Thank you for connecting us. It’s amazing to me how every diagnosis/situation is so uniquely different. I’ve been told that removal of my left nipple and areola will be necessary and probably radiation but that will depend on the pathology after surgery. Also EI after surgery for 5 yrs.
Since I’m told it’s stage zero, non invasive and no other mass or lymph involvement detected on the mri that “I’m lucky” (??) I caught it early ( 1 yr ago it was suspected)
I’m interested in knowing if radiation is over- treatment for my age & situation and if the risks and side effects of radiation are worth it. Im considering not having radiation and just trying the EI. I’m 70 yrs old. What does the research say about cancer return rates with and without radiation? I read that it’s 9% return with radiation and 19% without radiation and that it might not be necessary for someone my age and situation to have radiation or chemo. . I’ve also been told mastectomy is not necessary in my case even though I’m willing to have both removed if it eliminates my risk of cancer returning. Is there any guarantee if both are removed? If it does come back then my choice would definitely be to remove both. Every situation is so different how can there even be the same “protocol” for everyone?
15 yrs ago My friend had lumpectomy/radiation/chemo/ EI and now cancer just came back in the opposite breast and she just had a mastectomy on the new side but wanted both breasts removed . She was told that the since the first breast already had radiation and chemo 15 yrs ago that it could not be removed because the radiation thins the chest wall.
I’m so confused that I don’t want to think about it any more. Just get rid of the cancer. My surgery is in 2 weeks. I’ll just have to wait for the pathology to meet the oncologist to see what he/she says. I’m leaning toward NO RADIATION…wait and see if cancer returns the chop them both off!