unilateral vs bilateral

lhojok

I am 35 and went to get my first mamogram back in sept and thats where the whole thing started.  I was diagnosed with DCIS Stage 0 and because there are 2 sites of calcification I have been told by 3 different surgeons that a mastectomy is recommended.  I guess its a good thing that I have so many options but I can not make up my mind.  So many people have different opinions.  I am leaning towards implants but I dont know saline OR silicone.  And I think that I would like to have a bilateral because I am so scared of going through this again... there is also the fact that I am young and I dont that I can look in the mirror and see that they are different. I wanted to know if is anyone out there who did a bilateral-- and if they are happy with their decision and if you are not happy, then why??

I am trying to schedule my surgery for the next few weeks and would like some input from patients who have been through this as well.  I have started reading all of these posts and I can tell you that you have saved my sanity because I see that there is a life after this whole thing.  I just never thought that I would be going through this so early in my life-- my son is 10 months old and I hope to have more children after all this.

bermudagem

Hi, I feel you. I am 37, just got married 6 months ago. I had to get a mastectomy on my right breast. Had the surgery on the 5th of dec, 2007. I wish I would have had both removed. But at the time I did not know I had a family history of breast cancer. And the doctor keep saying he does not think it is that high of a risk. I found out when my mom came up the day before the surgery. 4 relatives, very close...i dont know why I did not know, or why no one told me. I must have had a sence or something, because I begged the surgeon to take both, the insurance would not cover both. But if they had the info I had now, I think that they would have. I understand why you would want both off. My first thought was take them both. Right now.......I thought this was a dream. I met and married the most wonderful man in my life. Was thinkig about having a baby? I dont know,why life works out the way it does. As for me I still want the other breast off, Really now after talking to my mom. Oh my goodness. But I will see on monday.

Good luck with your decision. And this site has been a life saver for me. I have not had any real pain since the surgery. Just tightness. Some muscle spasms. But nothing I can not handle. I get my first fill tomorrow. So I am doing, so far, so good... 

Good luck,

Shelly

JulieK_11_30_07

I, too, understand what you're going through. I'm 38 years old and had a bilateral mastectomy this past Tuesday, Dec. 11. I found a lump in my left breast about three weeks ago. The doctors believe we caught it early and it was classified as Stage II invasive ductal carcinoma.

Because of a family history of bc (mother had it at ages 32 and again at 38), I chose to have the bilateral. My mother ultimately lost her battle to ovarian cancer at age 46, so two years ago, I had a prophylactic complete hysterectomy. At that time, my sister (a year younger than me) also did a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction. I chose not to. Obviously, I've questioned that decision numerous times in the last few weeks, especially now that I'm facing chemotherapy once I'm healed from surgery.

I would suggest that you do your research and get as much information as possible before you make your decision. I am very at peace with the decision I made once I found the lump -- my husband and I had already discussed it before we had the results of the biopsy and had decided that I would do the bilateral even if it came back negative for cancer.

My sister is very happy with her decision to do the bilateral and, to put it bluntly, her new "boobs" look great! I will also do the reconstruction once I've recovered from the chemo and have been declared "cancer free." Our philosophy with it all is that they're just "boobs" and you can live without them -- with our family history, though, it's not a given that you can live with them.

Good luck in your decision! Keep us posted!

Hugs! Julie

BethNY

I was dx at age 26, and I opted for a bilateral.  I wanted a matching set, and I didn't want to deal with cancer in my breast again, so the decisions was the best one for me.

Anyway, now I'm 30, and my life is incredible-- and there's a ton of life after all this-- be glad you caught it really early.

Have a look at this site for reconstruction info:

www.breastreconstruction.org

good luck

lhojok

Thank you for your replies-  I will be having a bilateral on Jan 22nd, I want to put this behind me and I dont want to take Tamoxofin... I am hoping that my recovery will be quick because I would like to start working on more children.  My son is 11 months old and with all that has happened I realize that he and his father are the most important things in my life and we would like to expand our family as soon as we  can. 

I dont have to go through chemo or rads, as far as they can tell, do you know how soon I start trying?