Mastectomy is my only option

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  • Evoling_butterfly
    Evoling_butterfly Member Posts: 57
    #22
    Me Too
    I have surgery in two weeks and I am getting both breasts removed..I took chemo first too and anxious for the surgery..It's like you're ready to move to the next phase because you know you're just that much closer to winning the battle...but it's so hard..I too wondering about the emotional baggage I will carrying knowing I have no breast and have to travel the reconstruction road..but I wish you well my sister.
  • Sunrae
    Sunrae Member Posts: 808
    #23
    Evoling_butterfly said:

    Me Too
    I have surgery in two weeks and I am getting both breasts removed..I took chemo first too and anxious for the surgery..It's like you're ready to move to the next phase because you know you're just that much closer to winning the battle...but it's so hard..I too wondering about the emotional baggage I will carrying knowing I have no breast and have to travel the reconstruction road..but I wish you well my sister.

    Masectomy may be your only
    Masectomy may be your only option to rid yourself of bc, but it doesn't have to end there. As you can see from this board, many women have reconstruction and do fine. I had a single masectomy and decided not to do reconstruction. Been fitted for prosthesis and bras for the masectomy side and am also fine. When I wear the prosthesis it looks so natural and matches the other breast, no one can tell which one is for real, and it feels like I still have my breast. I also have bc and ovarian cancer run in the family, but when I was tested, I found out my bc was not genetic. My mother died from bc but I didn't have the same cancer she had. Hoping for the best for all of you facing this decision.
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    #24
    I also had to have a
    I also had to have a mastectomy because my tumor was large and my breast was small. I later had reconstruction because it did bother me (many women are not bothered). I was just 33 at the time. Years after the first mastectomy, I had a second preventive one because 2 of 3 sisters had subsequently also been diagnosed.

    I would have reconstruction again as I just feel better in a swimsuit, etc. I had the surgeries using my own tissue rather than the implants as my younger sister had so many problems with her implants that I figured I would too.

    My younger sis and I were tested for BRCA and were negative. My doc says this is not uncommon as they have not yet to identify every gene that is involved in heriditary type of cancers.

    It is not uncommon for those of us who have a strong family hx to test negative for BRCA. My doc is sure that ours is inherited (generations riddled with breast and colon cancer), but we may never know the gene involved.
  • tjohnson2310
    tjohnson2310 Member Posts: 168 Member
    #25
    Thanks
    Thanks for sharing and listening. I am so glad I found this website.
  • EuRui
    EuRui Member Posts: 7
    #26
    Heatherbelle said:

    I had cancer in my right
    I had cancer in my right breast, and in July I had both of them removed. At 34 years old, it was probably the biggest decision I've ever made in my life. I'm also undergoing reconstruction & almost done with that part.
    In the hospital after my mastectomy, I took little peeks under my bandages whenever I could. I did NOT want to have a "big unveiling" in front of the mirror or anything. I looked & peeked so that when I did take the bandages off, I wasn't totally shocked. And honestly, I wasn't. It didn't make me cry, or upset me. I made peace with my body the night before my surgery. Of course I would look different, but I am still me on the inside. And I'm alive - something I plan on being for a very long time.
    I looked up pictures of mastectomy patients also, if you're not too squeamish you might want to do this. Seeing actual photos of other patients helped me out alot. If you haven't already, google "The Scar Project" - it's a photography exhibition featuring women who have undergone mastectomy. Beautiful and moving pictures. Also, Samuraimom on here has a website that features her story & pictures from her mastectomy that I found very helpful. If you click on her "about me" page she has the link to it on there.
    *hugs*
    Heather

    thanks for the advice..
    thanks for the advice.. going to have surgery next week bilateral mast. and i am having reconstruction too....every little word of advice helps me ...

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