Latest from the Flat Forum
Flat and… Nonbinary
Shortly after publishing “Flat and Happy” I was approached by a reader who had some suggestions for how to make it more inclusive. Jess, who is queer and identifies as nonbinary, rightly pointed out that the book didn’t include a perspective like theirs. At the time we met, they had recently learned that they carry the BRCA mutation and were preparing for surgery (ultimately they underwent mastectomy and oophorectomy). Since then, Jess has patiently educated me about the many ways that their experience has differed from that of a cishet woman confronting a similar diagnosis.
The Roots of Flat Denial – guest blog by Kim Bowles
I was 35 years old, with a nursing baby and toddler at home, when I was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. I went through what I call the “kitchen sink” treatment – chemo, double mastectomy, radiation, and more chemo. I had decided against breast reconstruction and brought on a plastic surgeon to give me a nice, clean, flat chest (at the time, the term “aesthetic flat closure” didn’t exist). But instead of doing his job, he left excess skin “in case you change your mind” about implants. Those were his last words as I was lying on the operating table slipping away under anesthesia, after he had agreed to make me flat.
Meet Heather Glover, Founder of The Skarlette
As a nurse, I’ve looked after dozens of women who’ve had breast cancer. I’ve lost colleagues and relatives to this disease, yet quite ignorantly, I never thought it would affect me. I thought breastfeeding my babies would protect me, that I was too fit, healthy and young to get breast cancer.
I was 46 when I found a prominent lump poking out of my right breast while showering.
Welcome to my Flat Forum!
When you write a book, you have to make so many decisions about what to include and what to cut. For “Flat and Happy,” I interviewed dozens of patients about their experiences, but not all of those interviews made it into the final edit. And since publishing the book, I’ve heard so many important stories that deserve a wider audience. So I decided to create this blog as a place to keep the conversation going.