Opt for double mastectomy?

pnutz · March 2003

I'm new to this site. 63 years old. Diagnosed in Oct. with infiltrating ca, R breast, 6 1/2 cm, some lymph node involvement, won't know how many until surgery around end of April. Have had 6 chemo tx which are working (doctor could not even palpate tumor at last visit). Don't want to go through these tx again! They tell me a 5% chance of recurrence in other breast. Anyone have any advice on having both breasts removed? I'm sure this has been discussed before, but as I said, I'm new! Also, reconstruction, or not? Isn't this whole thing overwhelming??????????

TiRoke · March 2003

I am new to this site as well.. a few days my aunt who is a very close friend and family member was diagnosed with breast cancer and is having a radical masectomy. (please say a pray for Lucy) and I was wondering about the Chemo treatments..could you tell me a little about your personal experience?

pnutz · March 2003

TiRoke said:
I am new to this site as well.. a few days my aunt who is a very close friend and family member was diagnosed with breast cancer and is having a radical masectomy. (please say a pray for Lucy) and I was wondering about the Chemo treatments..could you tell me a little about your personal experience?

TiRoke - I started with 4 chemo tx of Cytoxan and Adriomycin - lost every hair follicle on my body, was sick for about 4-5 days after each tx (continue to work 2 days/week as Psych RN. Then started Taxotere - have had 2, 2 to go. First Taxotere was devasting to my whole system -second not quite as bad (doctor reduced dosage and added some meds for side effects). After chemo, I will have a mastectomy, then 6 weeks of radiation, then 5 years of oral meds. There is no hx of CA in my family. I tested positive for estrogen and progesteron receptors and HER 2/neu. I have learned one thing - once diagnosed, cancer consumes your whole life. I try to remain positive, but it is hard. The support of my family, friends, and co-workers has been amazing - so important! I will add your aunt to my prayers.

Annpez · March 2003

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

Annpez · March 2003

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

square · March 2003

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

I am new to this list too. I had b.c. 14 years ago. Mother died of b.c. many, many years ago. Mother had a sister die 2years before she did of same thing and another sister had a mastectomy at age 70! I was in my 40's when diagnosed. Because of this history I opted for double mastectomy with reconstruction. I was told the cancer would mirror to the other breast and it would have to be done eventually anyway - but who knew when??? And would we catch it early as we did the first time. I have never been sorry and the reconstruction went fine. I feel and look as normal as anyone else in the locker room. None of us are born with perfect measurements anyway so no one can tell I have even had surgery. The nice thing is that they don't do those radical surgeries that they did years ago anyway. I would not think twice about doing the same thing again. Hope this helps.

Pattyh · March 2003

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.

Sandis · March 2003

I am new to this also. I am 54 and and had two lumpectomies without clear margins. I had genetic testing which showed I had the BRCA1 gene. I had an aggressive form of invasive cancer. I had bilateral mastectomy Feb 5th with tran flap reconstruction. I went back to work part time 3 weeks after surgery. I'm glad I don't have to worry about second surgery. Also both of my breasts match. I don't think that bilateral is more difficult than single since I know three people that had single mastectomy and they did as well as I did. I start chemotherapy on Thursday and am pretty anxious about that.

mama999 · March 2003

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.

TiRoke · March 2003

Thank you all for the information and support My aunts surgery was today and it went good they got all 21 tumors 19 of which were cancerous and they took her breast so far she is doing ok.. It is very hard I imagine and It saddens me deeply and I feel for all of you. I shall pray for all of you god bless you.
-Dustin

kamehameha6470 · March 2003

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

charlotte or charly · March 2003

I'm new to this site, also. I was 44 at the time of diagnose. I am now 46. I had lobular infiltrating. So I decided to have the bilateral mastectomy. The tran flap. I was wondering how they (doctors)suppose to check you for cancer after the fact. My doctor says ask my plastic surgeon. Should I not be concerned about this. It seems my doctors are not. Thank you.

GeekyGrl · March 2003

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!

meteena · March 2003

I was 32 when I was diagnosed. Path report was 3 different types of cancer cells one was lobular which tends to go to the other breast. I had 11 of 20 lymph nodes positive. After 2 years of agressive chemo, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant and radiation therapy I had the other breast excised and had a abdominal tram flap. I have never been sorry. I don't worry about having breast ca much amymore but I did have cervix ca after that. Not much left to take out of me but Doc says I am cancer free now and have been ca free of breast ca for 10 years come June 2003. Hallalujah and Praise the Lord...

judd · March 2003

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.

spiritual · July 2003

meteena said:
I was 32 when I was diagnosed. Path report was 3 different types of cancer cells one was lobular which tends to go to the other breast. I had 11 of 20 lymph nodes positive. After 2 years of agressive chemo, bone marrow transplant, stem cell transplant and radiation therapy I had the other breast excised and had a abdominal tram flap. I have never been sorry. I don't worry about having breast ca much amymore but I did have cervix ca after that. Not much left to take out of me but Doc says I am cancer free now and have been ca free of breast ca for 10 years come June 2003. Hallalujah and Praise the Lord...

I am new, so far you seem to be closest treatment wise to me, I had stage 3 invasive inductile ca, in a less than 2 cm that had spread to 10 out of 12 lymph nodes. Then came 4 rounds 2 types on the 5th month autogolous stem cell transplant followed with radiation. I have not run across many breast ca that had this agressive treatment Feb 2000. I would like to talk to others about side effects, years after. My transplant Doc did no follow up with me at all. Still going to my wonderful Oncologist every 6 mos. I would appreciate any information on how you feel now and issues you have had. I did not have mastectomy, I had a lumpectomy, but I am mainly intersted in side effects of all the treatment. Yes praise the Lord we are still around.

Opt for double mastectomy?

Comments

Discussion Boards