Ok so the chemo part is over. An appointment is made for breast surgery but what have you guys had. I want a cleavage. I have 3 lymph nodes and had a 8 cm lump that had gone during chemo.
I know I have to see what the scan says. But lots to think of do we take both off
Do we take part and leave breast tissue lots and lots to think about
But in the uk is it possible to have reconstruction? Do we have to wait or as same op. What has been your experiences.
Any tips welcome.
Hi Meannie
I am glad you are through the chemo part. On surgery, I don’t have the experience you are looking for. I had a wide local excision but on a large boob it just left a dent in the side. At my age I am not going to be wandering around topless, so it didn’t matter to me. I think the NHS is quite reluctant to remove healthy tissue unless there is a risk. So a double mastectomy for a problem in one breast is quite difficult to argue for. I have seen people comment on here that they have got agreement on the basis of symmetry / back issues that would ensue, etc, but I don’t know anyone who has succeeded with this personally. They do of course remove both breasts where someone carries high risk from BRCA 1 or 2 gene defects. On the question of reconstruction, I think it’s a clinical decision whether it can be done at the same time. Larger hospitals are more likely to have plastic surgeons who can do this.
It might be worth posting your question on the Breast cancer forum as it’s busier than this one.
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