Topic: Need Mastectomy--Considering Double Mastecomy to Reduce Risk

Hi Melanie,

I just had surgery last week and opted for a double mastectomy.  My Dr. explained there is no right or wrong, just a preference, but that taking off the 2nd healthy breast does decrease your risk for another breast cancer.  By keeping it, it put me at the highest possible risk of another breast cancer.   I based my decision on the fact that if I continued to keep one breast, I would every year have to deal with the fear and anxiety of mammograms, ultrasounds and after just having gone thru chemo, I don't ever want to do this again.  I also did not want to have the balance problem of only having one breast...and not knowing if I could or would want to have reconstruction.  

I made the decision with my head, not my emotions.  The emotional impact is another story. Good luck with your decision :)

I truly feel your pain!  My biopsy came back 10/12, and I had to make this same decision.  Will your doctor send you for an MRI on BOTH breasts by chance?  I had pretty much made my decision to go for both anyway, but just got my MRI results back this afternoon (bilateral is Thursday).  They found a large area of suspicious, abnormal appearance in my right side in almost the exact same place - that was the "healthy" one!  It just erased the minute doubt I had.

I'm not saying it's right for everyone as I had family history as well, but an MRI could certainly influence your decision if anything does show up.

Good luck!

I am 37 and I have a 9, 5, and one year old child.  I was told in March that I had a 1.7 cm tumor in my left breast (and the surgeon in Olympia wanted to do just a lumpectomy)..I then had an MRI done which stated it was 3.5 cm..then there was another Radologist who looked at the films and said it was between 5 and 6 cm...this was all done in Olympia.  I then went to Swedish (another long story about why I changed surgeons) but they took a look at the original films that were taken and stated that it was around 9 cm in size.  It ended up that after I had 6 rounds of chemo that I had a 10 cm tumor removed at the end of August.   There was not any more invasive cancer left but it was DCIS.  I did not have any sentinal lymph nodes test positive of the 5 removed under each arm..BUT with the fact that I am so young, I have a mother who had cancer at a young age, and the fact that there was a definite 'shadow' on my right breast, I opted to have both removed.  I have had both my PCP and Onc in Olympia look at me weird when I say that I  had this done, but I don't regret my decision because I want to lower my risk as much as I can and with all things considered, they would still have to do surgery to lift my other breast to match and nerve endings will be cut and it wont feel like my breast did anyway..so what was the point of keeping the things if it wouldn't feel normal any way?

If you don't have enough tissue to get as big as you want, the Dr can always put in a tissue expander so you can get bigger..and then you can get an implant.  Ask the Dr. what the alternatives are that would be possible.  The Surgeons can do so many things it is amazing, IMO!

Take care!

My story is the same as swimangel except my only reconstruction option was expander/implant.  MRI showed nothing indicating a problem with my left breast, so I had a right mastectomy.  No doctors gave me any odds of cancer in the left breast - it was mentioned as a remote possibility since I also had LCIS and ADH in my right breast as well as IDC and DCIS. 

Considering that my right side and part of my back is numb, I'm glad I still have some feeling in my chest so when I have grandkids I can feel the hugs.  :)  I certainly intend to be more vigilent with breast care now than I was before, and will insist on regular sonograms and MRIs for the rest of my life.

My reconstruction has not even begun so I can't speak to how happy I will be.  However, I have seen some unilateral reconstructions that you can't even tell were unis.  I've also seen some that were less than perfect.

Your decision is yours alone, but I do see many woman - and this is my opinion only - choosing radical surgeries out of fear.  I would never say they were wrong as I don't walk in their shoes. I don't know why I don't have that fear so I don't pretend to understand it.   Women have to do what is best for themselves; I firmly believe that.   For me though, keeping as much of my body intact as I can is very important.  I was disappointed I couldn't have a lumpectomy but since I have multi-focal disease it was impossible.

I do understand women who weren't happy with their breasts to begin with, and who didn't have a lot of sensation in them, choosing doubles to achieve symmatry.  It's a perfectly acceptable reason.  I really liked my breasts - a lot - and I'm glad I have one souveneir.  :)   

Do lots of research, examine what level of risk you can deal with and then you'll know what to do.  Good luck with your decision, I know how very tough, and agonizing, it is. 

Whatever you decide, you will come to peace with it.  It seems all of us end up happy with the choices we made.

(I know I spelled words wrong but spell check isn't working for me today - sorry!)

Thank you ladies for your help.

It has been an agonizing few days. I have decided to go for the bilateral mastectomy.

I met with my plastic surgical "team" today and he explained what would happen in either situation. I was right, I don't have enough flab to fill 2 DD cups. 

Like Patmom said, I will probably go from a flabby DD to a perky C. I agree Coolbreeze, that decisions shouldn't be made out of fear, but I don't EVER wan to deal with this again if I can avoid it. I am doing this more as a "Prophylactic" or preventative measure.

I was told that they could send me for genetic counseling to see if I have the gene, but I wouldn't get the results in time for surgery. If I had the gene it would be a nobrainer. There is no history of breast cancer anywhere in my family and I seem to be hitting all the shitty odds. Plastics said they would have to do recon on my other breast anyway b/c of changes that will happen during radiation, to keep things symmetrical.

I do feel at peace with my decision. But the surgery and recovery still scare the shit out of me! We are going ahead with the DIEP procedure, although lipo off my thighs and ass would be nice, too!

Melanie

I can really relate.  Had DCIS when I was 37, lumpectomy with rads.  Then in 2000 ALH in other breast which turned to ALH in 2009. I opted for BMX done on 9/22/09.   BRAC negative.  BS said she would do BMX if I wanted due to 2 different cancers in 2 breasts.  End results was that the breast that had DCIS now had ALH and BS said I made the right decision for BMX, to quote her I was "a ticking time bomb".  Except I had to go with TE's due to small statue.