Had L-MX, now considering options for R

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TrmTab
TrmTab Member Posts: 832
edited July 2016 in DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)

Had MX June 3 and am in the fill process, currently at 550 and will get another 50 this Thursday.

Last Friday was my 6 week "anniversary" and I can say that I am feeling much better overall and don't only/always think of this...and am actually sleeping better, as I can now lie on my front with weight bearing on my natural side.

All that said, my PS first offered me the option of BMX, and I said no. I couldn't get my head around a prophylactic mastectomy and really just wanted to do one thing, deal with that and then do the next.

So the question...has anyone chosen to have a MX later rather than alternative surgery of lift/reduce to have the native breast match the reconstructed one???



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  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited July 2016

    Okay, well guess my initial post wasn't clear enough...would LOVE to hear from folks...

    I am posting this on the DCIS site vs the Breast Reconstruction site as this seems to me like a DCIS decision...

    At first I thought, wow MX are you kidding for DCIS??? and now you want me to consider BMX???

    Soooo tired of hearing, you don't actually have cancer but you need a mastectomy!

    Well after nearly a year on this journey and all the scary stories of chemo and radiation, perhaps I am "happy" to have DCIS that was "simple" and perhaps the best next step is simply a MX of the R versus a lift and reduction and continued watching until??? more C?

    Did anyone else decide later to go for another MX/ the prophylactic MX at the second stage?

    I think at this point that I don't have it in me to go through chemo/rads on my right....


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  • PNWBCHgirl
    PNWBCHgirl Member Posts: 115
    edited July 2016

    PNWBCHgirlOregonJoined: Jun 2016Posts: 10

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    my DCIS grade 3 was found in a mammogram when I was almost 49. September 2014.

    Had lumpectomy in October 2014 the surgeon could not get clear margins and because of where located had right breast MX with Tissue expander placed November 2014 . Had tram -flap surgery in summer 2015 with nipple reconstruction and left breast reduction and lift in November. My Plastic Surgeon sent the fragments from my reduction to pathology and the pathology report came back with DCIS grade 1 in my left. No MRI or mammogram had picked it up just months before . So in February 2016 I had My left breast removed and currently have tissue expander and will have permanent implant placed in August.

    At one point in the process of my first expander fills I went through the process in my head that I should have just went ahead and opted for a Bilateral during the first MX , my BS and PS even asked me and we talked about the pros and cons but a part of me at that moment couldn't do it . I was trying to stay me and keep one of the girls real . I know exactly what you are thinking.

    I am so thankful for my PS picking the fragments that he did and we were able to catch the DCIS before it grew further and possibly became invasive cancer. Who knows when it would have shown in imaging.

    You have to go with what best works for you.


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  • Jelson
    Jelson Member Posts: 1,535
    edited July 2016

    I don't think your situation is unique - you are dealing with two issues: symmetry/cosmetic and risk. I often think that if mastectomy had been recommended to me, I would have chosen it w/o reconstruction, taken time to get my head together and then consider what to do going forward . Instead of deciding right a way to do a bmx, you have taken time. good for you for allowing yourself some perspective, you have come to a decision that many women diagnosed with dcis have made - bmx - overkill? perhaps - some would say - but it is your body and your choice about how you want to live your life going forward.

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  • TrmTab
    TrmTab Member Posts: 832
    edited July 2016

    Thanks for these responses...was starting to feel like I was going crazy even thinking of this as an option. I have time to decide...my exchange isn't until December, and I will have a mammogram on the natural side in October.

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  • VegGal
    VegGal Member Posts: 507
    edited July 2016

    You could also go for a skin and nip sparing mastectomy on the remaining breast, thus keeping a little more of the "girl". That might make the whole thing more palatable.

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