Feelings about single mastectomy

I had a double at the end of March. I feel safer with the tissue gone, plus they discovered cancer in my left breast that they didn't know was there. So I feel lucky. I currently have tissue expanders in, that's a bigger deal than I thought it would be. The drains where in a long time. I needed another surgery to fix a expander that wasn't positioned right. It's a lot to go through but you'll get there.

Having to live with a single mastectomy Nov. 2021 and I would one million percent recommend a double mastectomy from the onset. If you keep the other side you have a higher than 1 in 7 chance of getting BC in the other side. It’s higher than 1 in 7 because you have had BC before. If you have a prophylactic mastectomy the chances go down to 5%. That’s what my surgeon told me. What’s higher 17-20% or 5%? Its a no-brainer. If women knew they wouldn’t be choosing singles. I had to fight tooth and nail for them to take the otherwide off after the fact (standard of care and public health care in Canada). So relieved it’s gone. As well, my cousin who is a surgical nurse said plastic surgeons prefer symmetry. I now have a double reconstruction that looks great! Why would I want to keep that sagging old breast in the first place. Change to a double mastectomy if you can. Good luck.

Hi - yes, I was very sad and grieved. Even though initially they only found cancer in my left breast, I opted for a bilateral due to concerns of the cancer coming back in the other breast.

When the pathology was done during the surgery, they did indeed find irregular cells in the right breast that didn’t show up on the mammogram or mri.

The tissue expanders are rigid and uncomfortable. It was a relief when they were replaced with implants.

I’m sorry you’re going through this. I had an oncology social worker who was very helpful to me through telehealth visits. This site was very valuable and helped me feel I was not alone. Best wishes to you!

Thank you!! I find this site really helpful too. I’m glad to hear that having the bilateral was the right call for you. So far I still have the drain in and can’t really tell if the discomfort is just from the surgery in general or the tissue expander. I’m sure I will notice it a lot more once the doctor starts filling it. I’m going to be referred to an oncologist and I’m hoping a social worker will be available because that sounds really helpful. I thought I would be more sad post surgery but now I’m more focused on what comes next because it’s still unknown for me until I see the oncologist. It’s all a lot to take in but I’m happy that the pain is less everyday. I wish you all the best!!

Thank you!! I’m glad to hear having then double was the right call for you!! That is definitely a lot to go through especially with the additional surgery! I hope your reconstruction goes well and you’ll be feeling back to normal soon!!

I consulted with 3 different breast surgeons from 3 different institutions and was not told what you are stating. I would love to read the reference for these statistics. Would you please provide the reference for this information? Thank you!

As I said in my post, my surgeon told me after she consented to another surgery, that the prophylactic mastectomy on the opposite side would bring the chances of BC on that side to 5%. My prior surgeon never said a word or provided any information about the opposite breast. In fact, he gave me a choice between a lumpectomy or single mastectomy. I chat mastectomy because I wanted it to be over. As it turned out I had a recurrence on my chest wall. A lumpectomy would have been completely inappropriate since the subsequent biopsy revealed 5 cm tumor with 3 other foci and extensive lymphovascular. How would I have faired with a lumpectomy give the mastectomy was a disaster- very tight margins- followed by a recurrence when the bandages were still on. If a person is under anaesthetic to remove one side I don’t understand why they would not provide the information that would lead to a choice to remove both breasts. Ask your surgeons to confirm this information (higher than 1 in 7 vs 5% with removing the breast). Maybe they don’t say anything because they are following a standard of care that needs to be challenged??

I had a single mastectomy with expander and reconstruction 4 months later. I was so sad before it, but it was surprisingly one of the easiest parts of my treatment. I think the expander helped because I was never fully flat. My surgeon at MD Anderson did not recommend a double nor did my medical oncologist. I have had some sadness about my nipple, and I did have a tattoo but of course no projection. That being said I am so grateful I still have my breast with full feeling! I appreciate it on so many levels especially during sex!

I also had a single mastectomy with expander and silicone implant reconstruction about 4 months later, in 2009. I wasn't sad about losing the breast, and got all sorts of input about whether to have a double or a single mastectomy - both have their pros and cons. I opted for a single mainly because it seemed the least disruptive, and the reconstruction was fine. I did a skin graft for the nipple replacement, and although it looked amazingly real I wished I had done the tattoo. Those look fantastic and involve less surgery. On another discussion thread I have asked about other people's experience with a 16 year old leaking implant - they don't last forever and how to decide what to do years after surgery wasn't ever discussed with me.

I had to laugh at @worried1111's reference to a sagging old breast - mine weren't sagging in 2009 but the natural one definitely is now! Luckily my breasts are small, but being lopsided now could have been avoided with a double mastectomy back then. The funny thing is I wear a small prosthetic in the bra cup of the reconstructed breast, to fill in the space under the forever perky silicone mound. It's nice that Medicare pays for 12 bras a year with some prosthetic inserts - I don't need near that many but the wonderful counselors at Second to None don't let me leave without my full quota.