propyllactic mastectomy

Hi
As far as I understand the Oncotype test is related to the your original tumor and used to determine weather or not patient needs Chemotherapy.It has nothing to do with second breast. Ask your oncologist to explain your Oncotype score you. It is my understanding that if you would not have Chemo your recurrence in left breast could be 21%.

Good luck with your decision,
New Flower

carkris said:

I think if you had lobular
I think if you had lobular there is ahigher chance of it coming back in the other breast. ask your onc.

In 2000, I had invasive

In 2000, I had invasive lobular cancer, and in 2009 I then had DCIS, but it was in the same breast. Last year, I chose to have the bilateral mastectomy instead of just the one breast, partly because of a concern that the cancer would develop in the good breast, but also because I was having the tram/free flap reconstruction. Since they can only do this type of reconstruction once (they throw away any unused tissue), I wanted to have breasts that looked the same and not have to worry about how they might reconstruct the second breast, if I needed a second mastectomy. I did have the flap surgery where the tissue is cut out of the abdomen and the blood supply reconnected in my breast: it was not the type where they tunnel the tissue up to the breast.

Hope this helps.

Joyce

jphilpo said:

tram flap
Joyce, how was your recovery from the tramflap surgery? I think that is what I am afraid of most.

It's a long recovery: I was

It's a long recovery: I was out of work for 8 weeks, but I could probably have gone back after 6 weeks. I started driving after 2-1/2 weeks, but I didn't take any narcotic pain medication after the second day post-surgery, so I started driving earlier than most people. You definitely want help with everyday chores and you'll need someone to take care of any small children. At the beginning, I couldn't walk to the end of our block without being out of breath. It is a long surgery, and being under the anesthesia takes its toll. After a couple weeks, I would feel good but then hit a wall when I had done too much. This happened most days, but everyday was a little better and I felt good a little longer.

I was fortunate that my husband works primarily out of our house, so he was here most of the time the first couple weeks. After that, I was fine to be alone for the day.

I wasn't in a lot of pain: Advil was my best friend and kept the pain at a manageable level. I did have a couple minor setbacks, but nothing serious.

Although the recovery was tough at times, it was really worth it. I was glad to wake up from the surgery and have breasts that had been made out of my own tissue. I don't need a prosthesis and can wear the same clothes I wore before surgery: there's nothing that I have to hide. Plus, I can go swimming without any extra effort. I hate wearing a bathing suit, because I'm quite a few pounds overweight, but we sail and swim quite a bit, so the freedom that the reconstruction gives is important to me.

You might want to post specifically related to the recovery from the surgery, if that is your major concern.

I wish you well in your decision.

Joyce

Forgot something!
Hi,

I forgot to mention something kind of important. The skin that has been radiated will behave differently than skin that has not been radiated when you have the tram flap reconstruction. I experienced small spots that were slower to heal where the stitches that didn't dissolve were. The doctor didn't want to irritate it more by pulling them out and opted to let my body take care of them. In a few spots I got little open sores where the stitches were. They eventually close up and heal. Like I said, nothing major but something to keep in mind.