when i was 1st diagnosed much to my shock I wasn’t given the option of a mastectomy … i tortured my oncologist and she referred me to the breast surgeon for him to explain why it was not an option.
BUT two years on the breast surgeon said it is up to me whether i have it the op or not (as my liver is stable ) he also said i can have a reconstruction with silicon implant. Has ANYONE else had the opt & or also had a reconstruction with the same diagnosis… what do u think I should do. ???( surgeon said the stats are 50/50 each way for improving prognosis or making it worse… thank u
Hiya, when I was diagnosed with my primary we didn’t know back then that the cancer had also already spread to the bones, so I was treated with intent to “cure” and had a mastectomy.
I was really glad I had it because my tumour had been over 5cm and my left breast did hurt a bit with the tumour, even though chemo shrunk it down to a few millimetres. I think if I’d been diagnosed de novo and they told me I couldn’t have a mastectomy, I would have been ok with that provided that my breast wasn’t in pain and that I couldn’t feel any remnants of the tumour.
However, I’m not at all sad about the fact I had a mastectomy and in fact its probably helped me more psychologically because its one less part of my body to worry about if I find new lumps or bumps.
I didn’t want reconstruction as I honestly couldn’t cope with the thought of yet more surgery and I didn’t want the feel of something “alien” on my chest when it wasn’t part of my natural body. A lady at my local hospice support group had reconstruction done and she said although physically it looked better and made her feel better about her appearance, she struggled with the fact that it didn’t feel “real” and it felt like a “foreign object” inside her. She said it was hard not to notice how it felt. By contrast, I have met others who have opted for reconstruction and they’ve not found this a problem.
In terms of prolonging survivial, I did loads of research into it before I had the op (just to be sure I was doing the right thing) and there is no evidence that I could find which suggests that it does make a difference.
Something to be mindful of and ask questions about is what are the chances of things going wrong after the reconstruction. I’ve heard of ladies who have had it done and then had no end of problems with the skin or tissue becoming inflamed and the body not taking well to the implant and after like a year of battling with it, eventually opted to have it removed completely. Then there are loads of ladies who have had no problem at all.
So I think go ask lots of questions, hopefully you can get lots of different perspectives to help you make your decision! xxx
I’m also her2+ with liver mets. Mets in liver have shrunk to the point they can’t be seen on a ct scan and that’s been 3 years now. I had progression in my breast earlier this year and had a mastectomy then with an implant fitted. Also had 15 rounds of RT. I often wonder that if I’d had the mastectomy when I was first diagnosed if this recurrence could have been avoided. And while having an implant is no great hassle mentally I enjoyed the years of having my body in tact. It made me feel strong. Not sure if this helps with your decision. Xx
Hi, I have just read your message and wondered if or how you have decided? I have been on treatment (Ribociclib, Letrozole and Zoladex) and as the tumor has shrunk, a mastectomy might be an option. But as much as I would have wanted to do it, or chemo, when I was first diagnosed with primary and then a couple of weeks later with secondary, now I am not so sure anymore…