Truman Customer Story Column
"I Want to Wear Lots of Nice Clothes"
Just before deciding on surgery, the question that lingers is usually one: "Will it turn out well?"
The person I would like to introduce today came in with that question. They wrote that they were very worried the result might not meet their hopes. It seems that the longer something has been postponed, the stronger the wish becomes, once you finally decide, that the decision not be wrong.
The Threshold of a Men's ClinicThis person said that until their first visit they had a certain preconception about the image of a clinic where only male patients come. Their first impression on actually arriving was that "it wasn't much different from any other clinic," and they also noted that the staff were kind.
We do not do anything particularly different. But we know that many people find it difficult simply to open the door of a clinic for this condition, so we pay attention to lowering that threshold. If the process of arriving is itself a burden for someone who came with difficulty, they leave without asking what they came to ask.
I Choose to Say It in AdvanceI do not only say pleasant things in the consulting room. I told this person in advance that, given the degree to which the glandular tissue had descended, some trace might remain even after surgery. I believe it is better to start with expectations set against the actual condition.
After the surgery, this person said, "Personally, I can't tell at all." Of course that is their own assessment, and how much tissue remains and how the scar settles differ with the initial condition and the extent of surgery. That is why we do not skip the step of separating what will improve from what has limits.
Someone Who Likes ClothesAsked what they most wanted to do first after surgery, they said they like clothes and want to wear lots of nice ones.
The closets of people who come in with gynecomastia are often shaped alike: clothes that do not cling, dark colors, things you can layer. A closet left that way not by choosing but by avoiding. So the wish to wear nice clothes did not sound to me like a matter of taste alone. I read it as wanting to return to the side of choosing.
To Those Facing the Same ConcernThis person left the words, "The time you spend agonizing will feel wasted." But that is the reflection of someone who has finished surgery, and whether surgery is needed is something to decide after confirming your condition through an examination.
If you are deliberating now, I would suggest starting by knowing your own condition accurately, before reaching a conclusion. That alone changes the shape of half the deliberation.
