question about surgery..

hellokitty1989

I was diagnosed with Stage 1b breast cancer back in December 2017. When they did the testing (mammogram/ultrasound, etc,) they found two different tumors in the outer side of my right breast. They were both under 2 centimeters (1 was 1.5, the other was 1.8) and they rated it grade 2. They have me going through the chemo first because it was a little faster growing, which started the last week of January and the last treatment will be on May 11th (I had it every 3 weeks for 6 treatments). Coming up in the next few weeks, I'm having another MRI done, an appointment to do a general visit with the surgeon, and another PET scan before seeing the Oncologist to go over all the results.

I was told at my last visit with the Oncologist Dr. that surgery is a must. Initially when the chemo started, they mentioned that they could a surgery that would make one incision, take both small lumps out and remove some lymph nodes. During these past few months though, I've been thinking on whether to do the lumpectomy or to just have a mastectomy. I'm 44, not married and don't have kids so the mastectomy wouldn't bother me (I also am bigger/more dense chested and was kind of lucky they found it when they did during the mammogram.). I know that with the mastectomy the Dr. said that usually people don't have to do the radiation if that route is taken.

My other thought was to just get both removed. I've been considering that because it has been really frustrating dealing with doing all the testing, chemo, meds, etc for this one and don't want to go through of that again if later on they find in the other. Any input is welcome. thanks!

Lula73

Many of us opt for BMX for all the reasons you’ve listed. Mastectomy does not completely rule out local recurrence from ever happening but the local recurrence rate is significantly lower than with lumpectomy. If you choose to do recon, look into natural tissue recon since you’re larger chested and on the younger side. They only make implants just so big and at 44, odds are you’d need implants replaced at some point. Here’s a link to one of the top centers in the world for natural tissue reconstruction for reference:

www.breastcenter.com

Mucki1991

I'm 43 and I will most likely not have to replace these implants per my PS. Mastectomy does not mean no radiation. Mastectomy is an amputation that can leave you with frozen shoulder, phantom pain, and scars will never go away. Implants that may be cold to the touch. The feeling of wearing an iron bra for the rest of your life. Some ladies do perfectly fine with mastectomy and some have a lot of issues. Here's a link so you can see how different the outcomes can be. Best wishes for you

http://www.vinniemyersteam.com/vinnie-portfolio-ga...