Facing Tough Decisions About Breast Cancer Surgery

Hi Billie. Hope you’re feeling well. Don’t stress on the surgery yet…I found that I changed my mind many times and that somehow the right choice will make itself clear after speaking to your oncologist & surgeon and just thinking about it. I chose a lumpectomy with a reduction and lift, but my pathology showed DCIS and LCIS, so I’m going back for bilateral mastectomies! But now I don’t have to do radiation :) so I’m looking at it as a positive in that regard. Good luck 💜

Billie, I’m BRCA 2 positive and that did have impact on my decision making. I initially was for a simple lumpectomy because my tumor was tiny and surgery was my initial treatment need. This changed after a joint meeting with an Oncologist and Surgeon and double mastectomies were advised because of my unusually high aggressive Ki score of 95. At the same time I had reconstruction surgery as nipple and skin sparing saline implants, and for me, I’m so glad I did. Ten months post op, I metastasized to one axillary node, and than my chemo journey began. Now, over a year later, I’m on prevention PARP inhibitors and doing well after the cancerous node was removed and destroyed with chemo. I’m wishing you the best. Your physician meeting is very important in your decisions. All plans are different, depending on your needs. 🙏

I was diagnosed with tnbc and I was told the chances of it recurring were high. I opted for double mastectomy with reconstruction at the same time. I got scared about the reconstruction because everyone said it was painful to have the stretcher put in. It is a little uncomfortable but not painful. The more we fill it the less uncomfortable it is. My thinking was do I want to go through this again. NO i did a one and done. No radiation no more mammogram and the worrying about the results. I was on alot of restrictions for 6 weeks but it was worth it

Tanya, I also had double mastectomies with skin and nipple sparing reconstruction with implants at the same time for a very tiny but very aggressive triple negative Ki score 95, BRCA cancer. I’m very glad I went that recommended route. Initially chemo not recommended but my tiny cancer spread to a node and is theoretically in my blood because all margins and sentinel nodes were clean in surgery. I ended up needing aggressive chemo, more surgery, radiation, and now on prevention PARP inhibitors. Long journey but doing well and managing side effects. 🙏

Hi Irene. Did you get implants at the same surgery as your mastectomies? I’m interested in that, but I keep hearing that most people are not candidates for that. I would love to only have 1 more surgery! Do you know why you were able to have that procedure? Thanks for any advice :)

Making surgery decisions while managing treatment can feel overwhelming, especially with so many factors to consider. The genetics testing results will provide valuable information to help guide discussions with the surgical team about which option might be best for your specific situation. Many people in this community have faced similar crossroads and found it helpful to write down questions beforehand and bring a trusted person to important appointments for support.