mastectomy

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mastectomy

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mastectomy Can someone please help?? My sister and I have been told that we are high risk and have a 1 in 2 chance of getting BC. I am 28 yrs old and my Mum who has since died had BC in both breasts. I cant bear the thought of going through what she went through and not making it… I have a 3 yr old son and a baby 9mths who has Cystic Fibrosis and needs me there…
Can anyone answer these questions -

If i have a double Mastectomy does that mean that i will not get BC ior is there still a risk?

How would i go about looking inot doing this???

I am being referred to a centre so should i speak to them???

has anyone done this and if so could you offer any advice??What about going private if NHS refused???

i look forward to hearing from you… My sister also feels the same

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Am I right in thinking you are being referred to a Specialist Breast Clinic? If that’s the case, they will be able to discuss the risk of breast cancer for you and what options are open to you to reduce the risk. Is your sister being referred as well?

Once you’ve seen a specialist and know what your options are, I’m sure you’ll find it helpful to discuss them with other people on the forum who’ve been faced with similar options and decisions to be made.

best wishes

Daphne

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having both breasts removed does not reduce your risk to nothing as no surgeon can remove all breast tissue.

However it does reduce the risk signficantly

Mole

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Risks I found out I had an 80% chance of breast cancer recurrence due to family history & a faulty gene. Having a second mastectomy (had the first when I was diagnosed in 2004) has cut that risk to less than 10%, which for me made it completely worthwhile. But as Mole said, no surgery can cut the risks out altogether.

No decision for surgery can be taken lightly, so I’d recommend that both you and your sister see the specialist you mentioned, get all the facts, then give yourselves time to decide what the best route is for you. You could also ask to see a clinical psychologist to talk it over with, which may help.

Let us know how you get on - you can always post in the “Family History & Genetics” forum which may get more responses.

Cheers
Sue