then things may be easier.
- How it affects family and friends – ChristaChrista learned that she had breast cancer on the same day that she discovered she was pregnant. She thinks she could have shared this in a better way with others.
- Challenging emotions – ChristaChrista experienced postpartum depression right after her breast cancer treatment.
- Understanding the diagnosis – ChristaKnowing that there is breast cancer in her family Christa wanted to have a baseline screening before getting pregnant.
- Testing and diagnosis – ChristaBeing diagnosed with breast cancer and finding out she was pregnant on the same day was difficult for Christa.
- First symptoms – ChristaDespite her family history, Christa had to insist on being screened as a baseline when she was only 35.
- Sexuality, femininity and intimacy – ChristaChrista and her partner were ultimately able to resolve these difficulties.
- Recurrent and metastatic (advanced) breast cancer – ChristaFacing the possibility of more bad news was extremely difficult for Christa.
- Follow-up care and the risk of recurrence – ChristaChrista's concerns led her to insist on additional follow-up after being told it was no longer necessary.