Forum Discussion

AmandaG's avatar
AmandaG
Member
10 years ago

Radiotherapy v Mastectomy

Hi Ladies,

Im 33 and was diagnosed with TNBC in March this year.   I had lumpectomy surgery in April and have four weeks of chemo left  - yay!!! (Dose Dense AC x 4 fortnightly and Paclitaxal x 12 weekly).   I am currently in discussions with my surgeon about the next course of treatment for me - Radiotherapy or Mastectomy.    I have had genetic testing which came back negative.  My surgeon is of the view that radiotherapy (combined with the earlier lumpectomy) is the best course of action for me and that mastectomy will not provide any better outcome in my particular situation.  I have done some research online and there seem to be a few small studies which support this course of action for non gene carriers with TNBC.    Just wondering if anyone has any thoughts???

mastectomy
radiotherapy
  • mum2jj's avatar
    mum2jj
    Member
    10 years ago

    Hi Amanda, 

    you have probably already read that I had a recurrence of my TNBC 18mths after my initial diagnosis. Initially I had lumpectomy (although the margin was quite small it was considered clear). I had one positive node. I went on and had chemo and then radiation. I was never given the option of a mastectomy and just went blindly with my Drs advice. I was actually glad not to need a mastectomy.

    My recurrence was 6 months after treatment ended. It was about 2cm away form original scar. It was also 3cm!  So whether it was a rogue cell that just didn't respond to treatment or a separate tumor that grew very fast remains a mystery.

    Everyone's story is different and there are many who have lumpectomies and radiation and never have any other cancers. It really is a decision only you can make.  One thing to consider before your radiation is that if you were to want a reconstruction at a later date it does limit your options ( as I found out).

     

    I hope I haven't confused you or scared you.  I know you have lots going on at the moment  

    hugs

    Paula xx

     

  • lisboy's avatar
    lisboy
    Member
    10 years ago

    Hi there,

    Sorry that you are having to deal with this and great that you are nearly through the chemo, it's a tough process.

    I was diagnosed triple negative back in dec last year. I also had a lumpectomy followed by the same chemo regime as you. At the time of my surgery they found another smaller tumour and quite a large area of pre cancer. They cleared it all and got clear margins. My surgeon told me later that if I wanted a mastectomy further down the line she was totally supportive of it. Long story short- I had a mastectomy two weeks ago and had a reconstruction at the same time. I am also going to have radiotherapy. In my case I had 3 positive nodes.  I also don't have the brca mutation. I was of the view that I wanted to blast this thing with every option available. I was happy to do lumpectomy and radio only until I was made aware of the extensive pre cancer- then I just wanted it gone! Every ones situation is different though.

    Good luck with it all

    Lisa