Bilateral Prophylactic Mastectomy scheduled July 10

Wow psalmist! Thats amazing.....not good news to find a small malignancy but you now KNOW you did the right thing.

If the mammogram didn't show it......well who knows when it would have been discovered.

Yes it must be hard to wrap your head around it all.

With the lump so small it looks promising for clear nodes.....fingers crossed for you.

Hugs

jezza

Sunkisti, I just reread your earlier post and realized that you will be using Dr. Allen for your TUG. Please let me know how it goes. That is what he suggested for me when I saw him in Jan. If I do go with PBMs next summer, he is the one I want.

Psalmist, wow again.                         I am still struggling with the decision to or not to do BPMs. Then I read your post. That is one of the reasons I keep returning to the thought. Thank goodness you went through with it!

Anne

Sending thoughts of containment and health your way. 

Hi Everyone.

 I'm new to the forum. I'm 47 yrs old and  I was diagnosed with LCIS.  Mammogram, Ultrasound nor MRI picked it up.  I found the lump and went to my dr. right away.  When I got the results I  decided right away to go through with a bilateral mastectomy.  I had a very good friend pass away approximately 2 wks before I had my biopsy and she had a 5 yr fight with breast cancer.  She had chemo and radiation and stayed in remission for 3 yrs before it returned in the worse way.  She didn't have a mastectomy until the BC returned the second time. 

 I made my decision based on the fact that I don't deal with stress very well.  I was sent to an oncologist and she was the sweetest person I could have met at that time.  She spent serveral hours with me discussing every aspect of LCIS and also the risks of it developing in the other breast without even knowing it was there.  I went home discussed it with my husband and decided what I was going to do.  I told the Dr. take them...I have nursed my 3 children and I have a life to live.  I'm very active in the gym.  I'm a cycling instruction and I am also the supervisor of the childcare located in the gym.  So I knew I needed to act on this but I wasn't sure what to do.  But I knew I couldn't deal with the stress of going through lumpectomy after lumpectomy or biopsy after biopsy.  So I made the decision and 2 wks after I had a bilateral...with reconstruction.  I had to have some extra skin removed for them to biopsy to make sure it wasn't contaminated and thank God it wasn't so no chemo or radiation will be needed.  The path report showed that I did have pre pre pre cancer cells in the left breast and my oncologist was happy with my decision.  Yes I was ok with my breasts as long as they were healthy but I could do without them knowing I was at risk for breast cancer.  Like I told the doctors "take them" I don't need them...I've nursed my children and I can always get new ones if I choose. 

 At that point I decided I needed to work on my mental stability.  So a friend of mine bought me some books on healing scriptures and I read all the scripture I could on healing and I prayed for the healing and faith I needed to help me get through this ordeal.  I thank all my family, friends and all the churches around the world who has prayed for me.  The Lord will be with us and help us though any ordeal we have set before us.  I feel strong in this area.  We are all family in this forum we are all going through the same and I will pray for us all on a daily basis and pray for us all to have faith in the Lord that everything will be ok.  SO my thing is this....I talk to any and everyone about my condition because I feel if I can help one person it will all be worth it. 

 I don't want to write a novel here because my story is long but I think I have covered the important parts.  Remember my friends Pray, Pray, and Pray...because the Lord will provide.

 Much love to you all

Hi Mykidsmom

I have been recouperating very nicely.  My LCIS was not invasive and the skin my PC tested was clean.  Thank the Lord!!  I will not have to have chemo or radiation.  I am currently going through reconstruction and it has been going well.  The surgery itself was not painful. The worse part of the surgery for me was coming home with those drains.  Ughhhhhhh!!  But after a while you get used to those and they are removed a few days after surgery.  That hurt more than the surgery itself.  LOL   I chose the BPM because I didn't want to go through biopsy after biopsy and lumpectomy after lumpectomy.  Eventually after all those surgeries you have no breast tissue left and will still need some form of reconstruction. 

There has been no breast cancer in my family and since I don't do stress very well, I concluded this was the answer for me.  I had some negative feedback from some but I decided this was my body and I needed to take control over what was happening.  I discussed this with my husband and he agreed with my decision.  Once I made my decision I began to feel calm and I do not regret my decision thus far.  I was so stressed because all the tests pointed in the direction of scar tissue from a biopsy I had almost 10 years ago.  I feel that all of us have to have faith in God and also be positive no matter how bad it gets for us.  All the little demons visit at night when everyone has gone to bed and you are left up alone.  I had to do some strong praying and reading to get those demons to leave.  I will pray for you.  Have faith in which ever decision you make.

Take care and sending lots of love and prayers out for all of us.  Please look at the link below it is so awesome.  It brought tears to my eyes and a big smile on my face when I was leaving the gym after a workout to see this.  Big smiles to all....It may be in your home town soon.

  http://pinkribbonnews.blogspot.com/2008/08/we-made-it-to-las-cruces.html

I was in the same situation you are in Mykidsmom.  When I was told I immediately said "take them..I don't want them...I don't want breast cancer".  I was so upset because a very good friend of mine fought BC for 5yrs and lost her battle approximately 3 wks before my results.  The oncologist told me it was MY decision and she would leave the decision up to me.  She brought in several women who had experienced some for of BC.  One was an employee of hers who had a mastectomy on the left breast with reconstruction.  She was a sweetheart and she showed me her reconstructed breast and talk to me about what could happen.  Another lady had a bilateral and was on chemo.  She had in explanders and was going to go through reconstruction.  She showed me her breast also and she too had a great attitude.  The last young lady she sent in was one who had a breast implants from the PS she was sending me to.  Her breasts looked awesome.  All this was done in a 3 hr appointment.  I sat there and cried my eyes out during those 3 hrs.  My oncologist came in and wrapped her arms around me and said don't be scared we will take good care of you.  So dry your eyes and we will get you fixed.  That was so comforting.  I came home in a daze.  Sat down and talked to my husband and we together made my decision.  I have 3 children ages 26, 22, and 18 and a beautiful grandson who we all adore.  I decided I have a life to live.  I can't be sitting around feeling sick in the pit of my stomach, crying and wondering.  So I decided on the PBM.  I had feedback from any and everyone who thought they had a right to tell me what to do including my chiropractor.  LOL.  I told him well too late im going in tomorrow so you can fine tune my back and anything else that needs alignment because tomorrow morning at 6am I will be in the hosptial.  It took my surgeon and PS 2 wks to get me scheduled.  Do I regret this.  Not at all.  My oncologist told me when I went to see her that she was very happy I did this.  I looked at the results this way.   At least they didn't tell me they found something worse so I will do what I have to do to get this taken care of before it gets worse.  You mentioned having a gut feeling that something is wrong.  One thing I do is go with my gut feelings because it could be your subconscience mind telling you to have it thoughtly checked.  Did you have an MRI?  The strong reason that put me over the edge is I'm not very good with stress and I did not like the thought of having to have biopsy after biopsy or lumpectomy after lumpectomy.  I had several people call me when they found out my dx.  One told me this surgery isnt painful like having knee surgery or shoulder surgery.  She had the same team of Dr's I have all except the oncologist is different and she also had reconstruction.  She was right and I think what every your decision and if you do decide to go with the PBM you will be fine.  Have faith in the Lord and pray for you healing that's what I did.  Friends of Friends all over the world have prayed for me and my experience has been positive.  Once you make up your mind you will then start to feel at ease.  I will pray for you  my friend and if I can help you in anyway please do not hesitate to message me.  Do not allow fear to cloud your thoughts.  Big hugggssss to you...

And btw everything you said makes a whole lot of sense to me!!! 

mykidsmom----I know exactly how you feel.  I wanted the docs to give me a  definitive plan of attack, rather than leave it all up to me. But they can only give recommendations, they can't tell you what you must do. In my case, all my docs (onc, gyn, pcp, rad, bs) felt BPMs were too drastic a choice and that's even with the combination of LCIS  AND family history (mom had ILC). I'm  very closely monitored with alternating mammos and MRIs every 6 months, see my oncologist every 6 months on the opposite schedule (so am "seen" by some method every 3 months essentially), and have less than 2 months left to go to finish up my 5 years of tamoxifen which I've tolerated pretty well overall. It all comes down to how much risk you can live with. Don't let anyone rush you into anything, there is no rush with LCIS.  Just make sure you make all your decisions out of knowledge, not out of fear.

Anne

Hi Ladies,

I chose PBM for my LCIS  for many reasons. I've had fibrocystic breast tissue for years, so I'm lumpy and wouldn't be able to tell good from bad. I'm premenopausal at 44. I can't stand the feeling of waiting to be a victim; so pro-actively, I've opted for a couple of scars and an enhanced "rack" to make up for my loss.  It is a very personal decision, but my life was worth more than my breasts.

The expanders are not the most comfortable, but they are a means to an end.

Good luck in whatever you chose.

Carol(AZ)