Me too

Luuc,

{HUGS} I am sorry you are here with us.

This is your decision, talk to the surgeon about it in regards to his/her opinion. I would wait on the mastectomy decision until you have the pathology report and see the doctor. I opted for lumpectomy, which is what they offered to me and my margins came back positive, I thought about just doing a mastectomy for the next surgery. My surgeon said he would only do the infected breast and if my gene test came back positive I would have to get the other one done. My husband and I thought it best to wait until I had the gene test done, one major surgery instead of two. It's a big decision, weigh the pros and cons.

There are a lot of wonderful women on this board with lots of experience who will answer any question you may have.

Luuc,

I am very sorry for the bad news. It must have been such a shock. When you see the doctors, ask for the copy of the pathology report. If you want a second opinion, ask also for a copy of your mammogram. They will put it on a CD and give it to you. If you give us your age and the pathology result, people in similar situation on this board can tell you what they have done. Praying for you. Good luck

Luuc- so sorry you had to join the group no one wants to join. None of us are fans of any of this, however there is a lot of support here to help you make the decisions you need to make. Mastectomy is often recommended for triple neg, that’s why your cop said something. women who choose double mastectomy (bmx) often do so for symmetry, reduction of risk in the opposite breast, and/or not having to deal with intensive monitoring of the opposite breast.

I agree with the other posters above, if you have recon, try to do it at the time of mx. Fewer surgeries, better cosmetic outcomes, and better emotionally to come out of surgery with breasts vs not (if you’re planning recon.) with skin or nipple sparing mx you really shouldn’t be able to tell you’ve had anything done unless you look close when all is said and done. You have the options of implants, natural tissue, or hybrid (combined the two) recon. Implants are self explanatory. Natural tissue recon takes tissue from your tummy or upper buttocks/hips to create new breast mounds (you get a tummy tuck or a butt lift with these options.) I chose bilateral mx with immediate natural tissue recon (DIEP) and you can’t tell I had anything done, they feel like my originals did before I had kids and they have a natural shape. I’d do it again in a heartbeat. If you think you’d like this type of recon don’t let your local docs push you into a surgery before you’ve investigated your options. You don’t have months to decide, but a few weeks is typically on. I think the average time between diagnosis and surgery is usually about 4-8 weeks. Here’s a link to one of the best centers for this type of surgery (you won’t believe the before & after pics): www.breastcenter.com

Chemo is not fun but it gives you very good odds of beating this. There are several regimens that can help make chemo more tolerable/help with side effects of chemo and cold caps that can help you keep your hair.

In the meantime, 1 foot in front of the other and keep moving forward. This is the toughest part...waiting on information, waiting for your next appointment, making decisions, etc. It does get better. Warm thoughts and well wishes coming your way🍀