Mastectomy v Lumpectomy

Hey ladies,

It's been a while since I posted, but I just had so much to process I couldn't bring myself to do much more than get through each day.

I have a question that has come up for me recently - and I thought that this would be the best place to ask it.

Since the beginning, I have been pretty certain that I am going to do a double mastectomy with delayed reconstruction. As my surgery date looms, I am inevitably questioning my decision.

So, my question to you all is this: I have a 17mm tumor, and my scans are all clear for any cancer spreading (we won't know about lymph nodes until surgery). I have read some articles recently that talk about early stage breast cancer survivors having a longer survival rate with lumpectomy and radiation, instead of mastectomy. Is this true? Can people help point me in the right direction for information? My dr's are supportive of my decision, but I guess I just want more information before it's too late.

Thanks everyone!

Amy

My MO had told me about some recent evidence that lumpectomy with whole breast radiation may yield lower local recurrence rates than mastectomy alone. The understanding seems to be that all of the breast tissue receives the radiation dose and therefore has the benefit of additional treatment.

I think the overall survival rates are the same and this new information is based on recent studies - not sure if it's reliable enough at this point to be held as fact.

Hi aymerz, I just read your first post and saw you didn't reply, so I got worried.Glad you are posting. This place is great! I also have generalized anxiety disorder. I started eating less and having panic attacks between when I found the lump in late April and my surgery June 19. I got a lot better once I had surgery and felt like my treatment was in full swing.

As to the question about lumpectomy vs mastectomy, I was originally planning to do a lumpectomy, but I had 6 cm of dcis around my idc(which we suspected was there, but surgery pathology confirmed it), and figured they were going to take so much out anyway that the visual outcome wouldn't be too different. I was also scared they wouldn't get clean margins and I'd have to go through surgery again. I did not do a double mastectomy because my right side seemed to be cancerless, and I wanted one that had normal feeling in it.

My surgeon told me that whichever decision people make, the majority don't regret the choice they made. And so far, I don't. And it is different for everyone. Trust your ability to make the right choice for you