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MelV83's avatar
MelV83
Member
2 days ago

Lumpectomy vs mastectomy

Hey everyone, 

I finished chemo on the 4/4 and right after the Easter long weekend I was kind of ambushed with an early surgical appointment to sign the consent forms for surgery. I didn’t have my normal support person (my sister) with me and I don’t know how I feel about my decision. 

To give some context, when I was first diagnosed in October last year my opinion regarding treatment was to go hard and fast and just kill this damned thing so I can move on with my life. The surgeon wanted to initially do a lumpectomy and I refused and asked for a mastectomy. Then on a subsequent appointment once I had gone and done some research I asked the surgeon if he wanted to do a lumpectomy because I was going to have radiation and he said yes, that is would protect my lung tissue to keep the breast tissue. I then asked if I could have a mastectomy after and he said yes. 

Then in my previous appointment before Easter he said mastectomy and not lumpectomy, and there was a bit of confusion (and I felt I was being gaslit, not a term I use lightly) as I reminded him of what had been discussed previously and he told me I wasn’t in the right frame of mind to be making decisions (I am struggling mentally but with other issues, not the treatment plan as I understood it). 

So when I got to this new appointment, I tried to explain what had gone on and asked what my MDT had decided. The registrar I saw said they recommended a lumpectomy and clearance of 9 lymph nodes. The way he explained it to me was that it was better they take the most minimally invasive path as I wouldn’t likely get skin and nipple conserving mastectomy. That it was better to take a little with the option of more later rather than taking it all when it’s not considered necessary. I signed the forms at the time after stipulating that if I wanted one later that they could do that and he said without cancer it would be a low priority but yes. 

A week after this and I don’t know if the decision is sitting right with me- those who have had the lumpectomy and axilla clearance, how did you feel? And did you need to go back later and have revision surgery to take more margins or have the full mastectomy? 

lumpectomy
lymph nodes
mastectomy

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  • Tri's avatar
    Tri
    Member
    6 hours ago

    HiMelV83​ 

    It sounds like a tough time for you but it is great you have the chemo behind you - what a milestone. I’m someone who had a lumpectomy after my surgeon considered how my tumour responded to the chemo. I did not have to go back for further surgery but I went into the lumpectomy with an open mind. Meaning that I understood I might be called back if the pathology results from the lumpectomy and other factors all pointed to further surgery, including a mastectomy, being an option.

    Whilst I didn’t have further surgery, I did have to have more chemotherapy, as some cancer cells were found in the remains of my tumour. 
    Our situations are all so specific to us as individuals but how I approached it was to keep as open mind as possible and to be comfortable that if the medical team found pathology or a presence that required additional measures then I would deal with that at the time, on the basis of the more accurate information that pathology and surgery reveals. I really had to get comfortable with the potential for a range of scenarios to present themselves.

     I really had hoped I would not have had to have either more surgery or more chemotherapy, but I was aware of the potential. 
    Sending you all the best.