DCIS and Mastectomy?

Yes, the saline was warm but the silicone is cold!  Something I did not expect!  I can be hot and yet the foob are cold.  It's a very odd thing.  I think the saline takes on our body temp but the silicone can't. 

Hopeful Future -- my support group is a very positive experience. I hope yours will be, too. I'm sure a lot depends on what women show up and how the leader runs it? I was so worried when I first went that it would be highly emotional and upsetting. I attended two meetings prior to my surgery...one when I was first diagnosed and trying to figure out what to do...the other the week before my surgery. It was so good for me to see women who had been thru surgery and recon and all the emotional stuff and had come out on the other side saying "it's no picnic but you can do it". A couple of them even had used the same team of doctors I had been referred to, so that was really helpful ! I hope I can be as helpful to any "newbie" that comes to the meetings now.

Thinking about being back at work soon is weird, isn't it? Right now I can't even imagine it. And don't want to. I have 4 weeks to go.  I have a physical job (Fed Ex courier) and I am worried about being able to lift heavy things again...and the mental side of having to answer people's questions, etc. My co-workers can sometimes be "toxic" -- it's a small, rural station full of gossip -- and before I went out on disability for the BMX I was letting it get to me. I hope to go back and not get sucked in to the pettiness. I keep telling myself, don't sweat the small stuff -- and it's ALL small stuff after cancer diagnosis and body-altering surgery !

I have saline implants and skin over my foobs is warm to touch.

I opted for a BMX March 2010 after being diagnosed with DCIS in my left breast.  I had DIEP flap reconstruction followed by 2 additional surgeries to get it right.  I am so happy that I did and feel much more relieved than worrying about it every year when it was time to get my mammogram.  I was told that I didn't have to take Tamoxifin but was also told I didn't have to have any more mammograms!  I know several people whose cancer has come back after BMX and was wondering what other drs are saying.  I feel very vulnerable.

I am reading thru the posts as I am trying to decide what to do next.  DCIS was discovered in right breast in July.  In early Aug I had my first lumpectomy which was not clear, 2nd re-exicision mid Aug was better but still not clear on one side.  BS says that since this is low grade, the cells are so scattered and I don't have a family history of BC (however, we do have Uterine and some Ovarian), we should check MRI of both breasts before deciding what to do next.  She doesn't want to do another re-exicsion and it come back without clear margins.  Guess what, I didn't fit in the MRI machine since I am overweight with a very big hind end.  BS says, we should do hormone therapy (not with the Tamoxifen) and wait for me to loose weigth - are you kidding? With all the stress I have been under waiting and waiting, even just a week is hard and all I want to do is eat.   

Some of you have said that this is the reason you did Mastectomy and one person mentioned that she wished she had because the 6 month checks and additional biospys is hard to wait.  I hadn't thought about that part.  I have always had the choice of a Mastectomy.  Most everything I read tells me that's the route to go, BS has already removed 6cm of tissue which is not all DCIS since it is so scattered. I do worry about the other breast, afterall, the left was the one they were concerned about 3 yrs ago. Without being able to fit in the MRI machine - I am at a loss.  BS also said the new Gamma machines won't work for me (not sure why - I haven't found anything saying it is not good for DCIS). 

You are all couragous women. This weekend is decision time for me.

Hi Ladies!

I was 49 at DX, caught on my very first mammo! I had an excisional biopsy because of the size of the concerned area, I guess it was more of a lumpectomy. The path report came back with 3 dirty margins so I had to decide where to go from there. I was only a AA cup to begin with so taking another "golf ball sized" area of tissue from this teeny boob would not have left much over. I also did not want to go through more retries if they did not get it all and I was also worried about having to do 6 weeks of rads if another lumpectomy was successful. After much consideration and weighing all my pros and cons a UNIMX was the best route for me! I have not considered recon and just wanted to get on with my life with the least amount of interruptions as possible..........I was also a big chicken of having more surgeries! So, my surgeon gave me a neat and tidy flat chest on the right side. Most days I am comfy with the decision but I must admit sometimes I think it would be nice to have both sides match!

I had DCIS on right side, and chose bmx with DIEP reconstruction.  BS told me rads or mx.  I have autoimmune problems and worried about skin reactions to rads.  Also worried about location of DCIS, which was very deep and near my chest wall - rads could complicate lung or heart issues.  When BS heard of autoimmune, she said, "that takes rads off the table. You'll need to decide between one mx or two."  One sister and two cousins have had breast cancer recently, so I decided to have both done  in Jan 2010 and stop the worrying.  The DIEP results are great, no complaints (went to New Orleans). I've been glad for the decision, since I'm a worrier, but i do miss my breasts.  Can't have it both ways.  I was told the chance for recurrence after a mx is around 2%, which is reassuring.

Hi everyone - so glad to find this thread!  I was diagnosed in April 2011 through mammo and stereostatic biopsy.  My only family history was my mother going through DCIS (with lumpectomy and rads) 2 years ago.  Having very large breasts, I took the lumpectomy route figuring a little unevenness wouldn't be so horrible.  However, no clear margins.  After the second re-excision and SND (all clear there, thank goodness!) and having a full 1/2 of one side completely gone, my medical team sat me down and said that while they got good enough margins, they didn't think I was a good candidate for rads because the area they ended up taking out totalled over 9cm and only 2-3 of those had shown on mammo and none at all on MRI.  They were concerned that they wouldn't be able to effectively see a recurrence if it happened. 

That was the final straw.  I'm getting through this day by day, but it's a fight.  If I had to spend the rest of my life worrying with every screen whether or not it was back, I don't know if I could be that strong.  Luckily, the final path confirmed the decision as they found yet another area of 2-3 cm in another quadrant. The only decision I might change with a 2nd chance would be not doing the BMX after the 1st lumpectomy.

It's a rollercoaster every day, but I'm glad I went with the BMX with TE's.  Still having pain issues and had first fill last week, but looking forward to a future with minimal worry that we'll ever have to deal with this again. 

jen42:  Thanks so much for the kind words.  I keep trying to tell myself and others that I'm chalking each day up to a new adventure.  You and I both know that the worst is behind us, but sometimes the fight just becomes so exhausting.  Having one of those pain days today and got a pep talk from my DH.  He just made me yell a big cheer with him celebrating the fact that we're in the home stretch. 

Cheers to all the ladies out there, home stretch or not!  We're pretty darned amazing!

alliesmom:  just read your post and can't believe the similar story to mine. I also had my BMX on May 27. I also would have been left with 1/2 a breast if I went with lumpectomy. My surgeon also said he would tell his wife/sister/daughter to go with BMX if this was their situation. I too feel very lucky to not have to have any further treatments. I eat well as much as possible, with some days doing better than others. I'm also a Jen. I turned 43 in June.

Differences:  I did have family history. And I found the lump...4 previous mammos showed nothing (I started at 39 with those). I found the lump a year ago, had it biospied, it came back benign, an intraductal pappilloma (wart-like growth in milk duct). This happened same week I had to get my gallbladder removed, so I was happy to put the idea of breast cancer on a shelf and concentrate on the surgery at hand. At the next year's gyno appt, my doctor recommended I get the lump checked again because it felt slightly bigger. Breast center did another ultrasound and skipped the biopsy, recommending I get the lump removed. Had it  removed on March 30 and it turned out to be the "tip of the iceberg". The DCIS was hiding under it. That surgery did not get clean margins...and the rest is history.

I so truly believe in self-exams and mammos. Early detection can make so much difference. We are the lucky ones in breast cancer world.

Jen we could be twins in another life if we were the same age LOL  I turned 42 in June

I also would have had almost half my breast taken off with the lumpectomy and decided I didnt want to be uneven, and taking a chance that it might mirror itself on the other side just made my decision a little easier.

Just joined in I have low grade DCIS  on one side and my surgery scheduled for June.  I opted for BMX and immediate recon with the one step implant method. No family history just a shock for every one I know.  Are you satisfied with your decision?  You here stuff everyday I'm wondering if this is drastic choice.  I talk about it like its a walk in the park like my surgeons but deep inside I'm scared of the unknown I guess.  My head spins everyday waiting for the day to come. Any thoughts or tips?

For me, it was definitely the right decision.  I was more fearful of not doing the BMX than of doing it.  My only advice is not to expect them to be "good as new" or look like they would if you had only implants.  I had nipple and skin-sparing mastectomy bilaterally and was surprised some by the results.  At 41 years old, I still would make the same choice for me, but keep the following in mind:

Because so much tissue was removed, I still look awfully thin above my breast area - looks like a slight depression area there above my breast and below the clavicle.  One nipple (ironically the breast that did not have cancer) healed too slowly and the nipple is flattened and not at all pretty, while the other turned out beautiful.  BIGGEST ISSUE - Both implants were placed under the muscle and so I've noticed they look incredibly deformed when I flex those muscles.  The breasts move out to the sides and I get what looks like a sharpei (lots of wrinkles) on each breast while flexed.  Not a problem, except . . . . in a swimsuit I think it will be for me.  For instance, I am very nervous about lying down and then trying to get up in anything revealing (it is very obvious). 

I will ultimately do tatooing on the nipples and hopefully be able to have them do some of the 3-D shading on the one that healed improperly, but plastic surgeon said attempting to reconstruct the nipple is usually not a great result, may cause more scar tissue, etc. Again, these are only my specifics.  Also, my seatbelt still hurts me.  Had to have my husband by me one of the fuzzy seatbelt protector things, because the lack of tissue there is still an issue ( I am now 10 mos. P/O BMX).  Perhaps if I had a different surgeon, was willing to go with larger implants, or didn't attempt to keep my original nipples, some of the other (muscle flexing related) issues would have been less apparent.  Just some things worth thinking about.