Mastectomy or lumpectomy...

suzy123

Hi all,

Last Thursday I was told by my BS that I have DCIS in my right breast. At the moment I am waiting to hear when the lumpectomy can be done. However, reading and talking about my situation, makes me wonder whether lumpectomy is the way to go. A little history: I am a DES daughter, so in the high risk group for breast cancer. 4 1/2 years ago I was diagnosed with atypical hyperplasia in my left breast. I was put on Tamoxifen, and since then I have had several normal and excisional biopsies, ultrasounds, mammo's, MRI's etc. Everything was always focused on my left breast, until now, with the DCIS in my right breast. Thursday I felt that a lumpectomy would be the way to go, with or without radiation. However, at the moment I don't know if I made the right decision. My husband is very afraid that the cancer will come back in a worse form if we just do the lumpectomy. He thinks that the fact that I have cancer, even after taking tamoxifen for four years now, indicates that worse is to follow. I will make an appointment with my BS next week to ask her what she thinks, but I would also like to ask you ladies what you think. I am sure a lot of you have gone through a similar 'thinking process'. 

AZ85048

suzy123 - Sorry you've been diagnosed, but also so glad you've found this forum!  I, too, am a DES daughter and this is how my story went.  I was
diagnosed in early July 2013 with DCIS and when they went in to do a left
breast excision three weeks later, they found I had LCIS as well.  I've suffered with a severe case of fibrocystic breast disease
for over twenty years, so the choice to have a BMX was a no brainer for me - no
more pain, no more cysts, no more mammograms, no chemo, no radiation, and
no more cancer hanging over my head.  (My mother died of a very aggressive
form of BC within five months of her diagnosis; so when they found the DCIS and
LCIS in me, it didn't come as a huge surprise, as BC runs in
both sides of my family.)  BMX was my choice and I am completely at peace
with it even now.  No one
forced me or hurried me.  However, once I made up my mind I wanted it done
and done as soon as possible.  So as many have said before, I felt a huge sense of
relief when it was over and I would do the same thing again in a
minute.
I hope that helps you. 

Beesie

suzy,

This thread from the DCIS forum might be helpful to you: 

lumpectomy vs mastectomy - why did you choose your route?

christina0001

Suzy, so sorry you are going through this. The choice between lumpectomy and mastectomy is a very personal one. Given your special circumstances, I would definitely want to get information from the oncology surgeon before making a choice. You may even want to get opinions from two different surgeons.

gtgirl

Suzy,

I also agree having a Mastectomy is a personal decision.  I chose to have a Mastectomy of my left breast due to my age, ER/PR and grade results, the fact that my path report did state suspicious for micro invasion, but could not definitely dx me.  I asked my BS if she was ok with me choosing a Mastectomy and she said "absolutely".  My BS is also a BC survivor.  I was never told these are your options.  I just met with the Radiation Oncologist first, then my BS and I decided.  I said before I even had my surgical biopsy that if I had BC, I am ok with having my breasts removed.  I never looked back.  My path report after my Mastectomy was all clear as well as my nodes.  I say I was very lucky to have found pure DCIS Stage O without micro invasion.  I also have micro calcifications in my right breast that are clustered and have been watched for 5 years with no change and stable at 2mm.  I have asked recently about a mammogram every 6 months on my right breast now and a MRI.  I was told U of M does not do this, as I did not have invasive BC.  I was told that most woman don't get BC in the contralateral breast.  I have read a good number of woman that have.  I have come to the realization that I can't live in worry.  I have been followed for 5 years at the U of M and the Radiologist are very aggressive. 

I hope you will be able to choose what YOU want, not what others tell you or your husband.  It is your choice ONLY.  I have recently ran into a old co worker whom was dx 5 years ago and she chose a lumpectomy.  She had chemo and radiation and has been cancer free for 5 years.  I was told by her that she wishes she would of had a bilateral due to the history in her family, but she listened to everyone else.  I told her, she still can! 

suzy123

thank you, ladies...I will phone the BS tomorrow to talk about my options. In my appointment with her, she didn't have the results back yet, so the question lumpectomy or mastectomy was still hypothetical. When she phoned me a couple of hours later, I was teaching, not the best situation to get a result anyway. Now that things start to sink in, and I have had a chance to read more on the Forum (thanks, Beesie!), I feel that I need to talk things over. But I am still very much in the 'thinking mode', not so much the 'emotional mode'. That is my way to deal with things, ratio before emotio. However, when I see how much this affects my husband, that really gets to me...it might also be a good idea to talk to my oncologist.