Diagnosis, MRI am I missing something?

Hi, I only had an MRI to check if there was any other signs of breast cancer in the breast. If there had been further cancer I would have had to have had a mastectomy and not a lumpectomy. May be as you are having a mastectomy an MRI isn’t required as the breast is being removed. Although this is only a guess.

I did have an MRI, as they only saw 1 tumour site and wanted to check there were no more before lumpectomy.

I would think as they already know you have more than 1 lump and are planning a mastectomy, then they know the whole lot will be gone.

Edit to add : you mention knowing stage & grade - the results from the removal surgery will give you some answers there.

I had thought that and also wondered if perhaps because the lymph nodes look clear? but you know that it’s like, you start wondering if your missing something?

Try not to absorb yourself with what others have had done - I've learnt that everyone's treatment is individual.

We're all in this together and can learn from our experiences, but don't think because X had that done, so will I.

Your team will come up with what they believe is the best plan for your circumstance.   Never be afraid to ask them questions.

Hello, everyone’s treatment will be different so don’t stress too much about this. What I would suggest is ask how they are reaching the decisions/ why that particular plan over another.

For instance I always thought any tumour above 5cm would be an automatic mastectomy so when they suggested breast conserving surgery I asked how and why they arrived at that decision. The surgeon was very patient with me and took time to make sure I understood the rationale etc.

 I had an MRI because there were discrepancies in the sizing of the area that needed to be removed. Mammogram showed something different to ultrasound. The surgeon did not think a full mastectomy was necessary in the first instance. I did go back and forth with them about the pros and cons based on available evidence(I’m a nurse so I know the drill). In the end, I had a partial mastectomy-70 mm of disease was taken out and they used tissue from my back for reconstruction. I am happy with the result.

Thanks for feedback- mastectomy makes sense for me as I have a previous surgery (benign) on this breast and lumpectomy, if possible, would result in possible compromised margins and a very weird aesthetically unpleasant shaped boob! I know I should ask for clarification and I will, I suspect as we have agreed to full mastectomy  that they hope they can get everything.  I’m having one of those wobbly days and panic that something is being missed. Most days I’m fine and know my team are competent and doing their best. It’s just a little up in the air. Thank you all for allowing me to vent x

I didn’t have an MRI as I was going to have a mastectomy and the breast surgeon didn’t need any further information to perform it. Hope it all goes to plan x

You may also have a CT scan of the whole body to check the cancer hasn't spread, but this would be unlikely as your tumour is very small with no lymph node involvement. Wishing you all the best with your mastectomy today, let us know how it went once you feel up to it :) xx