Need Advice

Hi Debbie, Like you, I had a lumpectomy first which was to be followed by radiotherapy. I never questioned this, as it all happened so quickly, I just went with the flow. My lump was 4mm and the doctor said, this is what we will do, so we did it. I had no time to think things through, as my operation was 6 days after diagnosis. When the pathology came back as 21mm tumour and grade 3, they then started to talk about more lymph nodes out, and another lumpetomy, or mastectomy. I had had a bit more time to think by now, and was keen to avoid radiotherapy, especially since I now needed chemo. I chose a mastectomy and had a level 1 lymph node clearance. All nodes were clear, and so definiteley no radiotherapy was needed. I have never regretted this deicision, and right now I'm in hospital recovering from my second mastectomy and insertion of tissue expanders, and I'm really happy with my choice. I have spent the last several months thinking about this second mastectomy, and many have thought me to be crazy to consider this, but after booking myself in to have this done, I had another breast cancer scare and needed to jave a core biopsy and wait for results. This time, and last time I had normal mammograms, so it was like history repeating itself. I was very lucky, and I didn't have cancer again, but to me it was the sign I was looking for to convince me it was the right thing for me to do. So far I have no regrets. Your body is your property, and you should do what is right for you. As I saw it, I felt that I can't control if cancer comes back in my body, but I could prevent it comung back in my other breast. I am taking femara also for the next 5 or 10 years. There is no way I could have made this decision last December when diagnosed, as I needed time to digest the news and to do my research. Don't be rushed into anything. Only you can know what to do, and if you are unsure, you should give yourself time to think. Love Chris xx