Hello,
Triple positive diagnosis in July. I started chemo in August, 3xEC and one cycle of Paclitaxel&Phesgo. I had some cardiac side effects so the chemo was stopped. The tumor has reduced by 50%.
I’m now due for surgery next week, and had to decide in short notice between wide local excision , licap and mammoplasty.
Have others faced a choice of type of surgery with a short time to make a decision? How did you experience the process? There is some anxiety to want to make the right decision (for me), but also a need to not delay the surgery and wanting to be done with it. Taking more time to decide doesn’t remove the anxiety of making the choice, it just postpones it to a later date.
Anyway, I have been coping with this fast-paced decision process as best as possible.
Hi @tulip56
I am sorry you haven’t had a response to your question. I am sorry to hear what you’re going through, it is not a surprise that you feel afraid of the unknown.
I am sure someone will be able to share their experience with you. In the meantime please know that our nurses are here for you any time, here on the forum on the Ask our Nurses your questions or over the phone 0808 800 6000.
Sending our love,
Alice 
Hi Tulip, I had a similar decision with my first diagnosis between lumpectomy which would have left me lopsided and with the affected breast ‘deformed’ or a bilateral mammoplasty taking tissue from the healthy breast to get a better shape and symmetry.
I had a weekend to decide and was really torn as I understood that the second option was a much bigger surgery with longer recovery times…and wasnt sure I wanted to put myself through that, I just wanted to get the tumour out.
In the end a friend said to me to try and look longer term, to the time when the recovery was done and the treatment finished…how would I feel then about either option, and I realised that to get over this fully I needed an outcome that I could live with comfortably for the rest of my life (hopefully!) And I decided for that reason to go with the mammoplasty.
My surgeon did an amazing job and once I’d recovered I did feel comfortable with the results.
So I would give you the same advice…try and look at it with the long term in mind and ask yourself what will be the outcome you can envisage being happy living with.
I hope this helps, it feels awful to be where you are now, but it does pass.
Wishing you all the best whatever you decide.
Lisa x
Thank you so much for your response Lisa. Your situation and thought process to make a decision is like mine. This gives me a lot of reassurance
I’m glad you are well recovered.