Scars and body image after cancer treatment

Scars after cancer treatment. AFC - Aesthetic flat closure

Scars!

Here are mine.

We all have scars. Whether or not you can see them. We carry around the bumps and scrapes of childhood. Traces of injuries. Cuts and bangs. Adventures that didn’t quite go to plan. Errors of judgement. Too many drinks. Past surgeries. Births.

Cancers.

Every scar tells a story.

For a long time, when I looked in the mirror, all I saw was scars. My poor torso, riddled with scars. Unrecognisable.

Mastectomy. Port. Ovaries. The tattoos from radiotherapy, that are just tiny dots, but they always catch my eye.

All these scars, in less than a year.

The lines weren’t always this neat and faded. They started off red and raised. Angry wounds. Then they got itchy and annoying. Then a rainbow of colours from red to purple to pink to silver.

To now, almost invisible.

Today, I realised that when I look in the mirror, I don’t immediately think ‘cancer’ and want to look away. I don’t flinch and criticize. I don’t yearn for a girl who no longer exists.

I don’t just see scars.

I see me.

I went to take a photo for this post and forgot which side my port was. I had to look for the scar.

It’s progress.

It’s a process!

I have been talking to a client today, who is almost exactly 2 years behind me. We talked a lot about time. Having patience. Not rushing. I remember, when I finished treatment, I tried so hard to fast forward to the bit where I would feel better and love myself again.

Today, I realised I haven’t given my scars much thought recently. They have faded so much.

Physically and metaphorically.

I no longer feel defined by them.

They are just who I am now.

A story from my past.

I think I may be nearly there!

Learning to love my body again after cancer. Port scar

My body is riddled with scars after cancer. Oopherectomy scars.