Hi all

Great to hear all your experiences although wish none of us had to have them. 
im getting to end of chemo and saw surgeon last week. Had thought I would be having mastectomy and reconstruction but she now says no reconstruction as am having radiotherapy. Was a bit of a curved ball as she had not told me would be an issue. Now understand it is. Feel very conflicted. Asked for double mastectomy and she pretty much refused. I have a real issue with only having one breast and would rather have none - am I strange?

in a perfect world would have a double mastectomy and if I want reconstruction later would prefer that. I have the HR2. Non hormonal though and have to have a lymph node removed too. 
Would appreciate any advice/experience you can give me. Can't sleep thinking about it and getting v confused

Thanks

Jo

Hi Joeymac,

A very warm welcome to our forum. I am so sorry to hear that you find yourself in this position and can fully appreciate how you feel. Reconstruction is a no no with radiotherapy, but you might be able to do something after it finishes. Have you discussed this with your consultant? 

Many people feel that they would rather have a double mastectomy than a single and, I can understand why. However, most consultants are very reluctant to remove a healthy breast and will only remove the affected one. I was fortunate, in that my surgeon agreed to perform a double with me. This was because I had previously had a lumpectomy and in the intervening year, I had also had some other problems with my second breast. Although it wasn't actually cancerous, my surgeon felt that this might develop at a later stage, so he was happy to perform a bilateral mastectomy.

That was 12 yers ago now and I have never looked back. I was unable to have reconstruction, due to additional medical problems and scarring from previous surgeries, but this hasn't held me back from doing anything. I use different types of prostheses for different activities and cope well with them. Removal of some lymph nodes at the time of surgery is routine practice. This is to ensure that there is no further spread of your cancer.

Are you having your surgery before treatment or vice versa? Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on. We are always here for you.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Hi Joeymac,

I'm glad to hear that you are nearing the end of your chemo and I'm sure that you will feel happy about that too. Have you been given a date for surgery yet? It is always difficult to make any decisions when we have never been here before and don't have all of the answers. It must have been helpful to be able to chat to the other breast surgeon. If there is anything that you don't understand, don't hesitate to ask your consultant or breast care nurse, as this is a sign that they haven't explained things to you properly.  

Provided that your Diabetes is fairly well controlled, there shouldn't be any bother with your surgery. I have type 2 Diabetes and, have stopped breathing on the operating table with previous surgery. As a result, I now have to have fibre-optic intubation and any operation carries additional risk. I have since had both knees replaced and two bouts of breast cancer surgery and am still here to tell the tale - I'm sure that you will be too.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx

Thanks Jolamine. Similar to you. Went out and got my HBA1C done straight away as was pretty sure she was putting me into the high risk group even though told her I was well controlled. Came back as 39 which was fairly awesome so will be interesting to hear her thoughts when armed with facts. Have had to c sections a few other generals and hip screw put in and as you say we are still here!  Am going to call Monday. She gave me a date near end of September for op. So will see if my blood results make any difference to her thoughts x

Hi Joeymac,

I am glad to hear that you have had your HbA1c checked. I am not a doctor, but I don't foresee any obvious problems when that was 39. Do please let us know what your consultant thinks about this on Monday.

Kind regards,

Jolamine xx