Breast cancer

Hi Cindy2000 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.

Thank you. I need help with which surgery to have as they’ve give me 3 options to remove a large area of DCIS

mastectomy

back LD flaps

thermal mamoplasy

has anyone been in this situation and what choice did you make for the best TIA

Hi Cindy2000

i also had a large area where of DCIS and was offered a mastectomy but advised against immediate reconstruction as I’d probably need radiotherapy which can cause problems. As it was the post mastectomy biopsy showed there was some small micro invasions. Luckily no nodes affected. I’ve found the scar tissue to be very tight and it’s taken a long time to get back to full range movement - still not there 18 months later. 
Assume you are not needing radiotherapy? 
Best to speak to your consultant and ask the pros and cons of each choice for you. This will allow you to make the best decision for you. I think we all go through different journeys so it’s difficult to judge.

Good luck xx

Thank you for replying. Consultant said whichever op I choose I will need radiotherapy . It’s only my left breast  but because I survived a ruptured brain annurism in 2021 and another brain surgery in 2023  my brain has trouble taking in information so whatever my consultant has told me I just don’t understand . The same as reading all the booklets it confuses me so much. The consultant knows this and I said to him just do whatever you think but of course he said it has to be my choice. Originally he pencilled me in for surgery on 6th nov but because I just can’t make my mind up it’s been delayed a few weeks

Hi Cindy2000 

Do you take Someone with you when you see any professionals . I’m partial deaf so l do miss quite a bit in conversations. My husband or my sister accompanies me to appointments and then decipher and remember what’s been said . Things lve missed . Anxiety l find doesn’t help . I find writing things down helps , l seem to remember what lve written rather than what lve read but lm dyslexic so l presume that’s something to do with that but would this help you if someone could go through the information with you . 
Sending you positive vibes and love Cindy2000 xx

Ask your consultant to set out in writing what he told you and either ask a friend to talk it through with you or book an appointment with your GP to explain it (take a friend). Also speak to the BCN. 

Don’t be pushed into something. You need to understand your options so you can make an informed choice. 

I wish you well. 

Hi Cindy2000 

I'm sorry you find yourself here when you already seem to have been through a lot. It's information overload isn't it?

I too had DCIS and in reacing a decision I started with asking myself some simple yes or no questions based on my gut reaction to things.  For example, did I mind being temporarily flat? Did I want a foreign body (implant) in my body? Did I want the additional scars a flap would involve? Did I want a shorter recovery period etc. It helped me eliminate some options before looking at the detail of the options I was left with.

There was also a comparison table of the pros and cons of the different options in one of the Breast Cancer Now booklets on reconstruction which my BCN gave me. It cut out a lot of text and put the info into a simpler table format.

Wishing you all the best x