Why get a mastectomy?

eshuk

Hi everyone. For those of you who had a CHOICE between lumpectomy with radiation or mastectomy, AND CHOSE MASTECTOMY, I would like to understand the reasons why you went with a mastectomy. I have a similar choice before me and I want to get some perspectives from other women.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Elyse

Mich1417

I had a choice, but with a 5 cm tumor, my surgeon thought that it would be a deformed looking breast if I went with the lumpectomy. However, that did not weigh in to my decision at all! I was 36 and I just couldn't stand the thought of leaving any cancer behind! I had 3 lymph nodes involved. I also chose to wait on the reconstruction because I wanted to heal as soon as possible so I could start chemo...which I know isn't a concern for you since you already went through chemo. The mastectomy was pretty much a "piece of mind" choice for me. I'll be thinking of reconstruction in about one more year. Good luck, and welcome!

krisrey

Hi Elyse,
I read your other post as well about your dx and such. Let me first say that it could have been posted by me. We have the same dx, although I finished treatment 12/03.
I can certainly understand your dilema regarding the mastectomy. My lump was also 1.5 cm but I went ahead with a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation, but I thought I would share why I had a lumpectomy versus mastectomy.
Some women prefer to get a mastectomy simply to prevent any reoccurance, however reoccurance can still sometimes occur in the chest wall. I could have pushed for a mastectomy as well, but took the advise of my surgeon. I can remember last April when my husband asked the doctor about a mastectomy. He wanted to see if it would increase the chances of survival. My doc said that a mastectomy (in my case) gave me know better chance of survival than a lumpectomy. So I decided that I would chance it for now with less surgery, although they did have to go in two times to get clean margins. As of right now I am happy with my decision but I also know some women who just wanted one or both breast off.
You are good to check out all your options and get all the information you can. After all, this is
your health and your body! The main thing is to feel comfortable with your decision. If I can be of any further help, please feel free to email me too!....Good luck
Kris

jamjar62

Hi Elyse,

I had a 5cm tumor but opted for lumpectomy. If you are small breasted and have a large tumor, a lumpectomy can be just as disfiguring as a mastectomy but I did not have that problem.

Lumpectomy vs. mastectomy basically comes down to what you can live with and not drive yourself crazy. The survival rate is the same so that shouldn't factor into your decision. As I said, I opted for a lumpectomy at the recommendation of my surgeon and oncologist. For a few months after, I questioned my decision because it seemed like everyone women I talked to decided on the mastectomy rather than lumpectomy. Did they know something I didn't know??

My neighbor across the street had a very small tumor (.5 cm) yet opted for a mastectomy. She didn't want to mess with radiation and she was very fearful so for her peace of mind, a mastectomy was the right choice.

Elyse, it comes down to what will make you the most comfortable long term. If you think you will always be afraid the cancer will come back in the same breast, then maybe a mastectomy is the choice for you. If you can't bear the thought of loosing your breast and going through more surgery, then maybe a lumpectomy will be enough.

I hope this helped!

Blessings,
Karen

tlmac

Hi Elyse, I was diagnosed in January 2003 with a 2.5cm ER+ IDC in the left breast (no lymph node involvement) and 7mm benign mass in the right. Surgical team recommended two lumpectomies followed by four AC then 5 years on Tamoxifen. I did a lot of research and found that statistics for survival were nearly the same. My greatest concern was the danger of having a recurrance in the same breast or another cancer in the other. My mother lost her breasts 8 years apart and I watched her go through everything twice. I chose bilateral mastectomy to reduce the chances of going through what my mother had. It wasn't a survival based choice. I also chose Arimidex over the "gold standard" Tamoxifen because I liked the significant difference in recurrance rates and in overall survival statistics. I discussed my choices with surgeon and oncologist and they were supportive. A year and a half later, I've never regretted the mastectomies or the decision to take Arimidex. I remain cancer free and feel great.
Good luck with your decision.

jamjar62

tlmac said:

Hi Elyse, I was diagnosed in January 2003 with a 2.5cm ER+ IDC in the left breast (no lymph node involvement) and 7mm benign mass in the right. Surgical team recommended two lumpectomies followed by four AC then 5 years on Tamoxifen. I did a lot of research and found that statistics for survival were nearly the same. My greatest concern was the danger of having a recurrance in the same breast or another cancer in the other. My mother lost her breasts 8 years apart and I watched her go through everything twice. I chose bilateral mastectomy to reduce the chances of going through what my mother had. It wasn't a survival based choice. I also chose Arimidex over the "gold standard" Tamoxifen because I liked the significant difference in recurrance rates and in overall survival statistics. I discussed my choices with surgeon and oncologist and they were supportive. A year and a half later, I've never regretted the mastectomies or the decision to take Arimidex. I remain cancer free and feel great.
Good luck with your decision.

tlmac...can I ask your age? I asked to take Arimidex over Tamoxifen and was told I couldn't since I am not post menopausal even though I haven't had a period since December of 2002.

Thanks,
Karen

eshuk

thank you to everyone who responded to my post! i greatly appreciate your thoughts.

elyse

kamaha

I made BOTH decisions...when dx in March 2003, the docs were sure I had a small tumor (1 cm). We weighed all the info and decided on lumpectomy (R breast). Trouble getting clear margins AND discovered a larger-than-expected tumor (2.8 cm) and several smaller tumors as well. 2/8 lymph nodes positive. Had 8 rounds of chemo and then a re-excision at the original lumpectomy site to remove residual cancer found on breast MRIs. Thought I would be moving on to radiation when the medical team recommended a mastectomy...they had mapped all the tumors after the last lumpectomy and decided it was multi-focal (or multi-centric, I get the 2 mixed up) and mastectomy was the best medical choice at that point. I opted for bilateral mastectomies and the doctors all supported me.

I went with lumpectomy first because it was less "severe" and statistically has the same outcomes as mastectomy. My line of thinking was do the least you have to do that will be medically sound. That's why I also opted for the second lumpectomy. But I ended up with the bilateral mastectomies because my breasts were SO hard to image and even with mammograms, ultrasounds, and breast MRIs, the radiologists couldn't agree on what they were or weren't seeing, both in the R breast (the one with cancer) and the L breast (the one that didn't have any cancer, although several radiologists thought there were malignancies in that tissue, based on the breast MRIs). I didn't want to take a chance with the L side...we had thought we caught the cancer "early" on the R side, and I ended up to be Stage IIB. What if we were even less "early" on the left???

Two more things, and then I'll end this long post. First of all, I really struggled with having my breasts removed. Somehow, I felt that if I got through all the lumpectomies and chemo treatments and still had my breasts, cancer didn't win. But losing my breasts felt like cancer won after all. That was an emotional thing and I DON'T feel that way any more, but I had to work through that. I had to come to the realization that I lost my breasts so that I would win my life!!

Second--my first cousin had breast cancer and chose mastectomy over lumpectomy because she has extremely sensitive skin and was VERY worried about going through radiation. Different factors are important to different people.

Ronee33

I can tell you why I chose a mastectomy in 3 words: Peace of Mind. I think the diagnosis and treatment of cancer has got to be the hardest thing I've ever had to do emotionally. I know myself and I know I tend to fret. I would worry each and every time I had a mammogram if the cancer had come back. I had a choice but my doctor did feel that a mastectomy would be a better way to go. I know that they say that the survival rate is about the same for mastectomy vs radiation. But, you know what, I sleep good at night having decided to choose the mastectomy. Good luck in your decision. Do what's best for you long term. You'll know the answer.

tlmac

jamjar62 said:

tlmac...can I ask your age? I asked to take Arimidex over Tamoxifen and was told I couldn't since I am not post menopausal even though I haven't had a period since December of 2002.

Thanks,
Karen

I was 54 at the time of diagnosis and had stopped having periods when I was 50. If I'd been premenopausal, I'd have taken the Lupron shots, without hesitation, to get Arimidex over Tamoxifen. Everything I've read tells me aromatase inhibitors offer the greatest protection against recurrance. A very close friend, who is 46, just recurred and is now stage IV. She's been on Tamoxifen for the last 2 years. It's such a personal choice, though, and each of us needs to make decisions that are best for us. I know of many women who have been on Tamoxifen with great succcess.
Read everything you can find on the latest studies, and discuss all options with your medical team. The function of the ovaries can be suspended, allowing premenopausal women to avail themselves of Arimidex or Femara. Only your medical team will know if this is an appropriate option for you. I'll keep you in my prayers.
terri

elizagain

I'll share my story with you quickly. 5 years ago I had a 1.8 cm tumor. I wanted a mastectomy but was told I would be happier with a lumpectomy. For 5 years I was followed up with mammograms, etc. I had chemo and rads. Also Tamox. in November I had a clear mammogram. In May I had a suspicious one. They found a 2 cm tumor in the same breast. It was considered a "second primary" not a recurrence becuase it was so long after the first, and was in a totally diferent part of the breast. HOwever, to me, that is semantics. Had I done the mastectomey first, I wouldn't be going through chemo again.

glapapa

I was diagnosed with Paget's Disease(breast cancer of the nipple) in Feb.2004. I had one surgeon suggest a modifed mastectomy(just the nipple,areola and underlying tissue), while another suggested a full mastectomy. I opted for the full. My decision was easy. At the time I was 26 and I have two very small children. I didn't want to mess around with the possibility of not getting all the cancer. The surgeon who suggested the partial mastectomy said that if the margins weren't clear then they could go back and discuss possibly doing a full mastectomy. I didn't want to have another surgery, if it came down to it. You already go through enough. The decision is a personal one. You have to do whatever will give you that peace of mind, because if you don't follow your gut, you will worry about it. Take care and God Bless!
Gina

KarenKL

Hi Elyse, Well I wasn't given a choice. My cancer was DCIS in my right breast. My General surgeon said to me the cancer was throughout the breast tissue, radiation at that point wouldn't help me. I had to remove the breast. I had a lumpectomy, but that was only to see how bad the cancer was and if it spread. Mine didn't. Now we talked about removal of the left for safety many years down, so I think, do I want to do this again? No. I am today 1 week out from my double mastectomy with tissue expanders put in for implants. Let me say, it hurts,the drains coming out are painful for a few seconds. Because of the pain I thought was this right? But Yes, I knew it was my life in my hands and my poor kids can't go without me. Do I really want to do radiation, be tired all the time, sick. Chemo.? Loose my hair, feel even worse? Alot of things to deal with, with cancer. But I can say I am now a survivor with minimul chances it will come back. I have no more breast tissue for breast cancer to feed. Breasts can be replaced with many options. Can your life?
Just being honest. Good luck, I am and many others here wish you the best and hope you make the best decision for yourself.
Karen

hounddog

Hello my name is Marilyn and I chose mastectomy because I don't want any reacorrance.I had breast cancer 13yrs ago and went through six months of chemo treatments and last year in February a new breast cancer came back so I knew what I was up against so I chose mastectomy and I told Mom and my husband if it is any thing I want something done .I had a biopsy on the 26th of February of last year and a mastectomy on the 28th and I was in the hospital that weekend . It was a hard decision the first time when I was in my early 20's 13yrs ago and when they took me to my room 13yrs ago after surgery I slept the longest time because I did not want to face reality a nurse that worked at the hospital shared her secret with me and that is what helped me over come my cancer 13 yrs ago .I had know idea that I would get a new breast cancer .
Elyse you are a gift from God and right now you are going through a storm in your life you are in my prayers.
Marilyn