← Return to Optional double mastectomy over single. What helped you to decide?

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@californiazebra

Yes, my heart just sank when I felt a tiny hard lump on my bony chest just two days before my annual ultrasound. I just knew it was cancer. I was in a bit of disbelief after being told I only had a 3% chance of recurrence. They removed the tumor and a bit of the pectoral muscle it was in. There was a positive margin in the muscle now too small to see on a scan. Hard to hear that too. I had 37 radiation treatments and then went on Kisqali and Letrozole. I can’t have chemo because of a rare pre-existing hereditary neuropathy. He said chemo would leave me in constant pain forever and I can’t even take pain meds. My oncologist said he wasn’t sure chemo would be effective on this cancer anyway. I also had PT as this surgery caused ROM issues and cording just as the mastectomies did. The cancer came back 3x as aggressive (Ki-67 50%) and highly hormone driven. My oncologist said the cancer was so aggressive that cells likely got away to other parts of my body before the tumor was removed. That was a rare moment of candor because he likes to sugarcoat things. I like facts. He tends to say something different every time I ask about my prognosis so it’s really just a wait and see. No visible tumors at the moment and I have CT scans of the chest, abdomen and pelvis every 6 months. There’s always scanxiety waiting for results. Initially I also had a PET scan, bone scan (different that DEXA), breast MRI and a brain MRI. I’ll stay on the targeted meds so long as they work (3.5 yrs so far). I’m not sure what’s left in the arsenal if another tumor pops up. We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Again, so far so good and I’m pleasantly surprised by that. Thanks for asking.

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Replies to "Yes, my heart just sank when I felt a tiny hard lump on my bony chest..."

Thanks for replying, my friend!

My heart simply aches upon reading what you'd gone through in the last 4 years! What a courageous journey!

I admire your perseverance, courage, and wisdom all through this journey. I am grateful to know that the targeted medications work so far. My prayers are with you, pray that your journey ahead shall be smooth sailing and cancer free!

Inspirational attitude! Wishing you the very best on this unwanted journey! 🌸

Hi. So were you getting an ultrasound on your mastectomy site? I had a l.4 cm lump on my boney chest wall, and a skin sparring mastectomy. No lymph node involvement. I am in my 4th year. I am petrified that cancer will come back in my mastectomy site. My cancer team said they will check manually once a year. That is it! Could you please explain, in more detail, what the ultrasound is called and how it is preformed? You have been so helpful.