Single or double mastectomy

So cupcakez - what kind of answers did you get on the other threads you posted? It's such a personal thing. I don't want to go back & read all your other posts and you haven't entered anything in your diagnosis & treatment areas of My Profile. You insurance coverage may make a difference.

I have no idea how old you are, which may also make a difference. You may want to hang on to some feeling. My preference with DCIS was to get rid of it all NOW with a BMX. It was fortuitous since there were problems in the other breast too. I did reconstruction with Allergan implants. I've never regretted my choice.

this is how I look at it. will you ever feel comfortable with the remaining breast? Having to get yearly mammos with US? I just couldnt live with my remaining breast. I couldnt go through getting yearly mammos for it. Recovery from mast was quick for me. I was 44 then.

I had very large breasts, so for me, and the type of cancer I had (sneaky ILC), I wanted both gone. It would mean no more mammograms/MRIs, which also appealed to me. I miss my breasts and they added a great deal to my sex life, so it was a sacrifice. I would not do it differently if I had the chance. You noted you had small breasts, so it may not apply for you.

I had a single MX 5 year ago.  EVERY TIME I am sitting in the mammogram waiting room waiting for results I think to myself, "No breast is worth this incredible anxiety."   

I chose single MX because I could not see cutting off a healthy breast.  However, at that time, I did not know my mom and sister would be diagnosed within 3 years of my diagnosis.  Nor did I know I would have a gene mutation called Chek 2 1100 delc.  Because of that, my MO wants me to have the other breast removed, which I need to do within the next year since I am high risk.

It is a terribly difficult decision.  Sending you all the best to make the best decision for you.

Cupcakez, I did not have reconstruction. For me, personally, after meeting with a plastic surgeon, it totally freaked me out on what they would require to accomplish it. Nipple sparring was never discussed with me; if i had known it was viable, I might have rethought the whole thing. At the time, the plastic surgeon did not mention it. I know leaving the nipples/skin area from the breast can increase risk of recurrence, but i have also read that there is zero increased risk....who knows.

I was a D cup and I honestly thought I would freak out waking up with nothing there. I specifically asked my surgeon not to leave "dog ears" (extra skin in case I changed my mind). "Make me look like a 10 year old boy," I said to him. He did. It was very anticlimactic. I didn't freak out. I didn't feel that different in my body. I actually enjoyed not getting stares from guys as I crossed a room. Most of my clothes still fit well enough that I did not have to replace a lot of stuff. I go out flat. I have never bought a prosthesis. I am comfortable talking about it and touching my chest in front of perfect strangers if "illness and cancer" come up in a conversation.

As I type this, if I felt sure that leaving my nipples would not have increased my risk AND they would remain having sensation, I would possibly keep them but I would ask for taught skin and no reconstruction. That's just me. Like my war wound from this horrid disease.

I had a neighbor who was small breasted before cancer and she was ELATED to have the recon done and went much bigger. She had complications, infections, initial issues, but she loves them. She showed me; she let me see and touch them to give me an idea of what it would be like. We ran into each other after my surgery healed. Funnily enough, at our same oncologists office and we dragged each other to the bathroom. I showed her mine; she showed me hers. She could not accept that I did not reconstruct and I could not understand why she would want to carry that extra weight that was not her own body (no nipple sparing for her). Maybe because i had huge boobs my whole life, letting it go just seemed easier in some sense. She had said that she was going to "get something out of this cancer" and maybe because she was on the verge of a divorce or mid-life, she wanted the bigger boobs.

If you aren't sure, you can ask the doc to save some of the skin and have corrective surgery if you opt out of recon.

I do miss my nipples. My chest looks naked without them. But waking up flat (or more concave) was not as strikingly shocking as I would have thought. I spent a week looking at ballerinas and models who tend to be naturally flatter....and I felt empowered.

cupcakez...Hi there. We all know how difficult these decisions are. Just wanted to let you know I had a BMX with the right being prophylactic. My main reason was difficulty in screening due to dense breasts. My ILC was not picked up on mammo or ultrasound. Only on preoperative MRI for IDC. I also did it for symmetry. Hope this helps. Good luck and keep us posted.

I insisted on BMX, because I didn't trust the screening methods with ILC. My doctor did not want to do immediate recon, because I needed chemo etc, and he was afraid complications from the recon could delay treatment. By the time I was cleared to start recon, I had gotten used to being flat and decided against more surgery. Waking up flat didn't freak me. It was weird, yes, and it took a while to get used to it, but all in all, not that big a deal. For me, that is. As others have said, it is extremely personal and each person deals with it differently.

I had just turned 48 when I had my surgery. I had average B/C breasts, which only developed after I had my daughter. Before that I was more like an A- . My breasts sagged after the pregnancy, which bothered me a lot. To the point that I often slept in a bra, so I wouldn't have to feel them against my ribcage. They also hurt a lot. So maybe that is why it was relatively easy for me to get rid of them.

Theoretically I would be glad to have a small replacement pair. But having looked at a lot of recon pictures (on PS sites), I am fairly convinced that I would not be happy with the results.

Cupcakez, for what its worth, I have seen many stories here over the years of women finding new loves. Women with one breast, no breasts, deformed breasts and so on. Again, it is personal thing and a matter of personality more than it is about what parts you have or don't have.

In my own case, I decided that part of my life was over when my daughter was born. My stomach was destroyed by the pregnancy and has unsightly saggy skin. Combined with the soft, saggy boobs, I realized I would not be able to face a new man. But I am apparently a weirdo So for me, losing the breasts didn't really change anything in that area of my life.

Hi, Wallycat, any improvement on the reconstruction technology lately? I was freaked out as well years ago, but still hoping someday there would have a big improvement.