STAGE 1 Who chose DMX and Reconstruction!

MENA1954 · November 2012

Hello Ladies, I have been wondering how many of us that are Stage 1, chose to have a Mastectomy even if we had a choice to do a Lunpectomy and why?

In my case, I was given the choice to have a Lumpectomy with Radiation and Chemo or a Mastectomy. Just the thought of Rads and Chemo, made me chose the mastectomy! I did not even had to think about it...and to be safe, .I chose to remove both breast and have a DEIP Reconstruction. It was a decision I will never regret.

SheaJ · March 2013

i chose the dmx too. was pre cancer in the right and idc and dcis in the left. they started to discuss lumpectompy in left and an insisional biopsey on the right i asked if it is cancer in left and pre in right wouldn't make sence for a dmx? the dr said if i was willing that was a good choice. I did the dxm with nodes in each and reconstruction with te. glad I did as the pathology report from the tissue removed showed confirmed the idc and dcis in the left. and dcis in the right in an area they we not even looking at!

jrnys999 · August 2013

I chose dmx and very glad I did. In the pathology they found two additional areas of invasive ductal cancer in my left breast that were not on the scans. I would have been back in doing additional procedures/surgeries and maybe not so lucky the second time.

aviva5675 · August 2013

I had 2x lumpectomy on right for DCIS with oncoplasty and same time reduction on left on Tues. They found invasive tumors on both sides. Going I think Fri for dmx with TE. Dont want to mess with it any more. But scared and nervous now about the surgery and pain, especially what I read about the TE

bluepearl · August 2013

I chose mastectomy for the first breast cancer and again for the second one in other breast. I sort of wanted both taken off first round, but they said it was a small risk. Yes, but not for me obviously. If I had taken them off, they would have likely found the other one while REALLY small...and it would be all done. Fortunately, both of mine were small and early stage, with clean nodes. I worry about the grade 3 in the very small one but it had no LVI.....and I tend to run with the positive.

tlew · August 2013

I didn't know I was stage 1 until after my surgery. Before my surgery my bs told me the lumpectomy would leave my breast deformed looking because I was small chested to begin with. And I also had another suspicious spot in my other breast which I didn't want to get biopsied because of the horrible experience with my first biopsy. The mammo guided biopsy hurt me so much I was horrified and not to mention I was bleeding thru my shirt the whole way home. I don't know if I chose the right surgery because I sometimes feel uncomfortable with my implants, but the decision seemed right at the time. And because I did both breast, I don't have to take tamoxifen. Otherwise my onc would have prescribe tamoxifen for sure.

src3acs · August 2013

tlew....I had a bilat mx and DIEP so no implants. My BC was also ER+ so tamoxifen was given to me as soon as I healed from my surgery. Please double check with your Oncologist if you are ER+.

jessica749 · August 2013

That sounds weird, MENA1954. Why would you be given a choice of lumpectomy/rads/chemo OR mast with neither rads nor chemo? Don't get me wrong I understand the rad + lumpectomy, that's a given, but why would chemo have been necessary for a lumpectomy but NOT a mastectomy? Doesn't chemo have to do with concern for systemic spread? It's systemic treatment. If your MO thought you had any reason for concern re systemic spread, that would be regardless of a lump or mast., as far as my understanding goes. Do you know why the MO thought you'd need chemo for a lumpectomy but not a mastectomy?

For me, I had a bmx although my choice was a single mast. or a lumpectomy. My reason for the bmx, vs lump and rad, was because (1) hereditary risk / grandmother/ mother (2) personal history / ADH (3) bc not visible on mammogram, nor palpable. Also, I had chemo in additon to the bmx and am now on Tamoxifen.

Blessings2011 · August 2013

When I got my dx, all I knew was that I had multifocal IDC and multifocal DCIS in the left breast. The IDC tumors were very small, the DCIS areas were a bit larger. The Radiologist was VERY concerned about suspicious areas in the right breast.

I was offered a left lumpectomy and radiation, but the BS said that she would have to take such a large wedge of tissue to get both areas, the breast might be deformed, so I may want to consider a unilateral mastectomy.

Several factors made me reject this offer: 1) Mom had BC, and I always felt it was a matter of time before I got it, too; 2) I had huge, droopy breasts, and felt like there was no way they could ever match up both sides; and 3) with the worries expressed by my Radiologist, I would have been a nervous Nellie each year when it was time for my mammo on my remaining side.

So I chose BMX with implants, with the full understanding that if the SNB were positive, I may be looking at chemo, and if the cancer cell margins were too close to the chest wall, I could need rads anyway. Luckily, I didn't need either one.

Aside from some bumps along the way, I know in my heart I made the right decision for me. I am very happy with my outcome now... and it will be two years in December.

STAGE 1 Who chose DMX and Reconstruction!

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