Not sure what's to come...

When I first went to see the oncologist after my mastectomy last May, my husband (after talking this over with me) asked for the facts about my situation to help us decide on the best treatment options. I was given the odds for not having a recurrence for each treatment option. If I chose to have just the surgery (I had had a mastectomy remember) and radiation my chance of NOT having a recurrence was just 33%. Removing the other breast would do absolutely NOTHING to improve this chance. My best chance of not having a recurrence was to have chemo, radiation and start hormone therapy. As well as this I do everything I can to be as healthy as possible. It is very, very difficult to continually read other ladies giving people advice (with the best of intentions I am sure) about removing both breasts to give peace of mind about recurrence. For those of us with more advanced stage disease and higher chances of recurrence (and that recurrence cannot happen in the other breast, my chance of getting a new primary cancer in the healthy breast is more like 3%). Removing my healthy breast would not give me peace of mind. Please consider how women in my situation and their families feel when they hear others promoting the idea that if more women took the drastic action of removing both breasts that they could avoid a recurrence. THIS IS NOT TRUE AND IT HURTS! I wish that removing my other breast could give me peace of mind but that is not the case, and my quality of life is better with it. I know that some women are at a higher risk of having cancer occur in both breasts but this is not the case for the majority of women and your doctor is the best person to give you the statistics for your situation. Choosing to remove your healthy breast should be based on accurate information. It is a choice that many women feel more comfortable with and they should have that choice. I simple ask that they are thoughtful and accurate with what they tell others about the situation. Deanne x