Hello all

well i went to the doctor today to talk things over with him and he says if i have the cancer removed and the lymph nodes tested. I could still have a chance the cancer will come back either in the same breast or in the other one as the cancer i have in the breast he said is a fast growing cancer and with having the brca1 does not help it any. So i decided that the best thing might be to have a double mastectomy anyway to save my life and save me from getting more breast cancer. So I go in to have the double mastectomy on the 23rd of March and have expanders put in. And doctor said after the op i will have to start to have some chemo which i am not looking forward to as i am scared to lose my hair been growing it for a while and it is just starting to look nice, Breast care nurse said they put some cap on your head or something so you do not lose as much hair as people use to and that you would not really notice it. I hope she is right. I will be in hospital for 3 days and 2 nights if things go ok if i am still really sick after that they will keep me in longer.

ooh oooh can I play??? Team Jacob all the way!!!!

Hi Twilightgirl,

Welcome to the Online Network. If you would like to email me your photo I can have a look to see what is going on - [email protected].

On another note team Edward or team Jacob? :)

~Ann-Marie

So sorry to that you had to join us on this forum.

I had a right breast mastectomy on the 10th Feb with 1 lymph node removed, although the cancer had a 10 mm clearance the lymph node had cancer so will be having an axillary clearance on the 9th March, followed by chemo & radiation.

When I was diagnosed in January I just wanted the cancer out & the DR suggested a mastectomy as it was invasive Lobular.The mastectomy was not as bad as I thought it was going to be.

I did not have the BRCA1 gene & only you can make the decision which is right for you.  I hope you have a Mcgrath breast care nurse that can help & advise you. I know you will get some good advice here on the forum.

The members here are fantastic & will try & help you. I was advised to take things 1 day at a time & sometimes it comes down to 1 hour at a time. Wishing you well.

Sending big hugs to you.

Eileen xx

I don't have the BRCA1 but I am thinking if I did I would be living my life worried about it all the time. Could that aspect make me more prone to further cancers the stress thing? Perhaps.

A double mastectomy is rather a big thing but after having had the one done and I did get over it ok, I am thinking if I had to, a double one would have been doable. At least then that risk is gone for breast cancer and your life can get going again.

Thanks Karen and i have my journey kit and have been reading but I am leaning towards double mastectomy as i have the BRCA1 Gene and if i have the cancer taken out and some lymph nodes that they have to test even if the lymph nodes turn out that they do not have cancer I still think to myself that if i have the double mastectomy i will not get breast cancer again as i am at a higher risk with the gene of getting more breast cancer. I said i will not think of mastectomy unless i ended up getting breast cancer and it has happened and I know it will be hard going through having a double mastectomy and then reconstruction but if it saves me getting more breast cancer it would be worth it won't it. But anyway i am going to my doctor tomorrow and bringing my mum with me for support to talk about everything and see what he says about it all.

Hi there,

welcome to all of you girls but I'm so sorry you've had to join us.  It's is difficult to make plans regarding treatments and surgery until you get your pathology reports from the surgery. We all have different paths to follow depending on our results. What I would suggest is the following:

- get your my journey kit and have a read. It may help you understand about your options a bit better

- take someone else with you to your appointments as you may become overwhelmed and not remember things that were said

- ask lots of questions of your medical prof. essionals. Don't be shy or embarrassed as they have heard it all before and understand what a huge decision it is to make

- don't be bullied into making a decision by anyone. You have to live with your decision and the consequences of that decision. 

- and lastly, take one day and one appointment at a time. Things can change fairly quickly early on. I was initially told I wouldn't have to have chemo but after the pathology came back I did. Remember that although this is hard, you will get through it. And we will all be there to help you through. All the best. Karen xox

Thanks Paula and i hope everything goes well at your surgery. I have a big decision to make tomorrow about weather to have the mastectomy or just have the cancer removed and lymph nodes tested but i will let everyone know tomorrow when i get home how it goes at the doctors and what my decision will be.

Im not sure but maybe someone in Admin can help you with your profile pic x