Ok so long day in hospital. Picc line out. Went fine. Met plastic surgeon. Hes not v happy that ive been the neoadjuvant way ie chemo first to shrink lump. He said if originally id seen him & he thought it wasn’t possible to have a lumpectomy then it would have been mastectomy. Reason being is, theres every chance the lump wouldn’t shrink enough with chemo (mines not worked hardly at all) & as im her2+ I need herceptin. So now ive had chemo & im on herceptin ( which he says is very similar to chemo as it kills bad and healthy cells and the immune system) its left me in a position of restricting what surgery I can have & high risk surgery as ill recover slower & if I get an infection my body will not be able to fight it and i’ll be in serious sh*t. So despite this he has offered me the following:
-
lumpectomy but a lot of tissue has to be removed. He said he will take some fat from under my arm to try re fill my boob but has warned there will be a large indentation at least. He said a year after radiotherapy maybe have liposuction fat from belly injected into boob to fill it out but this isn’t always a permanent procedure as your body reabsorbs the fat quite often. You normally need this doing at least twice & yiu feel battered & bruised after surgery. There is also the possibility of the margins not being clear therefore needing a mastectomy anyway. If they are clear radiotherapy is a definite.
-
mastectomy but save my own skin with an immediate implant put in. Which is more invasive surgery so longer recovery time & pain. He said my boobs would be out of line. He said there is a high chance i will still need radiotherapy which could possibly ruin the implant. He kept mentioning the fact that if i had an infection it would be immediate surgery to remove the implant and i will struggle to fight a bad infection due to my herceptin i have, also been told how to quit smoking a s a p. Plus ill have 2 drains fitted!
After 12 months he said he would tweak the implant or replace if required, create a nipple and with a possibility of putting a smaller implant in my other side to align both boobs up.
(So im assuming ill get a bigger bust out of this eventually)??? Bye bye A/B cup?!!
1-2% chance of a recurrence with mastectomy & 4% with lumpectomy.
I know number 2 mastectomy recon option sounds better but im so frightened of pain after surgery & petrified if I got an infection nurse even said it can result in death!! I asked if infections are high possibility & she said most people are fine but it does happen & with my herceptin issue its worse.
I have got to make a decision by monday. Surgery is booked for 28 april either way. Help. Heads a mess!!!