Hi everyone,
could anyone give me a bit of advice please,
originally diagnosed 10 years ago, left breast had lumpectomy, chemo and rads,
second diagnosis new cancer, right breast, undergoing chemo at the moment, then rads to follow,
i have asked about having a mx on the left side to reduce the risk of getting another cancer,
the thing is i am now having second thoughts, after seeing my onc yesterday, he said there is absolutely no rush for me to have a mx as the left breast appears to be healthy i am 44 with 3 children
any advice, i am on one hand thinking yes i should, then i have a wobbly moment and think or should i just have mammograms which may miss a tumour anyway,
many thanks liz xxx
Hi Liz
What a quandry, it’s so hard to know what to do for the best. All I can say is that I had a cyst removed from my right breast 10 years ago, with no follow up other than the odd visit to Gp and then referral to hosp when I had mammograms which all showed clear.
I went again to Gp last November complaining of pain in right breast, turned out to be widespread dcis which ended up with my having mx in mid Feb.
I’m fine and living quite happily with my prosthesis, did’nt want re-con.
I realise this is’nt alot of help to you, but I’m sure someone will be along soon to offer some more help
Good luck with your decision
xxx
hi liz, i can only say that for me i would have the mx ,i wouldnt want to live waiting in case it popped up again,i would have my other breast off tomorrow if i could but not been offered the chance but may bring it up in june,i know losing a breast is immense for many women but i just wanted the cancer out,i am sure you will make the right decision for you good luck and take care x
hi everyone, thanks for your comments, part of me knows i have to go ahead with the second mx, in fact all of me knows i have to, i just dont want to!!!
love Liz xxx
Hi Liz,
I had bilateral mx in march, the left one was prophylactic. I was worried by my mum’s hx specifically as she has a recurrence on the other side from her original bc, very aggressive. We have several family members who’ve died from bc and other cancers. My surgeon agreed to do the bilateral although he would rather have not done it.
I based my decision on the fact that my DCIS was largely invisible on the mammogram, and the part that was calcified looked like benign calcification. I was refused MRI which is more likely to show up HG HER2+ DCIS, and also told it throws up lots of false positives which then have to be investigated (biopsy usually). I looked at all the risk factors as well as my own feelings about the risks.
I also decided that I’d be happier if I were symmetrical, especially as I have a very active outdoor lifestyle and a physical job, which would make wearing a prosthesis difficult at times. I decided against recon because I didn’t want the extra risks, and I was unhappy that even the relatively simple option of tissue expander and implant can compromise physical strength and mobility. So I went for the bilateral and decided I wouldn’t wonder whether I’d made the right decision once it was done. I had 6 weeks between my WLE and mx to think, and I spoke to my BCC volunteer a few times too which was really helpful.
When I got my results, there was lobular hyperplasia in my left breast, so it turned out that I had another risk factor in the healthy breast that I was unaware of. Vindication, although I didn’t really need it!
I feel fine about my decision 7 weeks after the op, and am getting there. Overall, the lead up to the op was worse than dealing with it afterwards for me. I’m hoping to have funky tattoos along the scars in a year or so, and then I hope I can just get on with my life with only a tiny chance of bc returning.
It’s a tough decision, big hugs
Lynne x