1. < Breast Cancer

Direct to Implant and Reconstruction Same Day

Posted by toomey79 @toomey79, Jun 28, 2023

My daughter is 43 years old and has the BRCA2 gene. She was just diagnosed with Stage III Invasive Ductal Carcinoma(Breast Cancer). She is a professor at Temple University and lives by herself in Philadelphia. We(her parents), live in Ohio. She does not want to do radiation or chemotherapy. Neither she nor us are in a good financial situation. We are right at that lower middle class line. She has been checking around and is set on a surgeon and plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills, California. We would have to fly out, have someone take care of our two dogs, get a hotel, Uber back and forth to the hospital and of course, eat. We would have to take a loan out for $60,000. We are in our 60’s and I am disabled. The financial burden alone is immense. The place in Beverly Hills is called Cassileth Plastic Surgery. The surgeons name is Dr. Mensick. My question is; does the Mayo Clinic do direct to implant surgery all in one day, and is it safe? Any suggestions for a worried parent who doesn’t know what to do and if it’s the right and safe thing to let her do. She has big breasts with dense tissue and with the BRACA2 gene, both of which make the surgery and follow-up more concerning.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Breast Cancer Support Group.

jamilee414 | @jamilee414 | Jun 30, 2023
In reply to @clynnford "Hello, So with your diagnosis did you skip chemo all together? I have been told that..." + (show)
@clynnford

Hello,

So with your diagnosis did you skip chemo all together? I have been told that my cancer HER2 + was too large to do lumpectomy or anything else and that we needed to shrink it first. I am only going into my 2nd treatment now, the first treatment it was super bad for about 7 days with severe bone pain, fever and excruciating headache. Next chemo is on monday and not looking forward to it. I would have loved to have had my breast removed but this was not given to me as a good option. As I understand I will still need to take Herceptin and Pergeta for a year after my lumpectomy and reconstructive surgery,

Jump to this post

So I did not have to do chemotherapy, because I was diagnosed with DCIS, grade 2 So, a large amount of ductal carcinoma that hadn't become invasive yet or spread outside of the milk ducts. It was caught very early, so I was extremely grateful it could be completely eradicated with the mastectomy alone. Im so sorry you’ve struggled with the chemotherapy side effects…hugs and prayers for easier days ahead for you😊

REPLY
mkb4435 | @mkb4435 | Jul 1, 2023
In reply to @tdw10 "First God bless all of you in your journeys!!!! I am having surgery July 18. I..." + (show)
@tdw10

First God bless all of you in your journeys!!!! I am having surgery July 18. I have ILC with another spot of ADH. I M having Double mastectomy and implant. My surgeon decided that he’d rather use implants to save me from numerous surgeries. I thank God for that but am sincerely nervous.

Jump to this post

I'm having surgery on July 19! Many blessings to you.

REPLY
1 reply
Ingegerd Enscoe, Alumni Mentor | @astaingegerdm | Jul 1, 2023

@toomey79
If your daughter doesn’t trust Philadelphia hospitals, she can look closer to home. North to NJ and NY were there so many top hospitals for breast cancer treatment.
Memorial Sloan Kettering is one of the best in the country and probably in the world. The main hospital is in NYC and they have another hospital in NJ.
It’s not practical to travel across the country when there are so many options near Philadelphia.
There will be a need for follow up visits no matter what treatments she decides on.
Also, she can get the most up to date information on treatments and outcomes at a hospital such as Memorial Sloan Kettering.

REPLY
tdw10 | @tdw10 | Jul 1, 2023
In reply to @mkb4435 "I'm having surgery on July 19! Many blessings to you." + (show)
@mkb4435

I'm having surgery on July 19! Many blessings to you.

Jump to this post

Same to you. We all need to stick together.

REPLY
toomey79 | @toomey79 | Jul 5, 2023
In reply to @jamilee414 "Good morning, and big hugs to you very caring and worried parents💕 I just underwent a..." + (show)
@jamilee414

Good morning, and big hugs to you very caring and worried parents💕 I just underwent a double mastectomy 9 days ago at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, and I had the “direct to implant, nipple sparing reconstruction.” I am a smaller person with smaller breasts, and my area of concern was too large to do a lumpectomy. I reported to the hospital at 5:30am, surgery started at 8 and was completed by 12:30, and I was leaving the hospital by 3:30pm. All went very smoothly, and my follow up appt a week later showed everything is healing nicely.😊 I still have drain tubes, and pain level has been very manageable. I never had to take the strong pain med (Oxycodone) they sent home with me at all. Just tylenol, ibuprofen, a muscle relaxer, and an antibiotic. Im so sorry your daughter is battling cancer and facing these big decisions, but it sounds like you are there for her with support and encouragement, and having people in her corner can make a wonderful difference💕

Jump to this post

Thank you for writing and we are sorry for your situation as well. My daughters faces a little different surgery based on her situation. Number one, she has size F breasts which make it a harder surgery and reconstruction. She wants both her nipples taken off to be sure no cancer cells are there hiding. She is having nipples tattooed on afterwards. She is in methadone for chronic pain from a back and neck surgery where she fell down a flight of stairs. She also wanted the o r step (if you can call it that) procedure do she could get back to work and pay her bills. The biggest problem is trying to pay up front for a $53,000 surgery up front. I can’t believe they would make anyone do that. Please pray for Melissa Toomey. Thank you.

REPLY
toomey79 | @toomey79 | Jul 5, 2023
In reply to @toomey79 "Thank you. It’s such BS a hard decision for my daughter. And with her not trusting..." + (show)
@toomey79

Thank you. It’s such BS a hard decision for my daughter. And with her not trusting Philly hospitals, some terrible reviews at places and wanting the quick and perfect scenario I don’t know what advice to give her. Thank you for sharing your experience. What stage were you when diagnosed if you don’t mind me asking?

Jump to this post

My daughter is a Stage 3 and has invasive Ductal carcinoma. She has size F breasts which make it very difficult to work on. I see you are from California. Can you look up the Bedford Breast Center and Dr. Lisa Memsic and tell me your impressions. Thank you for your reply and God Bless.

REPLY
1 reply
cherziggy | @cherziggy | Jul 6, 2023
In reply to @toomey79 "My daughter is a Stage 3 and has invasive Ductal carcinoma. She has size F breasts..." + (show)
@toomey79

My daughter is a Stage 3 and has invasive Ductal carcinoma. She has size F breasts which make it very difficult to work on. I see you are from California. Can you look up the Bedford Breast Center and Dr. Lisa Memsic and tell me your impressions. Thank you for your reply and God Bless.

Jump to this post

I’m sorry your daughter is going through this. I had surgery 3 weeks ago for stage 1 IDC. My breasts were a size G. I don’t know why size matters? Does it? I had clear margins and opted for reconstruction. It is illegal for a Dr to charge for this procedure in the case of cancer. Read this on Cancer. Gov. I hope you get the answers you need.
I’m grateful for my journey, trying to make it positive.

REPLY
1 reply
toomey79 | @toomey79 | Jul 6, 2023
In reply to @cherziggy "I’m sorry your daughter is going through this. I had surgery 3 weeks ago for stage..." + (show)
@cherziggy

I’m sorry your daughter is going through this. I had surgery 3 weeks ago for stage 1 IDC. My breasts were a size G. I don’t know why size matters? Does it? I had clear margins and opted for reconstruction. It is illegal for a Dr to charge for this procedure in the case of cancer. Read this on Cancer. Gov. I hope you get the answers you need.
I’m grateful for my journey, trying to make it positive.

Jump to this post

I don’t know why size matters but apparently it does. Me and my wife are so depressed and stressed. Just want our baby girl better. And when hospitals want $43,000 up front I don’t get it. We’re $30,000 short right now and it’s driving us crazy. Her surgery is scheduled for July 11th and we’ve already spend $12,000 on flights CC and hotel reservations. 😢😢 I just want her healthy. She is such a positive person that I hate this whole thing.

REPLY
1 reply
cathybrown98 | @cathybrown98 | Jul 7, 2023

I had a mastectomy, bilateral, and reconstructive at the same time. I was a nightmare! with infections that would make 4 more surgeries within 6 months. I still have a small open wound on the left side. I'll not have any more reconstructive surgeries again. I use foam and silicone inserts. Not to mention the first surgery lasted 6 plus hours.

REPLY
1 reply
delormv | @delormv | Jul 8, 2023
In reply to @toomey79 "I don’t know why size matters but apparently it does. Me and my wife are so..." + (show)
@toomey79

I don’t know why size matters but apparently it does. Me and my wife are so depressed and stressed. Just want our baby girl better. And when hospitals want $43,000 up front I don’t get it. We’re $30,000 short right now and it’s driving us crazy. Her surgery is scheduled for July 11th and we’ve already spend $12,000 on flights CC and hotel reservations. 😢😢 I just want her healthy. She is such a positive person that I hate this whole thing.

Jump to this post

@toomey79 I thought insurance was supposed to cover all surgeries related to breast cancer…reconstruction included. Please tell your daughter to check with her insurance company. All the best!

REPLY
2 replies
View MoreView Less
Please sign in or register to post a reply.