Opt for double mastectomy?

Annpez said:

Hi I was 45 yrs with my first diagnosed I had three more after that for me I had three surgerys in my right and one in my left and then in 2001 my left had a lump this was a cancer that would have spread with the others it was noninvasion so I felt for me it was better to remove the two of them and start the reconstrutive process at the same time I had tissue expanders put in I know I made the right choice I had been dealing with this diease since 1995 and as a result the path report on the right one found a pre cancer so how long would I have lasted before another lump would have formed I also had last April the nipples put on I will be 50 in May I am doing fine I hope I made some sense to you I tend to type whatever comes into my head I'll be here if you have any questions I wish you the best Ann Marie

It is Ann Marie please forgive my math I was 41 in 1995 with my first diagnose of breast cancer sorry

On February 18th I had both breasts removed. I am 48 yrs old. I have a strong family history of breast cancer. My fear was greater worrying about the cancer than having my breasts removed.I also had chest expanders implanted at time of surgery. I went to the onocologist yesterday and it looks like they removed all the cancer. There was none shown in the lymph nodes. I feel so blessed and am glad I made this decision instead of having to keep going back as I did with 2 previous lumpectomies. As far as the reconstruction I am not sure if I would even bother with that. of course now that mine has been started I will see it through. please email me if you need to talk. I will be glad to help you with any questions I can answer.There are a lot of good people on this site who helped give me the courage to go on.

I am also new to board, had double mast 11/21/02, small lump in left breast, but strong family history. I'm 46, a single foster/adoptive mother, just completed adoption of 1 yr old at time. I did not have reconstruction at the time, but I'm going to have DIEP flap (where they take skin and fat from stomach, no muscle) surgery this summer, when I'm off from teaching job. I didn't think I'd want reconstruction, but I hate the prostesis and the way I look. Blessed to have avoided both radiation and chemo by having bilateral mast. Just on Amidex for 5 yrs.

Hi pnutz:

I had my mastectomy of my right breast in January 2002. This was after I was told not to worry about the left breast, and then I was asked about a dozen times about reconstruction. If I had not been going through chemo at the time, or not worrying about my 3 kids struggling through all this, I might have pushed having the other breast removed. As it is, I have fear all the time of finding a lump on that side, and I feel that my surgeon, as honest and caring as he is, was more concerned with my physical appearance, than with my physical and mental health.

It's a pain in the rear to wear a prosthetic, I wish that I had had both breasts removed. But neither will I have reconstruction--I've seen what's involved with the proceedure, and it's just not for me.

I think you just have to get as much info as you can, and make the best decision for yourself. Decide what you want, and fight like heck to get it.

May God bless you and guide you in your decision.

Aloha,
Sonja

Hi,
I too am new to this site. I was 55 when all this took place. I can only tell you what I did but not what is best for you. In 2000 I found pea size nodule in my left breast. I had a needle biopsy and it was atypical. I had a lumpectomy after that and it too was atypical. I was fortunate in that it was in a milk duct and they were able to remove all of it. There is no history of breast cancer in my family however after speaking with my surgeon and oncologist they felt a mastectomy would be best. I wasn't a good candidate for radiation because I am very fair and the site was directly over my heart. My daughter was getting married in six weeks!! I was frantic. I had another meeting with my surgeon who said to me that if I were his wife he would recommend that I remove both breasts. I then talked to my children and they felt that I should remove both breasts because in their eyes they would rather have a mother with no breasts than no mother at all. I didn't want to spend every day of the rest of my life worrying whether I had cancer in the other breast and I didn't want to go through the surgeries twice so I had both breasts removed and have never looked back. I too had the expanders put in the same time I had the breasts removed and now have implants. My breasts look the same on both sides and I am able to not think about having breast cancer ever again. It's nice to be able to breathe easily. If I can be of any help to you or you would like to know more about my experience please feel free to write. Good Luck to you!

After reading your many replys, I think I should add a few more thoughts - I'm sure you are overwhelmed, but hang in there.At 54 I had a HUGE malignant lobular tumor with mastectomy.Two weeks later we found another tumor in the other breast=another mastectomy. Hint:tumor never showed in mammos -Ultrasound is essential for dense breasts. Lobular tends to be "mirrored" in the opposite breast. I had Cytoxin, Adriamycin, 5FU, followed with radiation. I was not a good candidate for reconstruction. I am fine with it and my husband truly wants me to avoid reconstruction- to easily spot any future lumps- how lucky can a girl be? A word of caution. Reconstruction may not be successful following radiation, but please don't put reconstruction before your life. Due to previous surgeries a tranflap wasn't possible for me.Radiation
has "glued" my breast tissue firly in place so don't want to try an expander. Breast tumors can recur after mastectomy and treatment. They tend to be about the size of a BB so could be difficult to find under an implant or scar tissue. Think about all the options, ask lots of questions, consult with a plastic surgeon, make sure the surgeon leaves enough tissue for reconstruction later if wanted.