Newly diagnosed stage 1 Invasive Ductal Carcinoma
Trying to decide between lumpectomy and radiation or bilateral mastectomy. Want to hear from some who have gone through each
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ER/PR+, HER2-, genetic testing-
Not a candidate for reconstruction using abdominal tissue due to past surgeries. Do not want to do tissue expanders and implants but also don’t want to do radiation.
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Hi @chachi , and welcome! We’re really sorry you’re facing these tough decisions, but we’re glad you found our community.
Choosing between lumpectomy with radiation and mastectomy can feel overwhelming, especially when certain options like reconstruction or radiation don’t feel right to you. Hopefully some other member will jump in soon to share how they made their choices. In the meantime, these articles from our main site may help as you think things through:
We hope this helps. And we’re here to support you!
The Mods
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I am in same boat just diagnosed on December 8th.
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I also was diagnosed with invasive ductal carcinoma. In discussing with my doctors they gave the option of lumpectomy or mastectomy and recommended going with the least invasive of the surgeries, so I had a lumpectomy. I also had two lymph nodes removed. I feel that my surgery recovery was pretty smooth. Because I am also triple negative I have undergone TC chemo (4 infusions) and will be getting radiation in January. Good luck with your treatment! You got this!
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On December 2015, I was diagnosed in with stage 3a TNBC (invasive ductal carcinoma) in my left breast at the age of 45. Genetic testing revealed I also carried the BRCA! gene. It was an easy decision to choose the double mastectomy and having my fallopian tubes and ovaries removed. I had thought of about nipple sparing surgery but the radiation oncology didn't understand why I would have radical surgery and risk saving my nipples. My thought process was in case I decided to do reconstruction. Since I wanted to do everything possible to beat TNBC and see my children grow up I decided to not save the nipples. After surgery, traces of the cancer were still present in my breast and lymph nodes, plus my healthy right breast had a lesion growing.
After surgery, there was 4 more rounds of chemo, which was followed by 2 weeks of radiation. Then, another 12 rounds of chemo (in pill form) was recommended to reduce my risk of recurrence. It's December 2025 and the TNBC has not recurred. I recently had surgery for renal cell carcinoma that happened to be separate new cancer. Due to all the extra yearly testing that's done due to the BRCA1 gene the RCC was caught at stage 1a while screening my pancreas. Part of my right kidney was removed; no chemo or rads was necessary.
It's important to have confidence in your doctor. Also, talking to cancer survivors can lead you to ask questions about your treatment. Knowledge is power too!
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how big is the tumor? I’m doing lumpectomy with radiation and getting surgery in a couple of weeks. I really didn’t want a mastectomy given my tumor is only 1cm and I have fairly large breasts for my size.
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my tumor is 0.35 cm but I am going to do mastectomy.
my genetics test is negative but unfortunately cancer is in my family.2 -
I also have stage 1 invasive DC and DCIS. I had a lumpectomy on 12/19 and will meet with an oncologist next for the rest of the plan. I will have radiation. My tumor was 1.2 cm. My surgeon told me that the chance of recurrence is the same whether I have a lumpectomy and radiation or a mastectomy. There is just no guarantee that all breast cells are removed and if it’s going to recur it will. She recommended the least invasive so I went with her recommendation.
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Making the decision for lumpectomy or mastectomy is such a trying time! I struggled with this decision but decided on a lumpectomy because I was negative for the BRACA gene. I waited until I received my genetic test results before I made my decision. If I had been positive for the BRACA gene I would have chosen a mastectomy without reconstruction. My lumpectomy was 2 weeks ago and I will start radiation soon. I live near you in Bruce MS. My breast oncology surgeon is in Memphis Germantown. Feel free to send me a private message I am happy to help😊
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Thank you so much for telling me about your stories! I took a much-needed trip out of town with my husband for New Year’s My surgery is scheduled for January 12 and I have decided to do a bilateral mastectomy with delayed reconstruction. Even though my genetic testing was negative, I do have a family history of breast cancer. I did have a second opinion from a plastic surgeon and also had a discussion with my breast radiologist. This is what is best for me and my peace of mind.
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Just check in to see how you’re doing. I hope the surgery went well. I had my BMX a year ago. I went flat. Feel free free to private message me if you have any questions.
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I just had a double mastectomy after having Triple Positive Invasive Ductal Carcinoma in left breast and they found lymph nodes on left armpit that were cancer too. I opted for a double mastectomy so I dont have to do this again on the right breast down the road. I will have plastic surgeon do breast implants after my radiation is done and healed, I guess. So right now I am livin flat as a pancake! Oh well, I dont care. I walk around with my shirt off all the time in front of my husbanc. It's temporary, it is reality and I have been healing SO quickly, my scars are really shrinking! I am hoping I dont get sick from chemo and radiation.
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Are you getting any reconstruction done?
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No, I went flat. At my age (64) I don’t want to go through another surgery. The truth is I’m scared of surgery. I don’t wear prostheses. I use Busted Tank inserts for swimming. It took me at least two months to heal so I could go to therapy. Radiation was easy, but make sure you apply protective cream right after each session and reapply throughout the day and continue for at least 2 weeks after the last session. I stop right after and had a little blister that went away quickly. Hope your chemo goes well. I didn’t have chemo (sentimental lymph nodes negative). Chem is good that it would kill rogue cancer cells. I pray you’ll sail through all the treatments. 🙂
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