Hello Coral2786

I'm so sorry to hear about your recent diagnosis. It's understandable that you're feeling very anxious about things and your reaction to wanting both breasts removed is not an uncommon one. 

It's unlikely that your Surgeon will remove your other breast based solely on the grounds that you've mentioned. Unfortunately, having a double mastectomy doesn't mean that you would not have any risk of developing secondary breast cancer nor remove the risk of developing another primary breast cancer. It's not quite as straightforward as that. I'd really encourage you to have a chat with your Breast Care nurse or if you'd prefer you can give our team of nurses a call and I'm sure they will be happy to talk things through with you and explain things in further detail. They're available Monday to Friday 9 am to 5 pm on 0808 800 4040. 

Having a cancer diagnosis can be very lonely and as well as being able to post here on the Cancer Chat form I wanted to let you know about two other organisations that you may find helpful. One group is called the Younger Breast Cancer Network which is for women aged 45 and under who have a breast cancer diagnosis. I'm sure that you will be able to connect with lots of other women through their private support group. 

I'm presuming from your post that your reconstruction will be delayed until after your treatment is finished and if that is the case you may want to have a look at a group called Flat Friends which supports women who have had a single or double mastectomy and are living without reconstruction. It may be that whilst you're waiting for that surgery that you find the group helpful. 

I hope that you have some news soon about the next steps. Keep in touch and let us know how you're doing. 

Best wishes, 
Jenn
Cancer Chat moderator