surgery

amhbeks

Hello!

I am 42. I have TNBC and am midway through chemotherapy, and it's time to make decisions regarding surgery. My initial tumor was very large, grade 3, I have one affected node, and was staged at IIB. I am currently going through Taxol+Carboplatin - this week will be 12 of 12! Then I start 4 cycles of AC. So far, the tumor has shrunk considerably; the node is smaller, but doesn't seem to have shrunken (is that a word?) as much as the tumor.

It sounds like the surgeon can do a lumpectomy, but I'm worried about the affected node. I'm tempted (but terrified) to do a double mastectomy because, with my big ol' lumpy breasts, I worry that I won't find a local recurrence quickly. (I have large breasts with very dense breast tissue.) I can't decide whether to do a lumpectomy or just remove both of them. I don't want to overreact, but I do want to protect myself! I know chances of recurrence are higher with TNBC but I don't know the statistics. I'd like to know what decisions others have made; maybe there are considerations I'm missing.

Thank you -