I was diagnosed today with a grade II invasive ductal carcinoma in one breast and have been given the options of lumpectomy and radiotherapy or mastectomy. Still waiting for results on hormone receptors. The consultant seemed to be pushing the lumpectomy option more and noted that because my breasts are large, reconstruction would be difficult.
All that is running through my mind is that I want the cancer gone. I really don’t care about losing a breast as I hate being heavy-breasted, though the thought of being asymmetrical is bothersome. I think if they’d given a third option of double mastectomy that would have been preferable.
Has anyone else had these feelings? I don’t want to conserve tissue for it to be a constant source of worry. Am I overreacting?
First off, nothing you’re thinking or feeling is ridiculous - it’s your body and your health, you have to be comfortable with the decisions made.
In case it’s of any help, my story involves 34H boobs and a bilateral mastectomy. The surgeon took one look at me and declared, “implants don’t come in your size!”, so I started off with a reduction (or, yes, mammoplasty). I was terrified, and there are negatives, but if there has been a silver lining out of all this cancer nonsense, it’s going down 5 cup sizes and a permanently perky future
I was classed as high-risk, so I didn’t have to fight for the double despite my fears after hearing so many stories. From what I gather, it can be difficult to get a healthy breast removed, and they will want you to talk to a psychologist first. On the other hand, lean *hard* into the whole size thing: being heavy-breasted is difficult normally, and being lop-sided at that size can cause back and neck problems. I know it’s tough, especially now, but if you know what you want then I say push for it.
My immediate reaction was get rid. Go for the mastectomy then you won’t have to worry again. But that’s what I did and I still got secondary bc. It’s a lottery unfortunately. A mastectomy is no guarantee that bc will never bother you again because it’s the cells that can continue to be a problem, not the breast.
I’m happily monoboobed but I’m only 34C/D (34B before hormone therapy and it won’t go down even though I no longer take it). There are logistical problems, mainly that, no matter how good your bra and prosthesis are, things will always drift to the weight of your natural breast. This means constantly but subtly swivelling things back into place. If you go au naturale, it’s way more comfortable but it’s surprising how it draws people’s eyes to your chest, when they’d never have given a thought to it before. It’s also more difficult to find the right clothes that won’t draw attention. It angers me that I am aware that my persona choice makes some people uncomfortable. Tough!
Personally I’d ask your surgeon of the long-term advantages and disadvantages before committing yourself to surgery, one way or the other. S/he must have the statistics. You aren’t over-reacting, this is a massive and no-going-back choice. A mastectomy should bring you peace of mind but it’s not a guarantee, unfortunately.
Sorry to be such a negative responder but I’m being realistic. I hope you are happy with the choice you make xx
Sorry to hear you are going through this. I have also been diagnosed with Invasive Ductal Cancer but is Grade 3 and hormone receptive, luckily the HER2 is negative. I can fully understand your feelings regarding being uneven. I was told by my consultant that I can’t have reconstruction (for medical reasons) and even if this was possible because I am quite large breasted that the reconstructed side would not match the other. I don’t have the option of a lumpectomy, only mastectomy and also was not given the option of a double mastectomy. My operation has been booked for 3rd November, have pre assessment tomorrow