Surgery advice / opinions based on personal experince

Hi

I had lumpectomy in 2017 for er+ BC and two nodes removed. I found it quite easy if I'm honest. I kept up with my exercises and didn't have any pain at all after a week or so.

Unfortunately I got TNBC in the left side this year so I have recently had a double mastectomy. I won't lie it's been really difficult but after about 4 weeks I had no pain at all. I had an immediate reconstruction with a breast reduction and tissue expanders inserted.

I couldn't face the prospect of getting BC a third time so a double mastectomy was a no brainer for me. 

X

Thank you for your advice.

Debbie

Hi Debussel, I was diagnosed with TBNC in January this year. I had 6 rounds of FEC-T chemo followed by a lumpectomy and full node removal. My treatment was finished with 20 rounds of radiotherapy. I also was referred to genetics to test for the BRCA gene. I had no family history of breast cancer and was 48 at the time of diagnosis. The result came back negative but I had given serious thought to go for a double mastectomy. When I saw my oncologist she told me there was no evidence that having a mastectomy would increase my chances of it not coming back. I opted for a lumpectomy in the end. That healed very quickly but the healing internally from the nodes has taken a lot longer and I’m still experiencing post-op swelling from July but have been advised that this is not unusual as it takes some people to heal longer than others.

Once you know the date of your surgery I would give genetics a ring to chase up your results. I did that and they were very good and hurrying things along. Hope this helps and all the very best in your treatment x.

Thank you, my surgery is now booked for 29.1 so I am hoping the genetic result is back soon.