Full mastectomy v lumpectomy
Hello everyone I hope whoever is reading this is well. I was wondering if anyone had any experiences to share if the would change anything about decisions made re the above. I Think I have the opti...
Forum Discussion
Hi @Newbie3312
It’s very hard to make these decisions, isn’t it? Most of all, you want to feel satisfied that you have made the right decision for you. Your surgeon can be invaluable in this regard. You will want to know if a mastectomy or lumpectomy is the best option in his/her opinion, given your specific diagnosis. If you are not planning an immediate reconstruction, you may also want more details about your reconstruction options later on. You may seek advice on monitoring dense breasts. In my own case, a lumpectomy was not recommended (tumour was too large) but I have also been advised that the incidence of cancer in my remaining breast is no greater than getting cancer elsewhere. I don’t have dense tissue however so monitoring has been relatively easy especially with 3D mammography. It sometimes helps to make one decision at a time, pathology post surgery can turn up other information, for good or not so good. My tumour turned out to be slightly smaller (still too large for a clear lumpectomy) and only one of several very iffy looking lymph nodes was malignant. So plans may need a little adjustment at that point. Best wishes for your treatment, whatever you decide.
It’s very hard to make these decisions, isn’t it? Most of all, you want to feel satisfied that you have made the right decision for you. Your surgeon can be invaluable in this regard. You will want to know if a mastectomy or lumpectomy is the best option in his/her opinion, given your specific diagnosis. If you are not planning an immediate reconstruction, you may also want more details about your reconstruction options later on. You may seek advice on monitoring dense breasts. In my own case, a lumpectomy was not recommended (tumour was too large) but I have also been advised that the incidence of cancer in my remaining breast is no greater than getting cancer elsewhere. I don’t have dense tissue however so monitoring has been relatively easy especially with 3D mammography. It sometimes helps to make one decision at a time, pathology post surgery can turn up other information, for good or not so good. My tumour turned out to be slightly smaller (still too large for a clear lumpectomy) and only one of several very iffy looking lymph nodes was malignant. So plans may need a little adjustment at that point. Best wishes for your treatment, whatever you decide.