Help- Urgent-need help making decisions..

naturelover39 · May 2008

naturelover39 · May 2008

Help- I just found this site. info lumpectomy 12-06 her2 + neg es pr

2-08 found a lump under arm-biopsy pos for cancer- sm lump in breast too - they say they think its a local recurrance

Long story - have seen numerous surgeons- not sure what to do

One surgeon keeps insisting on a MRI or biopsy of other area

two other surgeons told me not to do that it would show something cloudy and force a mastectomy???

I saw someone yesterday who said he could take out the lump , and do a lumpectomy - sounds good , but how will I know if all the cancer is gone- he said the location is delicate and I could get a problem even if more nodes would not be taken

I have surgery scheduled for next week with someone who's nurse was very nasty to me. I've called for two weeks and asked for the Dr. to call me , and haven't gotten a call back. Not happy here. He spoke of lumpectomy and lymph node dissection. Sloan Kettering

I had a petscan/ct showed local recurrance only, mammo showed small lump in breast and calcifications.

I started with one surgeon in 2-08 - office played around for almost two months - I finally decided to look elsewhere

I feel lost

I need some thoughts from anyone who' been there

Do I go forward with a Dr. who seems good , but might take out alot of lymph nodes- min 10-15 but maybe alot more ???

Do I try for just the node and lumpectomy in twighlight??

Do I do an MRI /biopsy of spot? I had a biopsy in feb of lump already

It turns out she was/is thinking a mastectomy- seems alot of them are being done lately...(

Any thoughts anyone ????

Very scared of lymphedema- car accident and already a prob with hand, in trouble here

Also , offered to see an ONC to see about shrinking it to make surgery easier??? Its 2-3cm under arm , 1.5-2cm in breast- now I'm scared could it be elsewhere

Grateful for any and all responses- lost and confused and alone making this decision- only family a brother who needs my help...

Eileen

naturelover

p.s. - I am very naturallt oriented - taking alot of supplements- anyone out there turning this around completely naturally??

ICanDoThis · May 2008

Naturelover

I suspect that you aren't getting a lot of responses because we don't really know what to say to you.

Are you saying that the lump under your arm has been biopsied, and it is in fact cancer. And the doctors believe that the lump in your breast is related?

Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

If this is cancer, the most important thing is to pick an option and go with it. There may be no option that doesn't scare the hell out of you - you wouldn't be human if you weren't afraid.

Personally, I hated my cancer center, and am switching my followup care to somewhere else, but I got that EVIL thing out of me, and made and followed a plan that would minimize the likelihood of it ever coming back.

To the best of my knowlege, supplements don't defeat cancer - however, I take supplements to enhance the effectiveness of what I do, and to minimize side effects.

I wish we had an easy answer for you, but I don't, and I don't think anyone else does either.

You are in my thoughts,

Sue

ICanDoThis · May 2008

Naturelover

I suspect that you aren't getting a lot of responses because we don't really know what to say to you.

Are you saying that the lump under your arm has been biopsied, and it is in fact cancer. And the doctors believe that the lump in your breast is related?

Or am I misunderstanding what you are saying?

If this is cancer, the most important thing is to pick an option and go with it. There may be no option that doesn't scare the hell out of you - you wouldn't be human if you weren't afraid.

Personally, I hated my cancer center, and am switching my followup care to somewhere else, but I got that EVIL thing out of me, and made and followed a plan that would minimize the likelihood of it ever coming back.

To the best of my knowlege, supplements don't defeat cancer - however, I take supplements to enhance the effectiveness of what I do, and to minimize side effects.

I wish we had an easy answer for you, but I don't, and I don't think anyone else does either.

You are in my thoughts,

Sue

BethNY · May 2008

I'm trying to understand what your story is. Were you dx back in 2006, and now you have a lump in the same breast and under the same arm?

Why wouldmn't they biopsy the lump? And if it can't be biopsied, why not do the lumpectomy, with node disection via frozen section to check maybe 3 or 4 nodes- and if there is cancer only then can they take more?

And if you have small breasts, taking out a 2 CM lump is a lot of breast tissue to get clear margins. Did you have a lumpectomy the first time around?

Did they do a bone scan or a PET scan?

I would have a biopsy first to see if the lump is even cancerous. What if it is scar tissue?

The MRI can show a lot of false positives, but that wouldn't automatically mean you need a mastectomy.

Can you give us more info?

wahine · May 2008

Hi, I agree with Mamhop about finding a dr you are comfortable with. I was very unhappy with the first plastic surgeon that my breast surgeon had referred me to. He made us feel uncomfortable, and like he (and his nurses) didn't want me there, and that he would not do his best for me. Cried a lot about that, and finally, 5 days before surgery I cancelled with him. Then I found a wonderful PS who I feel totally comfortable with, confident in, and he also is very caring. I had thought it was too late to change drs, but it wasn't. ANd I had my bilat mast w/expanders 3 wks ago, and it went very well. SO, I don't know what your dx really is, but I just really wanted to tell you to keep looking till you find a dr (or team of drs) that you feel comfortable with. Wishing you the very best--you came to the right place! (((HUGS)))

Help- Urgent-need help making decisions..

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