Hi, my name is Donna and I have just been diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma (grade 3) in my left breast. It is a high chance that I will have a masectomy.
My question is.... Can I request the surgeon to do do a double masectomy so that the chances of me getting breast cancer are reduced....and at the same time get expanders put in both so that I feel symetrical.
I relly do not want a single masectomy. I would feel lopped sided and very very depressed.
Thank you so much for all of your input. So far I have just been talking to the ladies at the hospital (waiting room). I'm purely going by what their experiences have been like and what they have done.
You have really made light of the situation and I am thankful of that.
I now think that I will just deal with the breast that has the cancer in it and go from there. Don't get me wrong. I will still ask all the questions at my appointment on Monday to get a better idea of what the pros and cons are etc.
Thank you so much for all of your input. So far I have just been talking to the ladies at the hospital (waiting room). I'm purely going by what their experiences have been like and what they have done.
You have really made light of the situation and I am thankful of that.
I now think that I will just deal with the breast that has the cancer in it and go from there. Don't get me wrong. I will still ask all the questions at my appointment on Monday to get a better idea of what the pros and cons are etc.
Hi Donna, yes you can request a bilateral mastectomy but I'm unsure whether you can get immediate expanders placed. They don't like the expander/implant reconstruction option if you end up needing radiation therapy as the skin gets quite damaged. It would be best to discuss this with your surgeon. I was in a similar position to you, grade 3 IDC in my left breast. Had left mastectomy followed by 3 months chemo. I had no lymph involvement and therefore didn't need rads. Have just had right breast prophylactic mastectomy with expander placement and am very happy. Talk to your surgeon and breast care nurse, they really do know their stuff. Good luck, Ingrid xx
