High Risk. Would love any input!

adw7374

Hi there!

Little history first. I am 43. My mom died of breast cancer at 52. I have very dense tissue and have had calcifications since age 35 on Mammograms. Have been followed by an oncologist for 3 years, and have yearly MRI's. There is some question about whether my mom had a genetic cancer due to an elevated CA125 and an ovarian mass at the same time her BC was diagnosed. She opted out of treatment because she was Stage IV at diagnosis and it was in 4 areas, and she chose for high quality of life vs. agressive treatment, so we never knew of the ovarian mass was malignant. I've had 2 panels of genetic testing done and all are negative.

Anyway, in March of this year, my calcifications appeared to change and I had new ones. 2 biopsies later, I was diagnosed with a radial scar and 2 microscopic papillomas that were found in an excisional biopsy. I'm seeing my oncologist again in July, but the geneticist has already told me that my risk has gone from 22% to between 40-50% (lifetime) due to the biopsies, papillomas and radial scar.

My insurance company will "possibly" approve a mastectomy due to family history and high risk and I also know my oncologist is going to recommend tamoxifen. Obviously, I have reservations about both but the high risk factor is also a big concern.

Anyone else opted for surgery due to family history and high risk factors? As of yet, nothing I have is pre-cancerous. Just higher risk factors. Tamoxifen also concerns me due to the side effects. Aggghhhhh......

CGG

That is a lot to think about for you, my goodness. I hope that you are able to clarify some of your questions about how to proceed with either tamoxifen or surgery, it makes the appointments more productive. And I hope that you got some answers that help to illuminate your process towards a decision. Getting a second opinion about how to proceed from both a medical oncologist and a surgical oncologist would be really helpful for you I think.

I've got a 66% high risk rating and family history. I'm leaning towards having a PBM instead of taking tamoxifen, but in advance of my August appointments, I'm doing lots of reading about it and research. That really helps. And only after meeting with my two sets of doctors will I be able to make my decision.

I wish you lots of luck and clear thinking.