Forum Discussion

Penelopesjax's avatar
Penelopesjax
Member
12 years ago

Preventive Mastectomy

Hi,

My name is Penelope, I am 28yrs old and currently in a relationship with no children.

I have a strong family history with breast cancer and it has all of a sudden become front and centre of my mind.

My mother survived breast cancer when I was 10. She is 62, happy, healthy and loving life.

Both my Grandmothers survived breast cancer along with my Grandfather on my mothers side.

Unfortunately my Auntie on my fathers side did not survive her cancer and sadly passed away 7 years ago.

My friends have been talking about the importance of me getting checks for a long time now, but for some reason I haven’t had it on my priorities list. Over the past 6 months, since being in a new loving relationship, I have all of a sudden seen the importance of keeping myself healthy, especially if I plan on having a family.

With such a strong family history, my GP has referred me to a specialist, which I have not yet made my appointment for. Over the past few months I have seriously considered the option of a preventive mastectomy with immediate reconstruction. My partner and friends have been extremely supportive, my father also, my mother is very traditional, and has concerns.

I would like to use this forum to gain as much information as possible. I would love to read stories who are in a similar situation and hear their opinions.

I believe this is a selfless act that will prevent the stress and anxiety with the chance of getting breast cancer. I never want to tell my children I have cancer, and I hate the thought of always worrying “Will I get it” I know it will effect the ability to breast feed, but I think that is a small sacrifice compared to my children not having a healthy present mother (my Aunty died 18 months after having her son, it breaks my heart he lost his mother so young).

11 Replies

  • Penelopesjax's avatar
    Penelopesjax
    Member
    12 years ago

    Thankyou so much for your message, I am sadden to hear of the passing of your mother and grandmother, after loosing my Aunty i can understand the heart ache. I have felt some comfort from your message that someone understands my position. 

    i have also visited with a breast cancer specialist, who agreed with my concern and will support my decision to have this operation, but has reccomended that i wait until i have children, what your have written is exactly how i feel and would much rather be stress free and healthly for my children than run the risk of becoming sick, i also feel it is important the have the operation before children so i am not going through such major recovery with small children, the thought of not being able to pick up my child if they fall due to my recover would break my heart. 

    i would love to hear about your progress and your journey, i feel it would be such a support and very insperational for someone going through something simular. 

    i wish you the best of luck and i truely believe your a strong women. 

    Kind regrads, 

    Penelope 

     

     

  • sleepingd's avatar
    sleepingd
    Member
    12 years ago

    Hi,

    I wanted to let you know that I am 32 years old, in a relationship with no children and I have the BRCA1 gene. Both my mother and my grandmother passed away very young from secondary breast cancer.

    I was diagnosed in 2010 with the gene thanks to mum undergoing testing and have been having regular MRI's and ultrasounds ever since. It was always my intention that once I had had children I would have my breasts and ovaries removed. However in November 2013 during my routine MRI they discovered a lump, which thankfully has turned out to be nothing, but it got me thinking. I am a ticking time bomb and although I desperatly want to breast feed, my life it more important. I have therefore made the decision to have a preventative mastectomy this year. I have spoken to my breast doctor at the hospital and have an appointment on the 26th of May to go through everything and set a date for the procedure. For me, this decision feels right.

    Watching my mum die of secondary breast cancer was one of the most heart wrentching things I have ever experienced, and losing her has caused an ache in my heart that words cannot describe. I will forever be thankful to her for being the pioneer in the BRCA1 mutation discovery and I know that she completely agrees with my decision. If there is something, anything, I can do to prevent my loved ones going through what my family has gone through watching mum fight and lose her battle with breast cancer, then I need to do it.

    Trust your intuition, it will tell you what is the right thing to do :)

  • Penelopesjax's avatar
    Penelopesjax
    Member
    12 years ago
    This week is the week! Taking the first step (which actually seems to be the hardest- it's now a reality) Wish me luck and I'll let you know what the docs option is!!
  • Penelopesjax's avatar
    Penelopesjax
    Member
    12 years ago
    Thank you so much for your post! I am so sorry for your diagnosis but happy to see your a fighting fit with a supportive partner! Good luck with all your treatments! People don't like to talk about young women getting Brest cancer! My mother was getting frustrated with my lack of concern and tried to book a breast check for me, the lady at the breast check centre said I didn't qualify for a check due to my age, my mother explained the family history and so forth and they just recommend I see a specialist as they couldn't help me! It's stories like yours that anger me that they put age restriction on preventative measures to this terrible disease!
  • Leonie_Moore's avatar
    Leonie_Moore
    Member
    12 years ago

    It is such a big decision and unfortunately a real concern to you.  I had no family history of bc (I have 4 sisters with no trace of the disease).  After my second diagnosis I chose to have the gene test just to have peace of mind.  I have two daughters and now two grand daughters.  I have already passed on some major genetic issues to y daughters ie coelic disease and factor XI deficiency (blood disorder).  The cost of the test is not cheap but you may meet a criteria that will let you receive it free of charge.  I am so pleased that I had the test which came back negative.  My daughters and grand-daughters are now considered as having the same risk as the normal population.  I now read that there is a vaccine that has been tested on mice in USA which can prevent BC from advancing from Early Breast Cancer (EBC).  There is so much information out there and so much research happening that one day there will be a lesser risk of this disease.  I pray that I will be here to see it.  You are a brave young woman with personal initiative to seek your answer.  Good luck dear girl. XLeonie

  • jess008's avatar
    jess008
    Member
    12 years ago
    Hi Pennie, I'm also 28yrs and found out the day after my bday that I had breast cancer in my left breast. I have no history of breast cancer in my family. On the 13th of December I had a double mastectomy. It was my choice to have both breasts removed, because I also didn't want to live thinking will it come back. It was piece of mind. I haven't had children and I got married in april so my husband and i had embryos saved and I won't be able to breastfeed. I still have a journey ahead of chemo maybe radiation and various surgery. With my surgery of my double mastectomy they placed expanders where the breasts were to stretch the muscle so that down the track I can have implants placed there. I'm so glad you wrote on here pennie as I feel sometimes that there are not as many young people with breast cancer. And I'm aware there are many different types of ages and types of cancer but it's nice to know someone of the same age. Hope this helps you xxxx
  • Penelopesjax's avatar
    Penelopesjax
    Member
    12 years ago

    Thank you so much for your replay, and i am so inspired to see such strong women with such great survival stories, thats amazing, but i can only imagine the stress you must of been through. 

    My mother has been tested for the gene, and was negative, but no one from my fathers side (with my aunt and grandmother on his side affected) has been tested. 

    i will take that step first of getting tested, but i hear more and more stories of younger women being affected, which is scarey. 

  • TonyaM's avatar
    TonyaM
    Member
    12 years ago
    It's a very big decision to make at such a young age and I guess you won't know until you gather all the info.A first step might be to get tested for the BRCA gene and a specialist would advise you on this.There is no family history of bc for me and yet I've had it twice.I'm fine now. I was sorry to hear about your aunt.How sad to leave behind a toddler- life can be so cruel.I can understand your concerns but a mastectomy and recon is big surgery.Also,there is a variety of recon choices to think about such as diep flap,skin sparing with implants etc etc So much to consider,take your time and when you have done all your research you'll be able to make a more informed decision. Tonya xx
  • Penelopesjax's avatar
    Penelopesjax
    Member
    12 years ago

    Thanks for your messgae Merylee, it scares me that women can be affect at such a young age. ill check out the website! :)