No What

I had diagnosis of early BC and argued for a bilateral mastectomy, they also took left lymph nodes although only one was implicated. Felt right for me to do this instead of sitting around wondering when the next lump would appear. Surgeon was not happy but the nurse backed me, and I'm happy. That was Sept. No chemo or radio just Femara which is not so good. Anyone on that? Make a stand for what you want! We are all different and our reactions are very different. But we do need to listen to our heart and make sure the medicos follow that thru for our peace of mind!

Hi Jandy23

Many thanks to the girls who replyed to my post, after reading all of them, I feel very greatfull that I did not do that

bad, when I read some of the mess up some of the girls have had it makes my blood boil, why in this day & age are mistakes still occuring. I myself have no faith in mammograms anymore, & in furture until I can have my remaining breast removed I'm going to insist on a ultrasound as well.  I have had a long talk to myself & will not worry about what might come, I'm just thankful that I doing OK. This site sure is a wake up & take notice of other things besides myself, so I'm taking that on board, & will get on with getting my life back in order. So a big thankyou to all the members of this web site.

Love to you all

Jenny

Hi Viv, my story is so like yours. My mammograms, I had 2 of them 3 months apart, were clear, but an ultrasound picked up what they thought was a harmless cyst. The pathology showed cancer and it was supposedly 4mm in size. I had a lumpectomy and was going to have radiotherapy. The tumour pathology following the surgery showed a 21mm grade 3 invasive ductal cancer. More surgery was recommended, and with some thought and research, I decided to have a mastectomy instead, and also 10 more nodes removed. These were clear, but I still needed chemo. After chemo I decided to have the second breast off, as I was sure I would have trouble believing a mammogram again. This is now all completed with reconstruction, and I am very happy with my decision. Remember, this is your body and you get to choose what happens to it. My surgeon always said that he would happily remove the other breast if I wanted, and so he did. I went as a private patient. All the best, love Chris xx

Wow, thanks for those replies.

Jen sounds like your on top of it.

Jandy, tamoxifen hasn't stopped my periods, have had 2 cycles since starting on it with side effects kicking in with 2nd period. Numb left foot which is ok, and itchy down below, am seeking my onco on Monday to see about that.  I can put up with it until early october. Shows that my hormones are going strong, my sister is still regular at 54., mum was the same. This is why having ovaries out, cannot wait.

alll the best

VivW

 

 

Sorry to hear your oncologist didn't listen to your preferences. It's such a personal choice that I think we really have to be comfortable that we are doing the right thing for ourselves but of course it can be hard to argue against the authority of the medical profession. I think you're right in saying we should get a second opinion if we're not comfortable.

I was diagnosed in April 2012 at age 46. I had  a 27mm estrogen and progesterone +ve tumor, stage 2, grade 3. plus some DCIS. I was offered the option of a mastectomy but the idea totally freaked me out to be honest so I just had the lump removed and a sentinal node biopsy. (No node involvement thank goodness). I had 4 rounds of chemo, then 6 weeks of radiation and I'm now on tamoxifen for another 4.5 years. My oncologist has suggested switching to an aromatase inhibitor  (like aramidex) when my menopausal status is confirmed (haven't had a period since starting tamoxifen) but I'm reluctant to change because I've read that a lot of women have unpleasant side effects on them ie severe Hi joint pain and stiffness and no libido. Tamoxifen is interfering with my sleep a bit but apart from that I'm okay with it.

My breasts are now slightly uneven and I have seen a cosmetic surgeon about having the left breast  (a  D) reduced a little to match the right one which is probably a C now. I'm a public patient so who knows how long I will have to wait for that. But i suppose I'm lucky in that the difference isn't too noticable. 

I hope you can get the result you want regarding your right breast. It seems a lot of women like yourself feel safer with a mastectomy.  There are no easy answers with any of this stuff. Good luck.

 

Hi VivW

Many thanks for your reply, WOW you have been put through the ringer, I had my right Breast removed, after

mammograms & ultrasound came back no concerning abnormality are demonstrated, lucky for me my Doctor still sent me for a Fine needle bio,( bingo,) Grade 3  Invasive Ductal Carcinoma, Triple Negative. so now I'm finished with Chemo, Radiation etc, I'm having some time to heal then in Feb after a much needed hoilday, I'm going to have my left breast removed as I have a number of cycts which is what I had in my right breast, so for peace of mind, I'm doing the right thing even my Doctors agree. Still I will worry but I guess. I'm lucky to have finished.

Talk soon

Jenny