5 years out since Dx and bilat....immediate recon with expanders.....chemo and rads followed bilat....I now have silicone implants.....both the surgeons I interviewed recommended that I do bilat....and so glad that I did as the prophy side came back pre-cancerous....had I not done the bilat, I would be going down this road again...and once is more than enough...When I was Dx, it was the first time that I was ever called back.....all previous mammos were normal.....hopefully, NED will continue to be my dance partner for years to come....

BirdyRobin:  I had two MRI-guided core biopsies.  The procedure will initially be similar to your first MRI scan.  You'll be in that same position on your tummy.  You'll get contrast again and a baseline scan.  There's a lot of going in and out of the machine.  To do the biopsy they'll scan you again with the breast gently compressed between two gridded panels, one on the outside of the breast and one on the inside of the breast.  The panels have openings (for biopsy needles) and reference measurements.  They'll pull you out of the machine and ask you not to move.  The radiologist uses the grid to determine at what coordinates to insert the biopsy needle based on the scan.  They might make a small incision first.  The biopsy needle has depth measurements to help the radiologist determine how deep he/she needs to go to be in the right spot.  They'll insert a clip as they do for most breast biopsies and they'll do a "gentle mammogram" afterwards to check the position of the clip.

I'm sure each facility and each radiologist has variations to the procedure, but that's the way it happened for me.  It really wasn't too bad.  I didn't take anything (Valium, etc) for the initial MRI so I didn't take any for the biopsy either. 

Best of luck - I hope it goes smoothly and your results are good! 

BirdyRobin:  I felt a bit shaky too, but I chalked it up to being a bit chilly, being a bit nervous, and probably tensing up a lot in an effort to hold perfectly still.  You know, the kind of hold still where you find yourself taking little shallow breaths even though they tell you you can breath.  Then you think, "Well, I've been breathing this way.....will I move too much if I start breathing differently?"

The gargoyle lives in my garden.  It was a gift from a good friend who has also gone on the BC journey so I think of us both sticking our tongues out at breast cancer every time I walk past it!

debbsie:  I've read lots of stories of women who have regretted being too conservative with their surgery choices (lumpectomy over mastectomy or unilateral over bilateral).  I can't say that I've read any stories from women with regrets about making the choice for more aggressive surgery (bilateral over uni or mastectomy over lumpectomy).  I agree with your observation, it seems that most women who have chosen bilateral when they have a unilateral diagnosis are happy with that decision.  This seems especially true for those of us with lobular CA. 

(Edited here - There obviously are also many women who choose conservative surgery and do very well and are very happy with their choice!) 

Best wishes!

My ILC showed up when they went in for my reincision for IDC, It had not showed up on my mammagrams or my MRI. With that said I choose BMX,I didnt want to take any chances.

Nancy

Katarina,

I had a right MX and left proph MX with tissue expanders placed. I had a prob with skin necrosis (yuck) and had to go for an additional surgery for a skin graft. This delayed my chemotherapy by several weeks. I think I was right at the upper limit for what they were comfortable with (from diagnosis to chemotherapy was around two months). That was very scary for me. However, now that I've reached a calmer period (coming up to 3yrs since diagnosis), I realize that since I have ILC the chemotherapy may not have had much impact for me (but I was very glad to have it as it seems to have helped other stage III ILCers who had neo-adjuvant chemo). In fact, I wish I had had ovarian suppression immediately. I think they wanted to ease me into menopause with the "chemopause". I know now that the hot flashes aren't a big deal for me, so I wish they had gone ahead with it. But, we make the best choice we can with the information at hand.



I had AC and dose dense T followed by radiation. I still have my expanders in (I got tired of surgery - port placement then removal later was done too). I am going to have a bilateral DIEP done in Nov. I don't love my radiation "tan" but it's faded somewhat and my MX scars are fading too. I will say that the expanders feel like I have suction cups on my chest. But I have just gotten used to it. I was very large chested before and love that I never ever wear a bra (even while doing Zumba . I have to get a small thrill somewhere, right? I'd be fine with getting implants since my expanders are ok, but one of them does dig into my rib a little. also it has ripples that feel like there's a freezer bag in my chest. But it's not bad at all. I'm just a "no stone left unturned" kind of person so I want to go for the Diep.

I too chose BMX.  I had DCIS in right breast and LCIS in left.  Recommended treatment was right lumpectomy and 35 treatments of radiation and 5 years of tamoxifen.  I could not face all that and then worry about it coming back.  I am an RN and I have seen too many women get all hacked up over and over when the cancer came back.  I can only tell you what was right for me.  I will pray for you.  I am here for you.  Going through expansion process now.

Opted for BMX the second I heard the C word. Many people tried to talk me out of it. I was not going to live with the anxiety of wondering every 6 months, and did not want to put my family through that.  So, 5 months ago, off they came (and they were really nice too!)  and I have no, none, nada, zero regrets. Was told recon would be in about a year, (just finished rads last month) but I highly doubt I will do it. I figure the less surgery, the better. I just wear my pre-bmx super duper victoria secret bras and I look totally the same. (well except still wering wigs!) Good luck w your decision.

Ilc 3.8 mm, LCIS scattered in 4 blocks, history on mother, aunt, greatgrandmother, and grandmother on dad's side with cancer- bilateral was the only way I would go. Docs along the way have said- right decision.

Family members were pretty oppositional!  One step reconstruction/  immediate..... its such a personal decision- good luck to all

BirdyRobin:  I had two forms of BC (ILC and DCIS) in the same breast, but had ADH removed from the other breast two years ago.  At surgery I had another area of lobular neoplasia and multiple areas of ADH that weren't seen on any of my imaging studies (including MRI).  I suppose these may have been so early that they would have been taken care of by radiation and hormone blockers had I opted for lumpectomy, but it really solidified that I made the right decision for me when I chose bilateral mastectomy.

The chest X-ray and EKG help the anesthesiologist to know if any special precautions need to be taken or if one drug might be better for you than another.  Pretty standard surgery stuff...

Good Luck in your highly personal choice decision.

I had just a 1.8 CM tumor. I was presenting with the choice of having a lumpectomy. This is something that has been on my mind for almost 10 years with my mom's own diagnosis. She opted for the lumpectomctormy/radiation route but after getting in there they wanted to do mastectomy/radiations. I asked her why she didn't do both at the same time for recurrence. She stated she didnt know that was an option.

For me it was the best decision I think I could've made. I would not be having the piece of mind that I am experiencing now

Good Luck!

Nora

Katarina...I had bilat with TE,chemo and rads...all my fills were done during chemo and was done with fills 2 1/2 monts before I started rads.....exchange 7 months post rads....my skin has done pretty well....only problem was with implant on bc side falling and having the pocket fixed...did it twice as I did not like my first set of implants, so when BC side fell a little a second time, decided I would swap both implants out for a smaller size...this July will be 3 years and all is well....I look good in clothes....but naked....well what can I say, they are not the middle age saggy boobs....

Robin--i was going for an elective BMX because of family hx. Many cousins and aunts. Had the Mammo--it was clean---letter in hand that said ned  see you next year. Had Mri in DEC because it was end of year and thinking and deductibles, got it done. Phone call 2 days latter.  We went from there. I never hesitated for a moment about getting them both off. Not with my family history. Did saline implants.

In a do over I might seriously consider deip flap., These implants still cause me pain daily. I didn't know if it was a PS problem or what, but they are not comfortable at any time. He came highly recommend. He does them routinely. I 'm still so angry with him I haven't gone back to discuss it. I did have a complication Aug of 2010. My Husband Greg died, he almost feel out of bed after he passed. I wasn't going to let that happen. I caught ,lifted pushed . Whole arms, chest, foob. back hurt till this day, but progressively less. Plus my PS made me away lot bigger than I want to be. I lost 23 lbs with the initial phase, then another 30-33 lbs with my husbands phase. So. these huge boobs are so uncomfortable. He put in the max allowed of 850cc. I probably should have been in the range of 550-600cc.

SO, the point there is  talk with Whippetmom ----on" The sizing 101 thread"-------she is a GREAT resource for help to figure size based on build. I didn't find the forum until after. BUMMER.

I like scarves because they are so creative, I had all my old ones from the 60-70's. They were bigger than what you can find now, because head wrapping was in.

Tired now-----------good luck--sas