Bilateral or Unilateral mastectomy with reconstruction for DCIS in one breast

sparky72156
sparky72156 Member Posts: 61
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
Would like input. Which did you have....unilateral or bilateral? Do you wish you'd made a different choice? If you are happy with your choice, WHY are you happy with it? I'd appreciate hearing your stories.

Comments

  • EveningStar2
    EveningStar2 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #2
    FWIW
    I had a lumpectomy & rads for a DCIS so I'm not really answering your question. But I have an opinion! (What a surprise!) I've thought about reoccurance as I'm sure most of us have and I think I would go bilateral with reconstruction and have the whole damn thing over with. But then I might feel differently if I had to make the decision in reality.

    Maureen
  • crselby
    crselby Member Posts: 441 Member
    #3
    my story
    I'm not exactly what you're looking for because I ended up with only a lumpectomy (and radiation, of course). I had DCIS, grade 3 (high), dx-ed through a stereotactic core needle biopsy. Before my surgeon would take any action, I needed an MRI to rule out cancer in any other areas. As a result, I needed 2 more areas biopsied in the DCIS breast, but the contralateral breast was clear. If the biopsies had been cancerous, the lumpectomy wouldn't have been possible and I would have needed a unilateral mastectomy. However, because my breasts are very very large (the radiologist called me "robust" and said I must have been at the head of the line when God handed out breasts), there was no doubt in my mind that I would have asked for a double. No plastic surgeon could have matched the remaining breast with reconstruction and I didn't want to have ANOTHER surgery, besides reconstruction, to reduce the contralateral breast. So I just would have been flat chested and happy with that! My age and marital status had something to do with that decision (57 and married 33 years) Now, all of that is conjecture, since I didn't have any surgery more than a lumpectomy. I know you will hear from other women here who better fit your question with their own experiences.
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #4
    crselby said:

    my story
    I'm not exactly what you're looking for because I ended up with only a lumpectomy (and radiation, of course). I had DCIS, grade 3 (high), dx-ed through a stereotactic core needle biopsy. Before my surgeon would take any action, I needed an MRI to rule out cancer in any other areas. As a result, I needed 2 more areas biopsied in the DCIS breast, but the contralateral breast was clear. If the biopsies had been cancerous, the lumpectomy wouldn't have been possible and I would have needed a unilateral mastectomy. However, because my breasts are very very large (the radiologist called me "robust" and said I must have been at the head of the line when God handed out breasts), there was no doubt in my mind that I would have asked for a double. No plastic surgeon could have matched the remaining breast with reconstruction and I didn't want to have ANOTHER surgery, besides reconstruction, to reduce the contralateral breast. So I just would have been flat chested and happy with that! My age and marital status had something to do with that decision (57 and married 33 years) Now, all of that is conjecture, since I didn't have any surgery more than a lumpectomy. I know you will hear from other women here who better fit your question with their own experiences.

    I had a lumpectomy with
    I had a lumpectomy with radiation treatments. But, I wanted to wish you good luck!

    Hugs, Diane ♥
  • sparky72156
    sparky72156 Member Posts: 61
    #5
    DianeBC said:

    I had a lumpectomy with
    I had a lumpectomy with radiation treatments. But, I wanted to wish you good luck!

    Hugs, Diane ♥

    Thanks to all of you. I
    Thanks to all of you. I think I know what I am going to do....I think it's bilateral for me....the peace of mind will be a very welcome change.
  • New Flower
    New Flower Member Posts: 4,294
    #6
    sparky72156 said:

    Thanks to all of you. I
    Thanks to all of you. I think I know what I am going to do....I think it's bilateral for me....the peace of mind will be a very welcome change.

    Sparky
    We have discussed similar topic several weeks ago,
    Please check it out a lot of good responses
    http://csn.cancer.org/node/176615
    Good luck with your decision!
  • DebbyM
    DebbyM Member Posts: 3,289 Member
    #7
    sparky72156 said:

    Thanks to all of you. I
    Thanks to all of you. I think I know what I am going to do....I think it's bilateral for me....the peace of mind will be a very welcome change.

    Just wishing you good luck
    Just wishing you good luck with your surgery sparky! Post and keep us updated on you.

    Debby
  • kimberlyrose
    kimberlyrose Member Posts: 15
    #8
    sparky72156 said:

    Thanks to all of you. I
    Thanks to all of you. I think I know what I am going to do....I think it's bilateral for me....the peace of mind will be a very welcome change.

    Hi. I chose bilateral. It
    Hi. I chose bilateral. It was a very tough decision because there was no "medical necessity" for removing the left (DCIS was only in right). I thought about keeping it for some sense of "normalcy." But having the piece of mind was important to me. Plus... now I'll have a matching set (for the first time in my life). ha ha

    God Bless!
    Kimberly
  • Megan M
    Megan M Member Posts: 3,000
    #9
    kimberlyrose said:

    Hi. I chose bilateral. It
    Hi. I chose bilateral. It was a very tough decision because there was no "medical necessity" for removing the left (DCIS was only in right). I thought about keeping it for some sense of "normalcy." But having the piece of mind was important to me. Plus... now I'll have a matching set (for the first time in my life). ha ha

    God Bless!
    Kimberly

    Good luck to you sparky!
    Good luck to you sparky!

    Megan
  • aggiemom51
    aggiemom51 Member Posts: 7
    #10
    Howdy
    I had bilateral mast on Sept 4 with tissue expanders put in. I decided on this because I wanted piece of mind and because I wanted both breasts to pretty much look the same once reconstruction was completed. I won't get to start that part for a while due to chemo and radiation. second phase of reconstruction can't start till about 3 months after I finish radiation. I hope this helps. I struggled at first with my decision (thought having one breast with feeling would be good) but decided I would be happier with having both taken off. By the way I'm 51 and single.

    best of luck to you and your decision. :)
  • mrsziggy
    mrsziggy Member Posts: 20
    #11
    Hey Sparky,
    I chose
    Hey Sparky,
    I chose bilateral with DCIS only in the left breast (we thought). My choice was based on the fact that my dr said that DCIS could hide itself well - sometimes scans will not show it. He also told me of my risks to later develop it in the other breast. It was a HARD decision but I chose to go ahead and have them both removed and reconstructed at the same time. Boy am I glad I did. When they biopsied my right breast after removal, they found DCIS in it also. This is after having mammograms and breast MRIs and nothing picked it up. Scary, isn't it!!
    So now I have piece of mind and I too am happy with my reconstruction. My plastic surgeon did a really good job. I would make the same decision if I had to do it over again.
    Hope this helps. Good luck in whatever you decide and my prayers will be with you.

    Tracy
  • sparky72156
    sparky72156 Member Posts: 61
    #12
    mrsziggy said:

    Hey Sparky,
    I chose
    Hey Sparky,
    I chose bilateral with DCIS only in the left breast (we thought). My choice was based on the fact that my dr said that DCIS could hide itself well - sometimes scans will not show it. He also told me of my risks to later develop it in the other breast. It was a HARD decision but I chose to go ahead and have them both removed and reconstructed at the same time. Boy am I glad I did. When they biopsied my right breast after removal, they found DCIS in it also. This is after having mammograms and breast MRIs and nothing picked it up. Scary, isn't it!!
    So now I have piece of mind and I too am happy with my reconstruction. My plastic surgeon did a really good job. I would make the same decision if I had to do it over again.
    Hope this helps. Good luck in whatever you decide and my prayers will be with you.

    Tracy

    Thank you, Tracy. That
    Thank you, Tracy. That really seals the deal for me. My onc said that they normally didn't recommend a bilateral for DCIS.. I told him that he didn't see the look on my kids' faces when I told them about the diagnosis. They lost their dad four years ago to brain cancer and I didn't want them to have to deal with the uncertainty again if I could help it. I feel very comfortable that my decision to go for the bilateral is the right one for me. Thank you so much for your input.
  • Calleen
    Calleen Member Posts: 411
    #13
    sparky72156 said:

    Thank you, Tracy. That
    Thank you, Tracy. That really seals the deal for me. My onc said that they normally didn't recommend a bilateral for DCIS.. I told him that he didn't see the look on my kids' faces when I told them about the diagnosis. They lost their dad four years ago to brain cancer and I didn't want them to have to deal with the uncertainty again if I could help it. I feel very comfortable that my decision to go for the bilateral is the right one for me. Thank you so much for your input.

    I had
    a bilateral with immediate reconstruction using my tummy fat... I feel for many reasons it was the best choice for me.. one was peace of mind because I would ALWAYS worry about it developing in my other breast... Plus I had the insurance to take care of it... I have not for a second regretted my choice.. The recovery from this surgery was worth it!!!
  • mariam_11_09
    mariam_11_09 Member Posts: 691 Member
    #14
    I had DCIS in 50% of my
    I had DCIS in 50% of my left breast along with an invasive tumour. The doctor strongly recommended a mastetomy on the left with the option of removing the right although it was prefectly clear. Breast preservation was a weaker option as there would alwasy be concern.


    I choose to remove the entire left and preserve the right.
    Since the right breast was clear there is a change I may never get it in the right. Also I wanted to preserve as much of my body as possibly.
    Breast preservation on the left felt too risky.

    I am only a week after surgery and I ask myself was it worth it - yes and would I do it differently - no.
  • pinkkari09
    pinkkari09 Member Posts: 877
    #15
    Hi Sparky, I don't have the
    Hi Sparky, I don't have the same cancer as you but I have the same decision. I have stage 3c invasive ductal carcinoma breast cancer with a 6cm tumor in my left breast and my cancer is triple negative. I only have two chemo treatments left in which they may not be able to finish because my neuropathy is really bad. I have decided to remove both breasts with tissue expanders placed at the same time. This decision is based on my brca 2 having an un-identified significance and the fact that triple negative cancers have a very high recurrence and they are so fast growing. My cancer has spread through my lymph nodes and into my supra-clavicular node (in my neck area and cannot be removed) and into my inner mammary node (in my chest wall and cannot be removed). I'VE NEVER MISSED A YEARLY MAMMOGRAM, so this happened in that time. I want peace of mind!! Last but certainly not least, I want an even set, not a 38 year old breast on one side and a nice new 20 year old looking breast on the other :) LOL. My decision may have been a little easier because the left has to go so I said "if one is going their both going" Best of luck to you, my surgery will be scheduled soon, I'll keep you all updated.
    Love and Peace,
    Kari

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