Need help please- mastectomy vs lumpectomy. Dr says lumpectomy.
Comments
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It is your doctor's jobs to
It is your doctor's jobs to listen to you. I had a double mastectomy and am happy with my decision. Whatever the reason WE choose mastectomy over lumpectomy is good enough. Personally, I don't put up with crap like that from doctors anymore and if I had the choice to see another oncologist, I would. I had a general surgeon do my double mastectomy (she is a general surgeon but mainly does breast cancer surgeries). I would suggest getting a second opinion and seeing a breast surgeon or general surgeon with lots of breast cancer experience. In your case, seeing how dense your breasts are and scans are such a nightmare, I see why you would want to choose that. It would be up to you and the surgeon to decided what is best surgically for you. It sounds like you have already made up your mind that you want the BMX, so I say do what feels right for YOUR treatment to give you piece of mind. It is not your dr. who will be effected for years to come, but you. Do what you feel is right and tell that dr. to shove it.0 -
sorry...no advice...just
sorry...no advice...just wishing you good thoughts...I had lumpectomy...I was not even asked or give choice per say..I had DCIS..but I KNOW nothing of size, #s etc..
I"LL check back in
Denise0 -
I chose a bil.mastectomy and
I chose a bil.mastectomy and i was only 1.5cc but like you i had through the years had a lot of calcification and my mammograms where so hard to read. I did not have reconstruction do to my age i was 67.I have not regretted it one bit.That was what i chose and my surgeon said for me that was the right way to go.That is for you to chose what works for you as you have to life with it not them.Keep us posted.Hugs Frankie0 -
Thanks. If I follow mycinnamonsmile said:It is your doctor's jobs to
It is your doctor's jobs to listen to you. I had a double mastectomy and am happy with my decision. Whatever the reason WE choose mastectomy over lumpectomy is good enough. Personally, I don't put up with crap like that from doctors anymore and if I had the choice to see another oncologist, I would. I had a general surgeon do my double mastectomy (she is a general surgeon but mainly does breast cancer surgeries). I would suggest getting a second opinion and seeing a breast surgeon or general surgeon with lots of breast cancer experience. In your case, seeing how dense your breasts are and scans are such a nightmare, I see why you would want to choose that. It would be up to you and the surgeon to decided what is best surgically for you. It sounds like you have already made up your mind that you want the BMX, so I say do what feels right for YOUR treatment to give you piece of mind. It is not your dr. who will be effected for years to come, but you. Do what you feel is right and tell that dr. to shove it.
Thanks. If I follow my intuition I will go with the mastectomy. Got a month to decide.0 -
Decision
Barb,
So sorry you have to make this decision. It is not easy either way you go. No offense but it's the radiologists to read the mammograms no matter how dense. To me that was unprofessional for them to say that. If you only need a lumpectomy, not sure why the chemo but then I'm not an onc. The only choice I had was a single or bilateral mastectomy. I chose bilateral. I will tell you that if you have a mastectomy you will lose the feeling in your breasts. If that aspect of sex is important then it is something to consider. I hope this helps a little bit. Excellent advice for a second opinion especially since you have a month.
Janie0 -
Decision
Barb,
So sorry you have to make this decision. It is not easy either way you go. No offense but it's the radiologists to read the mammograms no matter how dense. To me that was unprofessional for them to say that. If you only need a lumpectomy, not sure why the chemo but then I'm not an onc. The only choice I had was a single or bilateral mastectomy. I chose bilateral. I will tell you that if you have a mastectomy you will lose the feeling in your breasts. If that aspect of sex is important then it is something to consider. I hope this helps a little bit. Excellent advice for a second opinion especially since you have a month.
Janie0 -
What is your surgeon saying?
What is your surgeon saying? If I read it right, you said it is the Chemo Dr who is telling you the type of surgery - not the surgeon who will actually be doing the surgeery.
There are other 'things' that come into play beside Stage, size and ER/PR?HER2 status that come into play. Type and BRAC also effect the TX plan. Personally, I never had an option of a lumpectomy - I knew from the first day I saw my surgeon that it would be a mastectomy. Unilateral or bilateral was the only question - I chose unilateral and have not regreted it.
Some thought's to think about if you haven't yet. Is immediate reconstruction something you are considering and if so is it an option you can do (not an option for IBC).? My surgeon told me that if/when I decide that I would want recon then it is easier to get a matched pair with bilateral so might be looking at another mast. then. What is your radiologist's thoughts on doing rads on recon breast?
I still haven't looked into recon (mast. Oct 21, 2009). Being IBC, it's not an option for at least a year. Because I don't want to do any elective surgery during the summer and take away any of my outdoor time, I was going to look into it last winter but some things came up and I didn't. I was going to this winter but this time cataracts came up and it's more important to take care of them this year - so maybe next winter. I'm 65 but that won't stop me if I decide to do it.
At least a second opinion would probably be a good idea. Remember though that a bilateral mastectomy does not guarantee that BC will not come back.0 -
Not necessarily trueAMomNETN said:Decision
Barb,
So sorry you have to make this decision. It is not easy either way you go. No offense but it's the radiologists to read the mammograms no matter how dense. To me that was unprofessional for them to say that. If you only need a lumpectomy, not sure why the chemo but then I'm not an onc. The only choice I had was a single or bilateral mastectomy. I chose bilateral. I will tell you that if you have a mastectomy you will lose the feeling in your breasts. If that aspect of sex is important then it is something to consider. I hope this helps a little bit. Excellent advice for a second opinion especially since you have a month.
Janie
It is not a foregone fact that all feeling will be lost. The only area I lost feeling in is under arm. The rest of the area where breast had been has feeling. The rad burns in that area required oxycodone for all the pain - luckily the deepest of the burns were under arm so I didn't feel them.
We are all different ande no 2 experience the same things.
Susan0 -
Barb,
I was 47 when I was
Barb,
I was 47 when I was diagnosed with stage 2 er/pr positive BC in 2010. There were 3 masses on the right side that did not show up in the mammogram. We have 3 generations of BC in the family with the closest relative being my sister that was diagnosed at 30.
I had a bilateral mastectomy with no recon yet. Not sure if I will have the recon. I also did chemo first, mastectomy with axillary dissection, then rads. No one questioned my decision to have the mastectomy.
Given that mammos don't image your breasts well, I can't imagine why the oncologist would care if you had the mastectomy.
If you do choose to keep either breast, make sure you get annual breast MRI's. They are a better screening tool than ultra sound. You should also continue mammograms because they can spot certain things better than MRI.
Good luck!
Cindy0 -
feelingRague said:Not necessarily true
It is not a foregone fact that all feeling will be lost. The only area I lost feeling in is under arm. The rest of the area where breast had been has feeling. The rad burns in that area required oxycodone for all the pain - luckily the deepest of the burns were under arm so I didn't feel them.
We are all different ande no 2 experience the same things.
Susan
I have all the feeling back in the chest and most of it back under the arm. It has been since march 21, 2011 since b/l mastectomy. June since rads.
Cindy0 -
I was told a lumpectomymamolady said:Barb,
I was 47 when I was
Barb,
I was 47 when I was diagnosed with stage 2 er/pr positive BC in 2010. There were 3 masses on the right side that did not show up in the mammogram. We have 3 generations of BC in the family with the closest relative being my sister that was diagnosed at 30.
I had a bilateral mastectomy with no recon yet. Not sure if I will have the recon. I also did chemo first, mastectomy with axillary dissection, then rads. No one questioned my decision to have the mastectomy.
Given that mammos don't image your breasts well, I can't imagine why the oncologist would care if you had the mastectomy.
If you do choose to keep either breast, make sure you get annual breast MRI's. They are a better screening tool than ultra sound. You should also continue mammograms because they can spot certain things better than MRI.
Good luck!
Cindy
I was told a lumpectomy. I was Stage 0 non invasive DCIS.The tumor was 1/2 centimeter.Pretty good dx.I've had 3 benign tumors since dx.It is nerve wracking but none of doctor said I need a masectomy even with these benign recurrences.
I've had benign tumors and a cyst since I was 20. Dx at 62. All in my left breast.It was in its earliest stage. Why a lumpetomy was suggested to me.
Another situation was my friend who was dx 17 years ago.She had Stage 3 with 3 nodes involved.She was told a lumpectomy was about the same chance of survival than a masectomy. I told her to get the mascetomy but she went by what her dotor said.She is a survivor after 17 years with Stage 3.Another friend was dx 7 years ago with a fast growing breast cancer.Her doctor said the same thing.Not alot of difference between a lumpectomy or a masectomy.So she had a lumpectomy. Doing fine.
It is a hard decision.There are times with me getting benign tumors should I give in and let them take my breast.It's hard to know what to do?????
Lynn Smith0 -
When all is said and done,Lynn Smith said:I was told a lumpectomy
I was told a lumpectomy. I was Stage 0 non invasive DCIS.The tumor was 1/2 centimeter.Pretty good dx.I've had 3 benign tumors since dx.It is nerve wracking but none of doctor said I need a masectomy even with these benign recurrences.
I've had benign tumors and a cyst since I was 20. Dx at 62. All in my left breast.It was in its earliest stage. Why a lumpetomy was suggested to me.
Another situation was my friend who was dx 17 years ago.She had Stage 3 with 3 nodes involved.She was told a lumpectomy was about the same chance of survival than a masectomy. I told her to get the mascetomy but she went by what her dotor said.She is a survivor after 17 years with Stage 3.Another friend was dx 7 years ago with a fast growing breast cancer.Her doctor said the same thing.Not alot of difference between a lumpectomy or a masectomy.So she had a lumpectomy. Doing fine.
It is a hard decision.There are times with me getting benign tumors should I give in and let them take my breast.It's hard to know what to do?????
Lynn Smith
When all is said and done, the decision is YOURS, not your doctor's or anyone else's. You have to choose and live with the decision, whatever the result.
For me, I chose bilateral mastectomy although I had low grade, Stage I, with no lymph node involvement. Don't let your doctor talk you into or out of whatever you heart, or gut tell you.
Good luck and best wishes.
Chickadee0 -
Barb
This is your decision. I would consult with the surgeon and get a second opinion on the oncologist.
I saw 2 onco's with the original diagnosis. The second one said the first one over treated me. She was a former colleague of his. She said the chances of recurrence were slim to none and that a lumpectomy would have been sufficient. My surgeon did a lumpectomy, woke me in the middle said she went way beyond the tumor and still didn't get clean margins, she advised a mastectomy, I agreed, she closed me up and a week later I had the mastectomy. My oncologist agreed. He then treated me aggressively with chemo as I had been on HRT therapy following a hysterectomy, and he didn't like the information that was coming out linking HRT and bc. So I went with his recommendations. My only regret is that when my insurance denied a bilateral mastectomy was that I didn't fight them on it.
With the recurrence in 2010, my oncologist was 100% for me getting a second opinion. I sent all my info to City of Hope and they came back with the exact same protocol that he was doing, which just helped cement my trust in his judgement.
This is totally your call and if you are not comfortable with a lumpectomy then do what you feel is right. I too would be nervous with dense breast tissue that didn't show the tumor on the original mammogram, the density of your breasts is not going to change.
My advice is to go with your gut feeling, if you disagree with the oncologist, then change to one who you trust, it is your body and your life that you are fighting for. What I have learned is to be my own advocate and I certainly go with my own gut feelings.
Sending Prayers for you, this is by no means an easy decision, but do what you feel is best for you.
Carol0 -
Some of this has to do with age
The younger you are the more you need to look at masectomy. The lumpectomy for women when they reach a certain age is just as effective to discourage return of bc in that same breast. However, over a certain number of years that lumpectomy equals or overpowers the chances of return of bc over having a masectomy. I think it also depends on whether you have an aggressive bc or not. However, it is your body. Ask the doctor what he would do if the cancer was in his penis. Perhaps this would put the analogy in perspective.0 -
Follow your instincts
and do what give YOU peace of mind. I too was told a
lumpectomy would be fine but after I did my research
and got over the initial shock of it all. I had a
mastectomy after my lumpectomy. Doctors somehow seem
to think our breast are more important to us than our
very lives. I knew this was not something I wanted to
to take even the slightest chance on. BUT everyone is
different and you need to take time and work this out
with yourself. What will give you peace?
Hugs,
Ayse0 -
I had a double M Nov 3rd.aysemari said:Follow your instincts
and do what give YOU peace of mind. I too was told a
lumpectomy would be fine but after I did my research
and got over the initial shock of it all. I had a
mastectomy after my lumpectomy. Doctors somehow seem
to think our breast are more important to us than our
very lives. I knew this was not something I wanted to
to take even the slightest chance on. BUT everyone is
different and you need to take time and work this out
with yourself. What will give you peace?
Hugs,
Ayse
I had a double M Nov 3rd. No reconstruction. After 3 years of fighting 3 primary cancers, I just didn't want to go through this again with the other breast or a reoccurence in the same. It is a hard decision and there are many factors for each person. I did what you are doing....asking others. It's important to be happy with your decision, so take your time and know that when you decide it is what you truly believe to be the best option for you!0 -
Hard decision...SueRelays said:I had a double M Nov 3rd.
I had a double M Nov 3rd. No reconstruction. After 3 years of fighting 3 primary cancers, I just didn't want to go through this again with the other breast or a reoccurence in the same. It is a hard decision and there are many factors for each person. I did what you are doing....asking others. It's important to be happy with your decision, so take your time and know that when you decide it is what you truly believe to be the best option for you!
This is a tough decision.....and your's to make...don't know that my story will be of any help but here it is... My story...I had a lumpectomy.....with clean, clear margins...no lymph node involvement.... I was stage II due to tumor size..2.2 cm... It was bigger than the mammo and ultrasound showed....triple negative...a particularly aggressive type....then chemo then 6 weeks radiation...I had 3 physicians tell me that the survival rate of lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy is no different....as it is impossible to remove all breast tissue...and you don't "need a breast" for the cancer to return...sadly...I have no regrets of " just having a lumpectomy"...it was an easy surgery....my cancer returned this past June....NOT in either breast but in my lymph nodes... I'm undergoing treatment again...
Don't know if this helps you in anyway....again, this is your decision, no one else's including your physicians....
I wish you the very best...please keep us posted, we care...
Hugs, Nancy0 -
The "what if's"MAJW said:Hard decision...
This is a tough decision.....and your's to make...don't know that my story will be of any help but here it is... My story...I had a lumpectomy.....with clean, clear margins...no lymph node involvement.... I was stage II due to tumor size..2.2 cm... It was bigger than the mammo and ultrasound showed....triple negative...a particularly aggressive type....then chemo then 6 weeks radiation...I had 3 physicians tell me that the survival rate of lumpectomy vs. Mastectomy is no different....as it is impossible to remove all breast tissue...and you don't "need a breast" for the cancer to return...sadly...I have no regrets of " just having a lumpectomy"...it was an easy surgery....my cancer returned this past June....NOT in either breast but in my lymph nodes... I'm undergoing treatment again...
Don't know if this helps you in anyway....again, this is your decision, no one else's including your physicians....
I wish you the very best...please keep us posted, we care...
Hugs, Nancy
We can always second guess ourselves and sometimes I still do it. I had a lumpectomy (chemo and radiation and arimidex). If it never comes back I can smugly say that I didn't need to have my entire breast removed and I will be happy I didn't. If it comes back - regardless of where it comes back - I know I'll beat myself up that I should have had a mastectomy and my decision for a lumpectomy was not a good one. And any reassurance anyone with an MD gives me, won't make any difference to me.
We all know breast cancer is a sneaky, smart cancer that sometimes survives everything we throw at it in spite of everything we throw at it. On the other hand, because of early detection, there are 2.5 breast cancer survivors in the US today, many of whom chose lumpectomy.
Good luck on your decision. I can't say what I'd do if I were you, only share with you what my thoughts are about my decision. I do think I would consider a second opinion in your case.
Suzanne0 -
Hard Decision
Hi Barb. I had DCIS in 2000. It was wide spread in the upper half of my right breast. I chose to have a mastectomy as I would have been disfigured and I thought it would eliminate the chance of recurrance in that breast. I had immediate TramFlap reconstruction and do have some feeling in the reconstructed breast. In 2007, I found a lump in the reconstructed breast. I had a lumpectomy, chemo and rads. I don't know if it was a new cancer or a recurrance. During a mastectomy, the surgeon isn't able to get all the tissue by the chest wall. I was told it was either in that tissue or some cancer cells were dropped into the remaining tissue.
You have to do what you feel is best for you. Your doctor should give you options and advise, but not make the decision for you. Get a second opinion, weigh the pros and cons and got with your instincts.
Best of luck.
Barb A0 -
I also have all my fellingmamolady said:feeling
I have all the feeling back in the chest and most of it back under the arm. It has been since march 21, 2011 since b/l mastectomy. June since rads.
Cindy
I also have all my felling in my chest i never lost any and all felling in my under arms also.
Frankie0
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