Decision made...

Cats134

Spoke at length with my bs today regarding the results of the six biopsies I have had (Right breast: 2 stereotactic/2 MRI guided, Left breast: 1 stereo/1 MRI) and in a nutshell, the best decision for me is a bilateral mastectomy with one sentinel node removed on my right side.  I have LCIS/ALH everywhere they biopsied, 2 radial sclerosing lesions, one area that is suspicious of being invasive in both breasts... and a whole bunch of other things that I can't pronounce, let alone spell. 

I'm numb right now... not crying... not really feeling anything.  While I'm thankful that nothing is screaming cancer, I don't think I will rest easy until the final path report comes back after the mastectomy. 

Cats

JanetM

Wishing you good thoughts.  I'm thinking that I may be traveling your path in the near future.  Too much stuff going on for me to feel comfortable watching and waiting.

Crescent5

Good luck Cats. I'm leaning that way too at the moment. Here's the thing: I can get called back for another biopsy at some inconvenient and frightening time, or I can choose when/where my next procedure will be and put an end to this. We'll see. I tend to go back & forth, but that's where I've been lately. Good luck.

beacon800

Been in your shoes girl.  My breasts became like a doctor's pin cushion/surgical experiment.  Definitely had enuf of it.

Question: if they suspect invasive in both breasts, why only SNB on only one side?

If it were me (and it's been me), I would request excisional biopsies on the areas they think might be invasive.  If they find no invasive, I might reconsider doing SNB at all.  This is just what I did, while it is DEFINITELY a case by case decision, I went into BMX surgery pretty sure we would not find invasive and we did no SNB on either side.  Good gamble - no invasive found.  This was great for me as I reduced my chances of lymphedema by avoiding the SNB.  Yes, it was two surguries, but for me it was way worth it.  My surgeon did the incisions around the aureola on the investigative biopsies so that I would not have two sets of scars when we did the BMX.  I had already made the decision to do BMX but wanted to know what we were up against so I could decide about SNB.

BTW, my recovery was fast, uneventful and I can do everything I ever did before the BMX.  Seriously, like it never happened.  ((((HUGS))))

iammommy

Best of luck, Cats!

Cats134

Thanks all! Beacon...thx for the heads up, I didn't consider why SNB on one side only.  Have a call into my breast surgeon for answers.  Glad to know that during foggy brain, others are on the ball thinking for me!

Stonebrook108

I was in your shoes 3 years ago this month. It was the worst thing to ever happen to me. I decided to go with a PBM instead of being tested and picked apart for the rest of my life.

My PS did direct implants so I went to sleep with breasts and woke up with breasts. So 3 yrs.later I'm still happy with my decision and don't have to worry about LCIS any more.

If anyone has any questions feel free to send me a PM

Best of luck

JanetM

After today I am edging closer to making a decision.  I went for a follow up mammogram after having had a lumpectomy in May.  I had felt a small lump about an inch away from my scar and had them try to image it on the mammogram.  It couldn't be seen on the mammo and they saw something else on the mammo that needed to be looked at with ultrasound.  The tech who did the ultrasound also couldn't image the lump that I feel but did image what the mammo had found.  The radiologist came in to confirm what the tech saw on the ultrasound and to see if she could image the lump.  She couldn't image the lump either.  So it looks like an MRI is in my future.  I am waiting for a call from my breast surgeon and have scheduled an appointment with her.  Not sure I can keep doing month follow ups forever.

BritValarie

JanetM... good luck with your MRI and surgeon appt.

Cats134... I am one step along from where you are.  I have had several biopsies/surgeries... each one with a diagnosis of ADH, ALH and LCIS.  Everytime I had a biopsy was a different pre-cancerous/pre-cursor for cancer.

So, had appts with an Oncologist, surgeon and plastic surgeon.  My PBM is scheduled for December 7th.  I also have a family history of breast cancer... mother and grandmother both dies from it.  My mother was 38 years old.

For me now, it's a relief to have this surgery scheduled.  I'm tired of all the mammograms, biopsies, MRI's and surgeries.

Good luck with your decision.

Valarie

msippiqueen

Deciding to have or not have a PBLM or BLM is taxing! Worrying about pathology REALLY does a number on us and I offer heartfelt good wishes to Valarie, Janet and Crescent.



A PBLM April '10 for freed me from years of dealing with my breast. What a relief.



When my breast concerned doctors enough to require exams and expensive tests every twelve weeks, preferably at a major cancer institution, I knew matters were serious. Throw in a promise of biopsies along the way and and my lifestyle became dominated by sick breast.



I appreciated the chance for early detection of invasive disease should I have kept my breast. That can be lifesaving and is breast conserving.



But the chance to be further removed from the whole mess made sense to me.

VictoriaB

Hi Ladies,

We are all on this journey together. I was diagnosed with IDC/DCIS/LCIS in July. After one lumpectomy with close margin, and then one re-excision with close margin I chose BMX with hip flap recon. I just got out of the hospital and I am fine. I got third opinions from both breast surgeons and plastic surgeons which helped understand my options (and also helped me figure out which doctors were good at doing which procedures). I chose BMX because: I want to maximize my survival, I do not want a breast recurrence, and I don't want bc to steal anymore time away from my family than it already has.