Hello Linda6,

Welcome to Cancer Chat! You do face a difficult decision and I hope you will get to talk to other ladies here who have had to make similar choices and hopefully they will be along soon to share their story of which route they went down.

I have also asked our nurses to comment on your thread as they may have some useful information for you. You can also contact them on this free number 0808 800 4040, Monday to Friday from 9am to 5pm.

Best wishes,

Lucie, Cancer Chat Moderator

Hi Linda

I had a single mastectomy in January. Firstly I'm very sorry you find yourself in this situation with a difficult decision to make.

I can understand why you are struggling with making your choice.None of us wants to be making this decision in the first place.

Ultimately the choice is yours however if you say you want a double mastectomy they will most likely go with it.

Although I didn't have a double mastectomy I can say my recovery went well.It seems far worse than it is.

The pain wasn't bad afterwards and any aches easily managed with painkillers i was given.I was up and about doing things for myself within maybe a week or so.And 6 weeks down the line I had regained use of my arm/shoulder almost completely.I know it perhaps would be more difficult having both arms out of use for a bit.But the time scale is not massive.

I'm now 3 months along from my last chemo and I do find myself at times panic about my remaining breast.I am frightened of every little bump in there.As I don't have anything to compare it to anymore. I'm just being paranoid understandably but I do wish at times I'd had a double and then reconstruction.I am seeing my surgeon next month to look at a reconstruction.

This is a very personal decision and only you will really know how you feel and what you want.Perhaps you need to talk to them again? You can always call your breast care team for advice and reassurance at any time.

I hope I've helped a little?

thinking of you

Ness x 

Hi Linda

Thankyou for your kind words.I wish you luck with your procedure also.Please try not to worry about the op too much.I think the worry is always worse than the reality.

I was terrified worked myself up so much they even commented in theatre that my heart rate was off the chart.

I woke up realised it was all over without me even noticing.I giggled the whole evening with my husband,and laughed all the way home when discharged.Which I won't recommend as It did pull a bit.must of been the relief?

I wish you lots of luck with the rest of your treatment. 

Keep in touch with us all.I have found this forum a God send. 

take care 

Ness x 

Hello Linda 6,

Thanks for posting a question. I am sorry to learn that you have been affected by breast cancer.  Lucie one of the moderators wondered if we could help.

It is a shame that only one of our forum members has come forward to tell you how things were for them. Support from people who have been through it can be invaluable. Of course, people experience things in different ways. So what is right for one is not necessarily right for another. But peer support can be a great help.

I wonder if it might be a good idea to post your question on the Breast Cancer Care online forum.   As they only deal with breast cancer, unlike our forum which covers all cancer types, I think that you are more likely to get replies.

Many women with breast cancer have the opportunity to choose between total removal of a breast or breasts (mastectomy) and breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) followed by radiation. Lumpectomy followed by radiation is likely to be equally as effective as mastectomy for people with a relatively small cancer in the breast. Numerous studies have suggested that the survival is about the same. So I do not think that you would be risking your health if you had breast conserving surgery. So at the end of the day it is really about what feels right for you.

As you know, with  breast conserving surgery, your doctor will almost certainly want you to have radiotherapy afterwards.  For most women this involves travelling 5 days a week usually for 3 weeks to the radiotherapy department. For some people this can involve travelling a long distance. Also radiotherapy can have side effects. But there is no way of knowing which if any you will experience.

There can also be complications with mastectomies and breast reconstruction. But silicone implant reconstruction is the most straightforward of the operations, with probably the quickest recovery time. Breast Cancer Care have quite good information about  breast reconstruction on their website here.

I am unsure if you have discussed  reconstruction fully with your team at the hospital. But having a mastectomy does not mean that you definitely will not need radiotherapy. If the cancer is near the chest wall or more than a few lymph nodes contained cancer, you might be advised to have it as well. Radiotherapy may limit your options for reconstruction. With immediate reconstruction, radiotherapy may cause problems with the implants. When women have implants after radiotherapy, it can be harder to do.

Your specialist may not be 100% sure if you need radiotherapy or not until after the surgery and the pathology reports are available. So you may find that plans have to change. Therefore it is important that you have a good discussion with your specialist team. If you have a breast care nurse you could telephone them to discuss this. They should be able to tell you about possible complications and recovery rates.

Another thing to consider is that implants can occasionally last 20 years or more, but this is unusual. So you may find that at some stage you would need further surgery. They may not last your lifetime.

Whatever option you choose I do hope that you make a good recovery from the surgery. We are evaluating the nurse service at the moment so it would be really helpful if you could complete the short survey.

If you have any other questions please do get back to us. If you would like to telephone our freephone number is 0808 800 4040.

All the best

Jean

Not much support or positivity here ladies! 

Come on! We all need to be in this together ️ 

I was going to ask for some support with my recent diagnosis and mastectomy dilemma but I'm dubious to now, in case it makes me feel worse.

My breast care nurse phoned me yesterday to introduce herself and she completely panicked me, sucked every last bit of positivity I had out of me and made me feel so much worse about my situation

What is going on?!

Hi Melly,

I've had that too from one breast care nurse and yes, you don't need the positivity sucked right out of you.

But the others on here are saying it like it is which I for one have found really helpful.  I'm not sure how positive you can be about an operation exactly other than you're going to recover in time and you hopefully make the choice that's right for you.  Cancer is difficult and this forum provides great support. Surely letting others tell their experiences is better than just researching alone.  Your breast surgeon will give you the options or you could try us.