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onya's avatar
onya
Member
5 months ago

Having breasts removed

My name is Sonja and new to the group, I have been in remission for 8 years now with having breast cancer twice and not having too many issues until the last 3 years.

The last 3 years having been very hard mentally and physically with many,many mammograms,ultrasounds and biopsies, the results have always been great results which I’m thankful for but I just can’t deal with the trauma off having to do this constantly as it really messes with my head. At this stage I’m talking about having both breasts off, have done a lot of research on these issues and really wanting some guidance from anyone that has been thru this.

At 61 years of age I would like to enjoy the rest of my life and not have to constantly worry about about finding lumps and having to go thru the trauma of what has to be done to get the results.
Any info that I can get would be greatly appreciated.


3 Replies

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  • May2024's avatar
    May2024
    Member
    4 months ago
    @onya. I am so sorry to read of your journey; that is so much to endure and the emotional toll you must be going through would be horrible and exhausting.  I am 53 and had double nipple sparing mastectomy with immediate implant recon & right sentinel node  November this year.  I have posted about it in the recon group & the DCIS group. I had high grade DCIS in the right breast however with a strong family history of breast cancer, I didn't want to have to go through the trauma of yearly mamograms on the left breast and potentially having to go through the stress of being told I had cancer again. My surgeon agreed that for me, the double mastectomy would be the best course of action and he said the good thing was no more mamograms for me!.  I was originally thinking I would stay flat - the surgeon went through in detail flat v recon and I ended up chosing recon. Up until a few days ago if someone had asked if I was happy with my decision, I would have struggled to answer, but the swelling, bruising and discomfort are finally going down and I can now say yes, I'm happy with my choices.  It's not an easy decsion to make; I guess you need to think through what will bring you a sense of peace so that you can enjoy life to the fullest.  Any questions you have, please feel free to ask - I have found this community so very helpful and understanding with no judgement which is fabulous!
  • Abbydog's avatar
    Abbydog
    Member
    5 months ago
    I was considering going flat. I had Mastectomy with axillary clearance, Chemo RT and Aromatase Inhibitor tablets.
    I hated being lopsided. I'm not a small lady, and ended up deciding not to go flat, because I would be larger on my bottom half. I had a Latisimus  Dorsi Reconstruction  and a prophylactic Mastectomy to the other side. Done at the same time. Bilateral tissue expanders, then changed to Breast Implants. I am very happy with my choice.
    I no longer need Mamograms etc. I have no evidence of Breast cancer, but I still have checkups with the Oncologist. I don't know if this helps. But that was my train of thought.
  • arpie's avatar
    arpie
    Member
    5 months ago
    So sorry to see you join our select little group @onya .... the one no-one thought they'd ever join!   Specially with an earlier recurrence  :(    Yes, the yearly checkups are quite confronting, aren't they?

    Have you considered whether to have reconstruction yet, or will you remain 'flat'?

    If you'd like to chat with others who've had double mastectomies - you might like to consider joining the 2 surgery 'private groups' - then you'll get insight into both types of surgery and can ask questions and even see before & after pics.

    Choosing Reconstruction
    https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/group/1-choosing-breast-reconstruction ;     and/or

    Remaining Flat
    https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/group/29-flat-chat-no-breast-reconstruction

    Take care & ask any questions that you like - there are no 'silly questions' xx

    In the mean time, I've just done a search on 'prophylactic' - and you may like to read some of these posts:
    https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/search?domain=all_content&query=prophylactic&sort=-dateInserted&scope=site&source=community