Discussion

@LynJoan Trust yourself to make the decision, I actually feel you already have and thats a good thing!! Trust what you do is the absolute best thing for you, nobody else, this is your story now. We;re all here to support you x

Yes I hope I can come to some decision on having the breast removed or not.
There are so many different stories and different decisions made from you all, I am overwhelmed  about all the different treatments.
So I guess it really is a personal decision that I am not looking forward to. 
I am thinking that I will always be worrying about it if I don't have it done , as you said Glemmis.
i have radiotherapy to go through yet, so have really too much time to think about it.

@LynJoan  how interesting that everyone tackled the issue in their own way there is no wrong or right way.
 I went private to a hospital that specalized in breast cancer and no one was more surprised than me to only have a lumpectomy with the bracken 2 gene. The point of this post is I have been recommended to have my ovaries out. 
 I will take my ovaries out with little hesitation if cancer returns there, then it cannot be detected early. 
 In your breast it can. I have to wait till June for appt.  Whatever you decide it will be fine. Best wishes.

Hi LynJoan, I am going through the same decision myself at the moment.
I had a lumpectomy and bilateral reduction in January but due to the unexpectedly bad pathology have to go back for a right mastectomy and lymph node clearance after I finish chemo.
I too do not think a one sided breasts is a good idea especially as I already struggle with twisted spine issues due to my work.
I also worry about the left breast getting cancer.
I really do not want to do this chemo thing again.
My surgeon and Oncologist are not keen to remove the left and both looked as though I had slapped them in the face when I suggested it.
The tissue removed from my left breast during the reduction was sent to pathology and returned a normal tissue result.
I have dense lumpy breasts which are hard to scan.
I have been told.
The oestrogen inhibitors I will be on will help protect the other breast.
As I get older the density will reduce making the breast easier to scan.
I will be scanned more regularly so any changes will be picked up earlier.
I can always have the left breast off later if anything changes.
my Oncologist said it was more likely that any spread would be into bone than the other breast in my type of cancer, however, there could be precancerous changes in the other breast as well, so I should check that out before surgery.
If there are any doubtful areas in my left breast it will come off too.

I will have a breast MRI ($605 no rebates) before surgery to make the final decision.

I had to go to the Cancer Centre psychologist to get the whole thing so clear in my head as I was struggling with the decision and didn't want to make the decision based on anger and a tendency to cut my nose off to spite my face.

I am planning to go on the wait list for the DIEP flap reconstruction as I have to have radiation after surgery.
If I wasn't going to consider reconstruction I think I would have both off, my lifestyle and hobbies do not lend themselves to unevenness in body and balance.

It is very hard to get your head into a clear enough place to make such a decision. I can recommend going to a psychologist to help there. It did not take long for her to ask the questions that started me thinking more clearly, and ended up giving me a clear plan to follow.
The whole thing is still going to be an emotional mess to go through, but at least I feel better about the decision making process

Good luck with your decision, I hope you can come to something that you are comfortable with, Jennie

Hi @LynJoan, I have just had that discussion with my surgeon. Had mastectomy last August & have decided to have right breast removed & double reconstruction. I told my surgeon I can't do the mammogram anxiety anymore & she said she understands this, she has many patients the same. My oncologist is not so keen but I feel I am making the right decision for me, best of luck in your decision. 

Thank you all for your help.
I did have a full hysterectomy in 2012 , had a benign Timor.I have not been tested for the gene as I am older than my mother when she had it.
I also don't t like the one sided breast, I think it would be much easier to cope with none, a flat chest.I wanted to have the double mastectomy in the first place but the surgeon talked me out of it. At least I wouldn't be worrying about it coming back in my breast if I had it removed.
A big decision to make and it is great to be able to get everyone's opinions.

I could not have coped with having both removed at the same time. I am happy with keeping my little one even if it could be a source of some future cancer. I mean, so can my uterus be and my ovaries and my colon. Not a fan of cutting things out for a just in case reason. What you don't hear much of are the success stories who only had one breast off and its been 20yrs since treatment. My sis in law is a success story with not a shred of cancer in the second breast in 2 decades!

Yeah I must admit, my Oncologist checkup last week, he said he's not worried about it returning in my breast, its the secondary somewhere else. Ummm Im like so I had a single mastectomy why????!!!!!! LOL sheeeeesh!

I had a double mastectomy ten years ago and then got a recurrence in my armpit anyway. This is a shit of a disease.

The other thing to consider, apart from cancer, is the physical issues that can arise from only having one breast, particularly if you are big breasted. If you are not interested in having any reconstruction you can have problems with your back, neck and shoulder. Tits can weigh a surprising amount and having only one can put you out of balance. A few ladies here are dealing with that at the moment. Marg

hi there @LynJoan I had triple negative breast cancer last year aged 43 and had it in my left breast and then decided 6 months later to take the other one off, it just felt right for me to make that decision, and @fairydust I have not heard that about triple neg recurrence, I must ask my oncologist next time I see him about that. I have had a hysterectomy a few years ago kept my ovaries and was negative for the gene test and my oncologist said not to take my ovaries out as the chemo has forced me into menopause. would only suggest taking them if I was positive for the gene test. and yes its true it cant guarantee a return of the cancer somewhere else but just made me feel better and I trusted my gut with that one too as I was worried I might get hormone receptive breast cancer in the other one.  Did you take your ovaries out anyway fairydust??? Margie :)