I knew I didn't want to be lopsided. My gut reaction was to have both breast removed, and have done with it; my GP surprisingly agreed. However, I used the few days I had to really think about my options. More importantly, I rang a friend who had a mastectomy four years earlier, and talked to her about how she felt about the loss of her breast. She wears a prosthesis, and is loath to undergo reconstruction surgery now, when she is well. Both what she said and what she didn't say made me think seriously about the way I might feel about my body if my breasts were gone, and I began to think seriously about an immediate reconstruction, using tissue from my own body.

Five days later I was back in Perth to get the full pathology results and to sort out exactly what surgery I would have. The results were as good as I could expect - definitely DCIS, with an excellent prognosis, no chemotherapy and no radiotherapy after surgery unless something else turned up when the breast tissue was removed. I hadn't firmly decided on a reconstruction, but once I knew that my surgery and recovery was likely to be straightforward I decided to opt for rebuilding my right breast rather than removing both. I asked about reducing the size of my breasts (building a smaller breast and having the left breast reduced) and was told that it was a reasonable option, so I decided to do that.

After the shock and rush of the first week, once I said that I wanted a breast reconstruction everything ground to a halt. Weeks passed and I didn't hear anything at all from the Breast Clinic or from SCGH plastic surgery department. I tried ringing to get more information, but was simply told that these things take time, and that I was on the list. I contacted the breast nurse in Albany (the nearest large rural centre) and she also tried to find out what was happening and what the most likely timetable was for my surgery, but it was very difficult to get any useful information from the hospital.

Eventually I was sent an appointment for the SCGH hospital plastics clinic; it was seven weeks after my diagnosis. I had decided I wanted to use muscle and skin from my own body for the reconstruction, and the plastics surgeon suggested that a free TRAM flap, using abdominal muscle, would be most suitable, given my body shape - I was quite happy to go along with that.

My surgery was suggested for two weeks later, but my name was only on the waiting list, and eventually it was confirmed for four weeks after my consultation with the plastics consultant. A week before my proposed admission the hospital contacted me to say that I had been bumped down a further three weeks.

So, my operation was finally carried out a full three months after my diagnosis. The wait was very, very stressful; I had no control over what was happening, and plenty of time to picture the DCIS changing to invasive cancer. There were times when I deeply regretted my decision to have a reconstruction and just wished I'd gone with my gut reaction and had both breast chopped off right from the start.