Making Surgery Decisions? Start Here.

My mom is 77 and has a stage 1 invasive lobular carcinoma in her right breast on one side and a pre-cancerous mass in the same breast on the other side. We have to make a decision between a mastectomy and two lumpectomies with radiation. My mom is afraid to do a mastectomy at her age so I'm looking for advice from anyone who went through this in her 70s. Thanks.

Tbulkovs:

My mom had stage 1 ILC (only one location) and underwent lumpectomy, radiation and four rounds of chemo at 73. (She was triple negative, hence the chemo.) They did not get clear margins and she had to have a second lumpectomy but all went well with both procedures. She's doing great 10 years later.

BMX is a lot to go through (had one myself this year). And opens the Pandora's Box about reconstruction, which is more to go through than BMX in my humble opinion. (I'm not sorry I reconstructed, I just think it adds a lot to the mix.)

Ask her doctors lots of questions and go with what your mom is comfortable with and willing to do.

GOOD luck.

I was diagnosed with stage 1V BC in January , 2018. Medical Oncologist does not recommend surgery. Compares it to dropping a bar of soap in water. " You can remove the soap but you still have soapy water ." Surgical oncologist says she will review my case in 6 months. Doing weekly paclitaxel and monthly herceptin and perjeta. Any thoughts welcomed.

Hi all!

Thank you to the amazing resources and brave voices on this page. I am in the early stage of diagnosis here and have been told that over the next few days I will need to choose between lumpectomy or masectomy. I have either a small incapsulated tumor or potentially a smaller tumor that may be more invasive. I need further biopsy to determine if the calicification on my mammagram and MRI are cancerous or precancerous. I think I am in favor of a lumpectomy, but am not ready to totally rule our a masectomy. Did anyone here elect for a masectomy and later have regrets about not saving what they could of their breast? I know this is personal and different for everyone, but I would welcome insight from others who have been there. Thank you!

I am not sure if this is the right board....but what is genomic testing. Is it the same as genetic testing? I just had a lumpectomy last week. The doc ordered the Oncodx test but did not mention genomic testing? I am getting nervous again about "Not knowing" about these tests. The genetic tests came back negative..yay.

Thank you,

Schweetie

I have regretted the double mastectomy I had. Why does NO ONE IN THE MEDICAL FIELD on the "Breast Team" inform you that this will grossly alter your sexual arousal with no more feeling in your breasts???

Hello. I am new here. I had surgery last week, and am having a hard time with recovery..... because of the Covid situation my diagnosis and surgery process has gone so fast that I don't feel I had time to adjust to what was happening. I need a support group and others' stories to help me get though this.

If you have undergone a breast biopsy, mastectomy, implant, or reconstruction, or are considering it, we would like to draw your attention to the patient-advisors.com website. This site is totally free for all users. This site does not focus on general health information; there are many such sites that already exist. patient-advisors.comwill let you post your personal surgical experiences, and let you learn from the experiences of others. Surgical operations are significant procedures that can have a profound and lasting effect on your body. Many times, your body's form and function are permanently changed, and thus it is a life-altering event. This website will let you share your experiences and thoughts, converse with other patients, and obtain information about an upcoming procedure. You can choose to be completely anonymous, or can reveal your identity if you wish.

If you have had surgery or a procedure, you can tell others about it. Many people love to swap stories about their surgeries. For example, did the surgery work as advertised? What type of anesthesia is preferable? Are there other surgical procedures that you should consider or inquire about? How much pain or disability is involved? Is robotic or laparoscopic surgery really better than open surgery? Would you do it again? What was the recovery period like? How would you rate your hospital and surgeon? Would you be agreeable to correspond with patients who are considering your surgical procedure? What important things did your surgeon mention (or neglect to mention) beforehand? What complications developed? By telling your experiences, you become a patient advisor, and can greatly assist other patients when they are preparing for surgery, recovering from surgery, or deciding if they will consent to a given operation.

Many patients become apprehensive when they are advised to undergo a surgical procedure. One way to alleviate this anxiety is to find out as much information as possible about the proposed surgery. The amount of information you can get from a surgeon is limited. Surgeons only have a limited amount of time during an office visit, and the surgeon has usually not undergone that particular procedure. However, you can search this site and read the personal experiences of many patients who have already had that surgery. You can learn things from the patient's perspective, which you can't learn by talking with a surgeon. The personal experiences of individual patients are an invaluable resource. patient-advisors.com is the place where you can advise other patients, or get advice for yourself or your family. Patients (and surgeons) can learn a tremendous amount by reading this information, which is available free of charge.

Beginning this journey. DCIS diagnosed - surgeon and oncologist want me to have masectomy with reconstruction. I am getting genetic testing next, MRI to look further at the other breast and meeting with plastic surgeon before my next follow up with oncologist. What research should I be doing?