Total Hysterectomy

Hello Cindy Ann,
I am a 34
Hello Cindy Ann,

I am a 34 year old woman, was diagnosed june of 09 with breast cancer. was tested for the Brac gene and was positive, this changed everything for me. at first i was only supposed to have 3 chemo treatments cuz i was only stage one bc. then we got the results that i was brac positive, so my surgeon said we need to discuss the other surgeries that you need to have. I said okay. what. well with the brac gene if you don't remove the overies it can eventually attack them and you can get ovarian cancer, which is much harder to detect. I said okay. so i went to my gyno.. i discussed my options. I have a 14 year old son. and my husband and i were not planning on having any kids. which made my decision much easier.. i chose to go with a total hystercomy with overies removed. I had a double mastecomy as well becuase if not the gene could attack my other breast and my body would not react to chemo the same way as it would the first time. with that said. i chose to have everything removed. I do have heat flashes but its manageable for me.. no periods which im thrilled about. I under went 6 chemo session and no radiation.. once i was done with chemo i scheduled my total hysterecomy with overies removed 3 weeks after my last chemo which was oct 8. so i was in surgery the week of halloween. then i scheduled my double masectomy the week of thanksgiving. i chose not to do implants as i had a horrible time with my portacath... i chose to have a transflam surgery.. they take your tummy and muscle and create your new breasts... it was much harder surgery for me but i figured if i could handle chemo i could handle anything.. im so proud of my decision and what i have accomplished. with the diagnosis of the brac gene it changed my whole diagnosis.. i have great doctors and i made the decision myself. at 34 never in my wildess dreams did i think that i would have to fight for my life but i did and you can to!!!. you find it in you to say im going to get thru it.. its just another fork in the road. We as women are very strong and we can get thru it... i never once got depressed... it made me a better person. i to was overwelmed with everything, was diagnosed on a thrusday was getting my portacath that monday and started chemo the following thrusday... its a rough road but i have my family my husband and my son to hold my head up high. we did a lot of things when i wasn't tired cuz of chemo we were out of town just to get away from it all... You can do this. Keep us posted and hold your head of high as i did and many others here have done..

greyhoundluvr said:

No Doubt
It is all overwhelming and there is so much information and so many decisions to make at the beginning. And at least with me, it seemed like once I made those decisions, everything moved at a snail's pace and I just couldn't get everything moving as fast as I wanted (i.e. getting on the journey to getting it over with!!)

I can only tell you what my oncologist (and surgeon) told me although it sounds like you have DCIS whereas I have stage 2a cancer so it may be different. When she ordered the BRCA tests, I had already made the decision to have a bilateral mastectomy. She said that if my BRCA was positive, she would refer me to an oncological gynecologist and I would need to have my ovaries removed because of the increased incidence of ovarian cancer. Apparently they do this now with the Da Vinci so she said it would not be anything like my initial surgery but I sure get your point - it does feel like we are losing parts and pieces.

I would recommend what I have seen many of the experienced folks on this page recommend many times - get all the information and opinions you need to be comfortable with your decision. Best of luck to you!

Chris

I had a partial hysterectomy
I had a partial hysterectomy before I was 40 and bilaterals this year at age 61. I never felt I was losing ME and that is the main part of us we have to keep. I do worry about my ovaries as I still have those and have talked to my regular doctor about how to keep an eye on not getting cancer .. no history of that in my family..just the breast cancer history. Making so many decisions is the hardest thing about all this...well, that, and waiting!
Good luck with everything.

similar situation
I was diagnosed with DCIS in December and I am 52. Because of a really strong family history I chose to have a bilateral mastectomy with sentinal node testing. I made that decision several years ago figuring I would be diagnosed at some point. I tested negative for BRCA 1 & 2 and negative for the BART. My surgeon and GYN both felt that my BC was genetic---there just isn't a test to find it yet. They sent me to a gynecologic oncologist for another opinion. He felt like removing the ovaries was the wisest thing to do (I had my uterus removed over 10 years ago for fibroids). Women with a genetic component have a higher incidence of ovarian cancer. There is no screening that is very accurate for ovarian cancer. It is often caught too late. I didn't want to go through the fear etc of another cancer diagnosis if I can prevent it. The gyn onc said by removing the ovaries it brings my risk of getting ovarian down to the general populations. There is always some breast and ovarian tissue left behind after surgery so ther is always a risk of recurrance.

Having said all of that I didn't have to make the decision in 1 week. The bilateral mastectomy was decided years ago. My fear led me to have the ovaries removed 4 months after the mastectomies (just a few weeks ago). My thinking is that you don't need to make any decisions regarding a hysterectomy now. Give yourself time to adjust and come to terms with the DCIS and treatment for now. You will always be a woman regardless of what body parts you have or don't have.

Keep coming on and posting what you are feeling and going through. You will begin to feel less lost and will find many kind loving soals who know exactly what you are going through. it will get better!

Hugs, El

TawnyS said:

Hi Cindy Ann! I am 36 and
Hi Cindy Ann! I am 36 and did have a bilateral and full hysterectomy on the same day. When my doctor looked my directly in the eyes and told me my risk of ovarian cancer was extremely high with the type of cancer I had and my age (with the long life I still have to live there was no other choice in my mind but to have the hysterectomy. Anything that increases my survival rate is worth it to me. With serious decisions like this you must absolutely trust your team of doctors in what they are telling you and you must trust in yourself that you are making the right decision for you. Good luck with whatever you decide. Stay strong! Tawny

Hi Cindy
I was 46 when I was diagnosed. I do not have family history and had a mastectomy about 22 moths ago. The ovary question is still open for me. I have been tested negative for genes. My gynecologist-oncologist has not recommended to remove ovaries at this point. My advice get tested firs, go treat your breast cancer and then make a decision on when to remove your ovaries. Usually both radiation and surgery are not recommended at the same time. Consult with your doctors.
New Flower