Diagnosed two days ago

AbsPapa

My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in left breast two days ago. She had three spots biopsied. One spot was benign, one other spot was positive and one lymph node was positive. Her doctor said a mastectomy was inevitable after some more testing. Anybody else been through similar? What can we expect to happen next?

KSteve

AbsPapa - So sorry about your wife's diagnosis.  You've come to a great resource and lifeline while you and your wife are on this journey that neither of you wanted to be on.  I think it's a little early for them to say that a mastectomy is inevitable.  She will probably be getting an MRI and Petscan, along with some other tests before she will need to make that decision.  I have triple negative breast cancer and had chemo before surgery.  The chemo completely shrunk my tumor (which was over 6 cm when I was diagnosed) into nothing!  I had the option of a lumpectomy or mastectomy due to the great response I had.  So the bottom line is,  wait until you have more info before deciding about a mastectomy.  She will have an oncologist and a breast surgeon on her team as well so get all opinions to make an informed decision.

Right now is the hardest part.  Once she has a plan in place, life won't feel as out of control as it probably does right now.  Don't hesitate to ask as many questions as you want through this process.  Unfortunately there are lots of us who can share our experiences with you.  She's very lucky to have such a supportive husband.  My husband was incredible through the whole process which helped me so much.  In truth, it's her body, but the cancer is happening to you both.  Keep us posted as you get more details.

Hugs,

Kathy