hello, Im Lola and new here!
I am a 52 year old working artist and single solo mother, with a significant medical history of three separate cancer diagnoses, each a decade apart.
In 2006 (age 31), I was diagnosed with Stage IIB Hodgkin lymphoma after presenting with fevers, night sweats, and cervical lymphadenopathy. I underwent treatment with the ABVD chemotherapy regimen. No radiation. Successfully in remission.
In 2015, (age 40) I was diagnosed with Stage I invasive lobular carcinoma of the right breast following evaluation of a palpable right axillary mass. Diagnostic imaging identified a suspicious lesion, and an excisional biopsy confirmed a 7 mm invasive lobular carcinoma that was estrogen receptorpositive, progesterone receptorpositive, and HER2negative. I subsequently underwent breast surgery, including reexcision and sentinel lymph node biopsy, at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
In April 2026 (age 52) I was diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), underwent a lumpectomy with clear margins and am now considering a bilateral mastectomy. The surgeons I've seen at MSK have advised nipple sparing is not an option. This has been difficult and caused me to pause. I saw a third op at Weill Cornell and they said somewhat the opposite (i can do nipple sparing) and gave me more options.
My decision is to do a mastectomy but the questions is what path of mastectomy to do , Diep flap , implant or hybrid., considering I had radiation on my right breast, which apparently has increased chances of certain complications such as capsular contraction, etc.
I would really value thoughts or experiences, particularly related to mastectomy after having radiation ( my radiation was 10 years prior) and nipple sparing and methods with best results.
