Not sure what's to come...

Good luck with your decision. We are all different and we need to do what we feel most comfortable with. I also wanted to feel symmetrical with my reconstruction and knew I would get a much better result with a bilateral mastectomy. My chances of recurrence to the other side was slightly increased and this was enough to prompt me to chose a double mastectomy.

All the best for your surgery in October!

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to answer x

I have definitely decided to go with the bi-lateral mastectomy. I have wieghed up all the pros and cons, and more importantly, spoken to 2 friends who have had singles. I also met with my breast care nurse from my last 2 surgeries. All of these people agreed that I was making the correct decision. I am very large busted and the task of 'balancing' my remaining breast with a prosthesis means that I would have quite a heavy prosthesis.

Plus, I live in Qld, so my two friends that use a prosthesis have indicated that it is very hot to wear, and very sweaty in our climate. As I do not work in aircon, I took this on board.

I am not 'precious' about my breasts. They are very uneven now because of my previous surgeries. I know that everyone is different, but I think that my choice is right for me. My husband aggrees that I am making the right decision.

If I decide to reconstruct...I'm not even sure if I can...or will want to... I'll be doing the two together, and not dealing with a massive size difference to rectify.

I can only do what feels right. so, wish me luck...I'm booked for Oct 8th...scary, but I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed that my sentinal node/s come back clear, or I'll have a different battle to fight.

Janet xx

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

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