Has anyone decided to have a mastectomy after a lumpectomy and radiation?
I finished my radiation treatments a little over a month ago. Due to the size of my tumor I decided against radiation since it seemed as if the costs would out way the benefits. My surgeon, Onc, and Rad Onc, all said that they didn't think my chances of reoccurrences would be significantly better with a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy and radiation. However, I am consumed with thoughts of reoccurrence. I worry about it constantly everyday. I have started thinking about asking about having a double mastectomy to see if it would give me any peace of mind. The only real reason i dismissed it originally is because I have no help at all and I wonder how hard it would be to manage on my own. Any advice on having a mastectomy after a lumpectomy and radiation? Would an insurance company help with the costs now? I'm 67 and have no interest in reconstruction or anything like that. If you don't have family or friends to help how hard was it to manage alone? I don't have much of a medical "team". My surgeon moved to another state and I think my Rad Onc considers me done. I do have a new oncologist who seems nice but thinks I'm just in the recovery stage. Never had a social worker or anyone like that on the team.
Stage Ia estrogen and progesterone receptor positive, HER2 negative, node-negative, invasive ductal carcinoma of the left breast. Lumpectomy August 28. Lumpectomy on Aug. 28, 2025, no residual invasive disease and 4 nodes were negative. 20 rounds of radiation (16 whole breast/ 4 targeted) finished in Nov 2025.
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My story is the same as yours. All of our stuff matches, my tumor was 1.2 cm and grade 1. You are a little ahead of me. My lumpectomy was on 12/19 so I haven’t done the radiation yet. When I first met with my surgeon she steered me towards a lumpectomy and said the recurrence rate for a lumpectomy and radiation is the same as for a mastectomy. She said there might still be some breast tissue cells left and if it’s going to come back, it will. I don’t know that all surgeons are giving that message. It doesn’t seem like it from reading these discussions. Part of that was definitely because my tumor is so small. Did they do an oncotype score? That helps with knowing your recurrence chances too.
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Diagnosed with triple negative stage 2b in April 2025, went through chemo and just had surgery 4 weeks ago. When diagnosed my first reaction was to have double mastectomy with flat closure. Knowing that was the most extreme of the options presented to me. I talked myself out of it over the months of chemo and chose lumpectomy with a reduction and lift on both sides. Thanks be to God, no cancer was found at surgery, and my aesthetic results by objective standards are great. The problem is, from the moment I came out of surgery, I am regretting that I did not get the mastectomy. I am investigating options right now. I would love to hear from anyone else that feels they make the wrong choice and how they proceeded after….more surgery….counseling….prayer…etc?
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