Mastectomy vs. bilateral

That is a very hard and very personal decision. I decided to do both because of my age, 44, and the fact that my daughter was 18 months old at the time of my diagnosis. I felt I couldn't do it all again if I got it in the other breast. My doctor told me that my chances of getting it in the other breast were low, about 15%. I still thought that was too high.

I also felt that the reconstruction would be better if I did both. I had DIEP flap. I ended up losing one side. The side without cancer. I have one implant now and one DIEP. THe DIEP side is soft and realistic but I really don't like the implant side. If you are doing both just for better reconstruction remember that there are no guarantees there.

The reconstructed breasts have no sensation, sexual or otherwise. I am not sorry I made the decision I did, but I do miss my breasts.

Good luck to you making this very hard decision. In my case everyone wanted to tell me what to do. I think it is a decision you have to make yourself. You need to be at peace with whatever you decide because it is not reversible if you take it off. If you do one you can always decide to remove the other one later.

I remember how hard this was. I wish you strength in your fight.

I am also trying to make the same decistion.  I talked with the plastic surgeon yesterday and he did say that they would not look the same if I only did one side.  I also asked him about doing reconstruction on the one side and then putting an implant in the healthy side to make them look more alike and he said yes that would help.  I think where I still have a question is if the cancer comes back, if it had a breast to come back to, would it come back to the breast instead of a lung or some other organ that would be harder to detect early.  Good luck Ronnie in all your decisions, I know its hard!!

I know how hard this decision is to make. I just had a bilateral mastectomy 3 1/2 weeks ago. For me I didn't want the anxiety of worrying about the other breast for the rest of my life. Also, my cancer wasn't found by mammogram or ultrasound nor did I have a palpable lump so I didn't have a lot of confidence in the testing. Plus I figured that whatever conditions inside my body that allowed this cancer to grow affected both breasts. I felt for my peace of mind it was worth it to me to lose the healthy breast. Take your time, weigh the pros and the cons and listen to your gut. Big hugs! Hang in there.

Hi, Ronnie:

I'm so sorry you've had to join our 'club' but this website is a great resource.

I had a bilateral in Feb. of this year.  I opted to do both for all the reasons that have already been stated:  my age (40 at the time), my family history, peace of mind.  I opted not to do recon.  I have that option, but I probably won't take it. 

Best of luck to you!
Suzanne

Hi, not Suzybelle but I wanted to respond. I didn't have reconstruction and at almost a month after my bilateral I feel almost back to normal. I have almost 100% range of motion on my prophylactic side and I'm probably about 85% on my sentinel lymph node side. I have tightness there but no pain. I'm able to pick up my 2 year old daughter again too which we're both very happy about. I stopped needing pain meds at about the 2 week mark when my drains were removed.  I'm sure if I'd had reconstruction the healing period would take much longer. Maybe see if you can see a physical therapist to help you get some range of motion back? Hope things improve for you soon!

KatherineNaomi - Wish I had taken your route with no recon.  I am a professional gardener and can hardly do anything right now HOWEVER, almost afraid to write it, but they are somewhat better the last couple days.

imatthew - You have plenty of time to bring it up with the Surgeon but if not, I would certainly bring it up.  Is your wife having Chemo & if so, will she have it before the surgery?  I'm HER2+ also & my Dr told me they like to shrink the tumor before surgery.  Mine reduced in size by about 2/3.  I changed my mind several times on the recon.