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Lumpectomy vs mastectomy for Stage 1

murnaloo
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Hi all,

I hope this forum is still active. I was diagnosed with stage 1 grade 1 breast cancer this week. I'm wrestling with whether to opt for lumpectomy or mastectomy. How did you ladies choose? And those who chose lumpectomy (what I'm leaning towards), have you had good outcomes? Eg, is recurrence more likely?

 

I'm relieved I caught it so early (and I did this -- NHS wouldn't give me a screening, so I had one privately). But, I am so scared I'm going to die. I've just turned 51.

 

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

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    Hello there,

    I am very sorry to hear about your diagnosis. 

    My mother in law had grade 1 breast cancer and lumpectomy with it, plus local radiotherapy. They did reconstructive surgery on her and she is now over 10 years in remission (touch wood).

     

    I hope you everything goes well for you.Get better soon

    Regards Maryna:)

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    Hi Mumaloo,

    Do you know what type of breast cancer you have. This can affect your outcome as well as the grade. I had a lumpectomy for grade 1 Mucinous breast cancer 11 years ago.Like you, I was pleased that this type of cancer is supposed to be slow growing and it was caught in the early stages. However a year later, I found another cancer in the same breast and had a double mastectomy. That was 10 years ago and, I'm still living a worthwhile life.

    Considerably more people are living with cancer now than used to be the case. Diagnosis, treatment and after care have all improved tremendously in the past few years and, more strides are constantly being made with these all of the time.

    I know that it's difficult to decide and, this is something that you have to decide for yourself, as no two cancer cases are the same. Whatever decision you make, I sincerely hope that it is the right one for you.

    Please keep in touch and let us know how you get on - if only we had a crystal ball!

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

    Has there been any mention of any follow up treatment after surgery yet? This cannot always be fully decided upon until the post-operative pathology results come back.

  • Offline in reply to Jolamine

    Hi Jolamine,

     

    Thank you for the reply and for sharing your experience. I'm so sorry you had to go through such a stressful situation twice! After the relief of having the first diagnosis behind you, it must have been devastating to get another diagnosis the next year. Was the second cancer found on your followup screening? It sounds like you got good care and are living a normal life.

     

    Have you been able to put it out of your mind the past decade? If not, how do you deal with the anxiety?

     

    Mine is 9mm and is ER/PR positive, HER2 negative. The treatment plan is lupectomy on the 18th, followed by 5 days of radiotherapy about a month later, then hormone therapy for 5+ years. My nodes looked OK on ultrasound, but as you say, all of this could change depending on pathology after surgery. More waiting. Ugh.

     

    I am a highly anxious person and am VERY susceptible to negativity. All it takes is one person to say they know someone who knows someone who didn't do well with a similar cancer and I will fixate on that. Needless to say, googling is not good for me. I'm realistic about what the diagnosis means and I'm grateful it was caught so early, but I am still in the processing phase where I feel overwhelmed and need someone to tell me it'll be OK.

     

    Have a lovely weekend!

    Meredith

  • Offline in reply to Hmarynka

    Hi Maryna,

     

    Thank you so much for your reply and sharing your MIL's story. I'm glad she is doing well.

     

    I don't see many stories from women who've had a lumpectomy and radiation, then never had problems again. Perhaps this is because they have moved on with their lives and do not hang out on forum such as this. More power to them!

     

    Positive stories like this help me stay optimistic and I think that's really important.

     

    Thank you again!

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    Hi 49 year old none menopausal here !! I was supposed to have a lumpectomy but after speaking to my consultant I decided to go for a mastectomy as I didn't want the constant fear is it or isn't it in the future and for me it worked out as the cancer was a lot faster growing than they 1st thought. I'm 3 weeks post surgery and driving about again just have to have 6 sessions of chemo hopefully starting in October. I can have reconstruction when im ready but to be totally honest I haven't made up my mind !! 

    There is a group on Facebook or on the old internet called Flat Friends for people who have had or considering a mastectomy if you wanted to have a look on there. 

    Take care x

    Karen 

  • Offline in reply to murnaloo

     

    Hi Meredith,

    I discovered my second cancer when I was examining myself in the shower. This was before I could have my follow up screening. When I had my initial lumpectomy, my pathology results showed that the surgeon had not got clear margins. He insisted that there was no need for any further surgery, because he had realised this at the time and taken an additional sliver away. I had a number of problems with my initial care team and, changed to a different surgeon before I discovered this new lump. Although there is no way to prove or disprove this, we both felt that a clear margin was not achieved the first time after all.

    I then had a double mastectomy, followed by Letrozole for 7 years. I lost my Mum to secondary breast cancer, so was terrified of dying initially. Anybody who has had a cancer diagnosis always fears recurrence. This is something that we have to learn to live with. I try to keep myself busy and concentrate on living - after all, I could get knocked down by a bus tomorrow, but I don't let that ruin my life. One thing that cancer does teach us, is to make the most of each and every day and, I fully intend to do that for as long as I possibly can.

    I am glad to hear that you have a date for surgery, followed by radiotherapy and am sure that it will all go well for you. It is good news that you are HER2- and that there doesn't appear to be any lymph node involvment. Try to deal with things day by day and not worry about what will happen in the future.

    We are all frightened and anxious at this stage, but try to avoid consulting 'Dr Google', as this will only scare you out of your wits, for no good reason. Also, try to avoid hearsay about others. Cancer is individual to every person who has it, as are the outcomes.

    Do you know what type of breast cancer you have yet? Some grow more aggressively than others, which can be a reason for more aggressive treatments.

    It is all overwhelming, but you have caught this early, your surgeon sounds sure that he can operate on and treat you, so it is all 'doable'. The more positive you can be about this, the better you will deal with the whole situation.

    This time next year, you will look back on this and be glad that you are through all the palaver you are about to experience.

    Kind regards,

    Jolamine xx

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