Can't make a decision

mudd

My surgeon said I'm a perfect candidate for lumpectomy/radiology. I'm 65 with a small well circumscribed IDC, nothing else on the MRI and she said that's what she would recommend but I still don't know if I should go for a double mastectomy for peace of mind plus I'm terrified on radiation. How does anyone decide what to do??? I am consumed by this and absolutely can't decide what to do. She said she would do whatever I chose, but that was her recommendation. How did everyone deal with this?

gb2115

It was a hard decision. I never considered bilateral mastectomy (though if I have been BRCA positive I might have, I don't know, probably not though). I did consider mastectomy then realized I wanted a less invasive surgery--I tend to go for the path of least resistance in life, so lumpectomy sounded better to me. My surgeon also seemed to be a fan of a lumpectomy for me, though she offered to do whatever I wanted to do. So I went with lumpectomy plus radiation. Remember that a mastectomy doesn't necessarily guarantee you will not need radiation. Sometimes they still do it, depending on location of the tumor, margins, lymph nodes....sometimes they radiate the mastectomy scar line. It just depends.

It is such a tough choice. Picking your surgery when you can't see the future. I feel for you, I remember what that felt like. I don't think there's a right or wrong decision in this, honestly.