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Posted by Penny on September 22, 2009, 12:13 am, in reply to "Newbie"
As we like to say here, I'm so sorry you had to come looking, but glad you found us. This is by far, the best online support group in the world.
This is a major decision honey, and unfortunately only you can make it but do please ask lots of questions and get all your facts in place before making it.
A couple of things to think about before making this decision:
I hope you do realize that having a bi-lat mast is no guarantee that the cancer won't come back somewhere else. I'm living proof of that. My orginal dx (diagnosis) in 04 was Stage I, I had a lumpectomy, chemo and radiation. A year later it came back in the same spot (very small at 5mm). The surgeon wanted to do another lumpectomy but oh no, I demanded a bi-lat mast with saline implants. It was still stage I. Two years later it was back again at stage IV and I've been in battle ever since.
Also, as far as stats go (depending on your original dx) usually a lumpectomy and radiation give you the same odds of a recurrence as a mastectomy.
Then of course there is the whole major surgery issue with feelings lost from severed nerves and scar tissue and such. I'm not trying to discourage you from having the mastectomy but just want to make sure you've gotten all the facts together and are able to make an informed decision.
I know the panicky feelings you're going through right now and have seen so many girls, myself included, rush in and demand the docs to "take it all". If I had known then what I know now, I would have done things differently.
I do know that there are girls here who've done the bi-lat and never had another problem and there are girls who did the lumpectomy, chemo and rads and never had another problem. Myself, I guess I was just one of those rare stats that got the short end of the stick no matter that I did all the right things.
My best advise to you right now is to set up appointments with your surgeon, a plastic surgeon, a radiation oncologist and a medical oncologist. Get all the stats about your cancer and have each one give you an opinion on your options and why they think this option is best. Take someone with you to help you write down everything they tell you. Then go home, sit down, go over all your options, write down all the questions that pop up from all the other writings and call the docs up and ask your questions. Then you should have a pretty good idea of what's going to be best for you to do.
You can also come here and ask away about anything you want. Between us all we've been through just about everything.
Good luck with your decision Sweetie and please come back and let us know the battle plan.
Hugs,
Penny
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