Going through a mastectomy below the age of 20

Chloe3278

Hey guys,

Now that i am more stable post my breast cancer diagnosis, i am having an urgent mastectomy in a weeks time. It has been difficult wrapping my head around it as every day i am cleaning my incisions to my new boobs, and i love them so much! I am broken and upset. I am having immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders followed by silicone implants (under the muscle).

I have discussed by concerns with my surgeon, however i am still not satisfied with her responses. I am afraid of going through such a major surgery (at least to me), i would love words of advice, tips, encouragement, anything! I am also wondering if there is a difference between being young and having a mastectomy and being older, my surgeon has told me i have a higher chance of healing, however she says in her experience, when she operates she usually finds that younger patients have a worse diagnosis (finding invasive cancer despite originally only suspecting dcis).

I would love to hear peoples experiences!

farmerlucy

Chloe- I'm so glad they are getting you in right away. The surgery is a big deal, but as long as your plastic surgeon takes pain management seriously, I suspect you'll be just fine.

I know she is preparing you for the worse case, but at this point only dcis has been found. No reason to go there now or hopefully ever. If you haven't, please join the surgery group here for July. You'll find a lot of tips there. Also I hope you are able to find a local support group.

I hate this for you. However I can tell you are strong and resilient. You're going to get through this. Sending you a big hug.

Freya244117

Hi Chloe, It is so sad to see you here at your young age. I wanted to help in some way, I did find this blog. It is written by a young woman your age from the Gold Coast who was just dxd with BC. Perhaps you can reach out to her and you could support each other. We can talk to you about the procedures, but the emotional fall out is very different at your age to mine. Wishing you all the best.

Tara17

HI Chloe --you are a strong brave woman, facing everything head on, honestly voicing your emotions and fears --and just that approach will see you through all of this and before you know it , you will be back to living your life just the way you want to!

it's especially tough at such a young age when you dont even expect to have to face these questions. I wanted to attach this link of a girl who went through mastectomy at 21 . its called the tickingtimebombsblog ---this woman is leading a wonderful life after surgery .

https://tickingtimebombsblog.com/2015/03/13/bye-bye-boobies-three-years-later-and-the-end-of-the-blog/#comments

A few words ---you should have a breast surgeon whose answers satisfy you, if you don't feel like all your questions are answered, reach out to her agai or get a second opinion. I can understand that it feels like an emergency to get everything done, but there is no going back after surgery to ask yet another question ---yo have to get all yoru questions out before .

Some questions that come to mind -- Is a nipple sparing procedure a possibility ? Has the issue of genetic testing been raised with you ? Have they performed an MRI of your breasts? Young breast are very dense and an MRI can give them a better picture of what is going on. Other women have told me that nipple sparing procedure, if safe medically speaking, can help you feel better after the surgery . I also feel its very reasonable to meet with a psychologist to talk about what this means emotionally to you --all your emotions are very valid .

All in all, i think you have an amazing attitude in how you are approaching everything, remember that its ok to ask lots of questions and be your own advocate --and expect tht questions get answered to your satisfaction. That is absolutely ok for you to expect.

Sending you hugs

Racy

Chloe, Tara's questions are all valid. I posted on your other topic about getting a second opinion. There may be other options to avoid a mastectomy if the area of cancer is not too large. I think your case is unique given your young age and the options need to be considered in that light together with the most cutting edge views on treatment for DCIS.

Is your surgeon at a major hospital?

Wishing you the very best from Brisbane.

Chloe3278

Thank you for your wonderful words of advice! I got told i will be unable to keep my nipple, as my surgeon believes that anything left behind will be an extra factor that can play for a re-occurance. I am okay with this, and prefer this actually. I am getting an mri in 4 days time, because my ultrasound didnt show anything. Also, i am getting genetic testing AFTER my surgery. (not too sure why she wants it after).

Important to note: i am getting my surgery in a public hospital. I got shocked how QUICK they scheduled my surgery. The usual wait is 3-6 months. She didnt hesitate and booked me in and actually replaced me over another patient. I am wondering why there is such a rush if its just 'dcis'?

ravzari

Chloe3278 , they may want to do it after to check and see if you have any gene mutations that would have a recommendation of having a hysterectomy done; not sure why they're insisting on waiting after, unless they don't want to delay any upcoming surgery by wanting to wait for results (some women will elect to have their BMX and hysterectomy/ovary removal done at the same time if they have certain gene mutations) and want to potentially space it out.

It's also possible they don't want you worrying about genetic test results while recovering, or that they just don't think it's likely that the genetic tests will find anything serious so it's not something they think needs to be rushed.

Some systems also require a couple rounds of speaking to a genetic counselor before blood is even drawn for those tests; I know I had to have two appointments with one before they even made the determination that I understood what they'd be testing for and what the various results could mean for my long term health AND making sure I was in a good, sound, stable mental place to be able to hear potentially poor results; that may be something they don't want you to have to go through while recovering from surgery, hence the recommendation on waiting.

You can always ask your provider why they want to wait on the genetic testing and ask if there's a possibility about doing it sooner, though.