What Were You Told About Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy?

Hi Jenni . In my case , my surgeon recommended a lumpectomy due to my genetic testing was negative . She explained me why should I go thru that painful part of the mastectomy when was no necessary. But I think all surgeon and cases are different

Similarly, my surgeon recommended a lumpectomy as negative genetic testing and based on my situation no research to support mastectomy over lumpectomy. Such an individual decision based on various factors and personal preference. Good luck with the decision.

Thank you

My surgeon said my tumor was small and while a mastectomy can reduce the chance of recurrence it would keep me from starting radiation for longer. He said that you can't have radiation without healed incisions

Jenni, Everyone has a unique journey and different treatment and surgery plans. My triple negative very aggressive cancer was found, tiny, on my routine 6 month MRI, and I pre planned a lumpectomy before my surgery discussion with the team. I’m so glad that I opted for the double mastectomies because of having the BRCA gene mutation, as the team recommended, because my surgery showed clean margins and sentinel nodes x 3, but 10 months later, a regional metastasis occurred. At that time I required full chemo for a year, radiation, more surgery and now prevention treatments. Your surgeon and oncologist will advise what they feel is best, but the decision is yours. In my case, the double mastectomies ended up as the best choice, as I did that as advised. Best wishes and prayers. 🙏

Hi Jenni In my case I think my Dr was trying to talk me into a lumpectomy but a double mastectomy was it for me all the way and she wasn’t gonna talk. Me out of it. We had no family history of BC at all what so ever. Then when my daughter was 24 she was all of a sudden diagnosed with a very rare form of BC that only post menopausal women get. She is 1% that has it. Then about 5 years later my aunt I’d diagnosed with triple negative BC. WTH!! we’re like what is going on. Now 7yrs almost to the day that my daughter is cancer free, I got diagnosed with TNBC, the same as my aunt. We went from NO family history to now 3 generations of women being diagnosed with BC. Something is wrong here. So yeah, I’ll have a Double Mastectomy Please, Thanks.

Regina, Prayers for you and your family. I wasn’t aware of our family inheritance of the BRCA gene until my sister died of ovarian cancer, and my first cousin in the military told us, and I ended up with the same mutation, on my dad’s side. My other 4 sisters did not inherit the gene mutations. Regardless, my mother died of rare jejunal cancer, after surviving sigmoid cancer 10 years and breast cancer is also on her side. I’m hoping that you are genetics tested, as it makes a big difference in treatments and monitoring. Best wishes and prayers. 🙏

I had the mastectomy. Didn’t help, TNBC just grew on the chest wall. Aggressive bastard and persistent. Never believe them if they say “No follow up needed.” It just leads to stage 4 TNBC when you do find it.

Christa, My prayers and thoughts are with you. Cancer is treatable and yes, horrible reality and journey. I am still in treatment at 2.5 years. I’m wishing you the best. 🙏

This is such an important question that many people in this community face. The choice between lumpectomy and mastectomy often depends on factors like tumor size, location, and personal preferences, and it's valuable to hear different perspectives from others who have navigated this decision. Hopefully, community members will share their experiences with what their medical teams discussed regarding both options, which can help provide insight as you consider your own path forward.