Fear

Hi shoppercaz,

its very common to begin to second guess yourself at this stage leading up to surgery. No surprise with all the considerations to take on board.

The research says that breast reconstruction does not hide a new cancer if it were to happen. It is a constant worry though and one I share. I am not sure Ill ever really put it completely behind me.

You are in good hands with Megan Hassall, we see wonderful feedback in the reconstruction group. But everyone is different and we all heal and cope differently and all surgery carry's risk, of course nothing you dont know.

I feel for you ladies who pay the big money, but it will be worth it in the end every day you look in the mirror.

I wish you the very best, stay busy leading up to surgery, and I hope you will let us know how you go. LouieXXX

Hi shoppercaz,

its very common to begin to second guess yourself at this stage leading up to surgery. No surprise with all the considerations to take on board.

The research says that breast reconstruction does not hide a new cancer if it were to happen. It is a constant worry though and one I share. I am not sure Ill ever really put it completely behind me.

You are in good hands with Megan Hassall, we see wonderful feedback in the reconstruction group. But everyone is different and we all heal and cope differently and all surgery carry's risk, of course nothing you dont know.

I feel for you ladies who pay the big money, but it will be worth it in the end every day you look in the mirror.

I wish you the very best, stay busy leading up to surgery, and I hope you will let us know how you go. LouieXXX

We are all going to die of something one day and for most of us diagnosed with breast cancer it will actually be something else! Chance of recurrence can be different for each of us and is only one consideration when contemplating reconstruction surgery. I only had a single mastectomy (May 2013) and manage very well with a prosthesis. Fear of recurrence is not what stops me from having a reconstruction. I actually feel quite ok about my body with only one breast. I have concentrated on eating healthy and exercising a lot. I am now more toned and my ideal weight. This was more important to me than reconstruction as it makes me feel ok body image wise and I know that it helps to prevent a recurrence. I don't know how I would feel if I had to have a second mastectomy though. I think that for each of us we have to just weigh up the pros and cons and then feel reassured that we have made the right decision for ourselves. For me I have always chosen the option that will give me the least regrets down the track. I don't know if this will help but hope you can work out the best decision for you. Just remember that for most of us a recurrence will never happen. Take care. Deanne xxx

We are all going to die of something one day and for most of us diagnosed with breast cancer it will actually be something else! Chance of recurrence can be different for each of us and is only one consideration when contemplating reconstruction surgery. I only had a single mastectomy (May 2013) and manage very well with a prosthesis. Fear of recurrence is not what stops me from having a reconstruction. I actually feel quite ok about my body with only one breast. I have concentrated on eating healthy and exercising a lot. I am now more toned and my ideal weight. This was more important to me than reconstruction as it makes me feel ok body image wise and I know that it helps to prevent a recurrence. I don't know how I would feel if I had to have a second mastectomy though. I think that for each of us we have to just weigh up the pros and cons and then feel reassured that we have made the right decision for ourselves. For me I have always chosen the option that will give me the least regrets down the track. I don't know if this will help but hope you can work out the best decision for you. Just remember that for most of us a recurrence will never happen. Take care. Deanne xxx

Hi jandy23,.

Thanks that does help, it reinforces what I mostly believe - that the cancer probably wont come back, and I am doing everything to minimise the risk the same as you, but now that I am about to do this huge thing and am weighing up the pro's and con's, the little niggling fear wont go away.

I do want to look 'normal' again and if it wasnt for the cost it probably wouldnt be such a hard decision. When I look at my out of pocket expenses, and the leave I am using at work, its probably around $15-$16K all up, which is alot of money for us.

I'm not sure of my exact statistic for recurrance but I had 2 tumours 2.5cm and 1.9cm and it was in 8 of 25 lymph nodes and was HER2 positive so I think my stats are a bit higher than others. However as we both know, stats dont really mean anything to the individual. My auntie had a little tumour with no lymph node involved and hers is now terminal.

I'm only 48 so I figure if I get another 10 years I'll be happy and it will be worth it.

Hi jandy23,.

Thanks that does help, it reinforces what I mostly believe - that the cancer probably wont come back, and I am doing everything to minimise the risk the same as you, but now that I am about to do this huge thing and am weighing up the pro's and con's, the little niggling fear wont go away.

I do want to look 'normal' again and if it wasnt for the cost it probably wouldnt be such a hard decision. When I look at my out of pocket expenses, and the leave I am using at work, its probably around $15-$16K all up, which is alot of money for us.

I'm not sure of my exact statistic for recurrance but I had 2 tumours 2.5cm and 1.9cm and it was in 8 of 25 lymph nodes and was HER2 positive so I think my stats are a bit higher than others. However as we both know, stats dont really mean anything to the individual. My auntie had a little tumour with no lymph node involved and hers is now terminal.

I'm only 48 so I figure if I get another 10 years I'll be happy and it will be worth it.

Jeez that's a tough dilemma. I only had a small lump removed so I'm not in anything like the same position as you but I can understand how you would hesitate to put so much money and time and pain endurance into a new set of breasts. But it sounds like you have committed to it already so it must be something that you really want. And I can understand that too. I would be wanting new boobs if I'd had them removed.

I don't know the details of your diagnosis - how likely or unlikely your cancer is to recur - but from my point of view I personally can't live my life thinking it's going to come back.  I was told that after all the treatment I would have about a 12% chance that it might come back. I'm doing everything (well almost) that I can to minimise that risk - eating healthy, hardly drinking alcohol anymore, exercising like crazy - so I tell myself that the risk must be even smaller and I'll probably live to a ripe old age.

The thing is though we're all going to die one day and that's very hard to get our heads around. Whether it's sooner due to BC recurrance or later due to something else, it's going to happen. So I think all we can do is live the best lives we can, taking care of ourselves, and hoping for the best.

I'm sorry that probably doesn't help at all. Good luck with whatever you decide. Hope things work out well.