Wounded Guys and Girls Tell Us the Stories Behind Their Scars

Hannah

"I was told I had breast cancer in April 2016. After various tests and biopsies (from which I have a few tiny scars), I had surgery a week before my 27th birthday. I don’t remember much about those first few days, expect I watched a lot of The Sopranos and I was in a lot of pain. The first time I saw my wound I was inconsolable. I had a lot of issues over the next few months - my nurses said I’d broken the record for longest time taken to heal after a lumpectomy. My body rejected the dissolvable stitches, and I had a couple of infections. One day I was out with friends, and my wound opened up on one side, by the time I got to A+E blood was pouring out and my shirt was drenched. So the scar is much thicker than the original incision. It’s difficult to talk about still, and I’m definitely not totally liking my scar yet, but I’m getting there. It’s not easy having a scar on a part of your body that’s “Sexy” - I don’t have that relationship with my breasts anymore. This journey with cancer has taught me a lot, and I appreciate my body for doing it’s best and keeping me alive. I know that soon I’ll appreciate this scar too, as a reminder of how I had the strength to get through. The scar under my armpit is from the same surgery, where they removed a few lymph nodes to check if the cancer had spread - it hadn’t. I’ve had a lot of issues with movement in my arm and tightness in my armpit from it - who knew being able to put your arm above your head would be such a lovely, joyous achievement.”