Community Blog
November 27, 2007
| Question for Anyone Who Has Had Elective Mastectomy | Views: 919 |
Hello everyone. I just joined your community yesterday after four months of trying to go it alone. I’m excited to be involved in discussions and to hear what other ladies are saying about their experiences with breast cancer.
I’m 34 yrs. old and battling with this decision of whether or not to have my other breast removed. The pros for me include less danger of further breast cancer (though with all the conflicting information I’ve read, I don’t know how accurate that is), avoiding tamoxifen, and having two matching reconstructed breasts instead of going through the rest of my life self-conscious and trying to maintain my natural breasts size since it fluctuates with my yo-yo weight.
I had my mind made up that I would do it, but my genetic testing isn’t complete yet and I don’t want to move forward until I know whether or not I have either of the BRCA genes. I’m terrified now that these decisions are firmly in my own hands. I’ve been accused of being shallow for wanting to do this, I’ve been accused of “not doing my homework” for leaning towards getting the other removed, and just about every site online insinuates that elective mastectomy is unnecessary and extreme. The latter is frustrating because I don’t think it’s extreme to want to protect yourself, and I don’t think wanting to feel comfortable with my body makes this surgery unnecessary.
On the other hand, I don’t know anyone who has ever been through this (especially at my age) and wonder if this is a decision I could be happy with. To be 34 with two reconstructed breasts but free of tamoxifen (maybe?). If there is anyone out there who has this wisdom, I’d love to hear from you.
Thanks, everyone.
Stacy
Question for Anyone Who Has Had Elective Mastectomy, 
3 comments)
Thanks for your support -
Stacy – Only you can decide what is right for you. But for me when I was diagnosed I wanted to cut them both off. Why risk it. But then I opted to just have them go back in and take out a little more around the where the tumor was until they had clear margins. I am very happy with my decision. Everyones story is a little different but the thing I learned was you might be in a different state of mind a few months later. Maybe in a few more months you will get use to your body or maybe the opposite and will realize you really want something different for yourself. If you have the time I would do what you are doing and keep asking people, keep thinking about it and hopefully it will make it easier for you to know which way to go. Sorry for rambling. Good luck!
Welcome to the family. We are here to listen and love and help you in any way we can.
Love Sherri
Hi Stacy,
I just read your blog and hope I can share my own experience with you. I was 38 when diagnosed with breast cancer. Because of the amount of DCIS is my breast, I had to have a mastectomy. My surgeon said that I should not have both removed at first, only because he wanted to make sure I was able to start radiation. He didn’t want the chances of radiation being delayed from any possible infections if I chose to have a mastectomy on my “healthy” breast. However, I am having my right breast removed very soon. And it IS mostly for cosmetic reasons. I am having delayed reconstruction and expanders will be put in at the time of my mastectomy. I don’t feel guilty for this and now that I’m almost one year out from my diagnosis… I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Maybe that’s what happens when you go through something like this. You take charge for your own life and your own body because it’s yours and yours alone. I agree, having a prophylactic mastectomy does not really decrease our risk of getting cancer again that much, but your confidence and body image goes a long way as well.
I know you said you were trying to “go it alone” – and I’m glad you’ve reached out to the BlogforaCure here. There are so many wonderful people on this site who have great information to share… because we all know from personal experience what you’re going through. Take care Stacy!