Did any of you jump straight to a mastectomy?

Good for you Rrobin0200. I am schedulet for BMX on April 25th and I really hope that it will be the same for me to a be happy. Thank you for sharing with us and good luck to you.

I had dense breasts that hid my problem from mammos (I was told I was fine for like 5 years) and ILC tends to be multifocal so I went for a BMX after all my treatment was over. I did not want to worry about a scan missing something, like it did before.

Claire in AZ

I didn't have a choice given the location of the DCIS. I've been happy with the mastectomy.

Hello All,

I had two biopsies on my left breast and I was diagnosed on April 17th with IDC, Stage 1, Grade 2, ER & PR +, HER2- Tumor is 1 cm small. I also have a much larger (4 cm. "square") area on the opposite side of the same breast with borderline DCIS.

In the past week, I have had two surgical consults, one oncologist consult, one plastic surgery consult and a blood draw for genetic testing...results due back in about 10 days. I am 72, very youthful looking, but obese (size 2X) with large dense sagging breasts.

First surgeon, who did a surgical biopsy (negative, but I have both types of atypical cells) on the same breast 16 months ago, leaned toward mastectomy of my left breast because she felt two lumpectomies, with one being very large, would leave me with a deformed breast. Then I would have immediate reconstruction and lift/implant for both breasts. She made it sound like a walk in the park.

Surgical consult #2 felt he could get a good result with the lumpectomies, but I would need 6.5 weeks of radiation and, in general, a much longer period of treatment. He urged genetic testing. During our decision, when I indicated I wanted to grab this chance for a lift and/or reconstruction, we began to lean toward a bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, no radiation. This doctor also felt I would have a great outcome and saw no issues.

It is very doubtful that I will need chemo, but will need take something called Letrozole for decade or so.

I am very focused on getting well. My spirits have been excellent until yesterday, when I saw the plastic surgeon and everything turned upside down. He felt we would have a better outcome if I had two lumpectomies in my left breast followed by a lift and radiation. Then he would do a lift on my right breast. I really do not want radiation. I am very concerned about its side effects, the possible damage to my heart, lungs and bones. He minimized my concerns and said radiation has vastly improved in recent years. He was reluctant to use expanders and implants on both breasts, saying he feels I won't heal well and will be prone to infection due to my meds. (I take a low doses of steroids and methotrexate for an inflammatory disease.) BTW, I did heal very well from the surgical biopsy in 2016 and I was still on those meds. He concluded the best aesthetic outcome would be the lumpectomies/radiation and lifts.

I left feeling like he didn't want to work on me. My self image is poor because of my weight, which has been a battle with steroids, and my pathetic looking breasts. It was hard to be examined and photographed. I felt judged, especially when he started talking about loss of sensation and began to relate a story about his 35 y.o. patient who was prancing around in her bikini and never realized her nipple had popped out of her top....then he went on to rave about how adorable she is and her "amazing blog is read by 100,000 people."

Both surgeons work with the plastics guy and recommend him.

I am a beautiful woman who is embraces my sexuality. I want to continue to feel like a woman. I want a good outcome, in all ways, avoiding radiation and having beasts that might finally be perky. I would really appreciate any feedback and suggestions.

Thank you, Mary

Mary, see a few plastic surgeons to get other opinions. You will find opinions vary widely among surgeons.

Hi. One thing I have noticed is that here in the southern US, there is less "node mapping" and more "go to surgery". With big tumors and a small breast, I ended up with a radical mastectomy. I was sad. Location near the back chest wall pretty much meant it was not going to be a lumpectomy.