Missing the margins during a mastectomy surgery

Posted by bertbert @bertbert, 22 hours ago

I was diagnosed with breast cancer and had surgery to have a mastectomy on my right breast, but after two weeks I went in for my checkup and the dr told me I still had a spot of cancer and probably would have to have another surgery but he had to meet with the tumor board first. I was so confused and depressed to think I got to have another surgery. So I go to my primary dr and ask her to read my report , she told me the dr didn’t take enough margins. I didn’t know what that meant. So she explained he actually didn’t take enough of my breast off. I was depressed, had to get on depression pills. Sitting around waiting to hear if I would need another surgery. Went to my onocologist and he told me , my surgeon didn’t take enough margins and now I’m Super depressed. So he had my tumor tested to see if it actually qualified for chemo or radiation. THANK God it was small and I didn’t need Chemo( my biggest fear) So I did 33 sessions of radiation. Who has had this problem during a mastectomy?

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Chris, Volunteer Mentor | @auntieoakley | 22 hours ago

Ahhh @bertbert my heart is just breaking when I read this. I did not have a full mastectomy because by that time the insurance wouldn’t authorize it but I did have surgery that removed about a cup of tissue and had to return twice to get more tissue. Thankfully I had already gotten the “better living through chemistry” sertraline pills.
I was resistant to requiring antidepressants at first, because I am tough, right?
Now I can look at my journey and just be grateful for them. Sometimes I wish I had more, because life is hard, and life with cancer and the lifelong side effects from (chemo, mostly) treatments can be even harder. I will say that antidepressants allow me to think that even though it is hard, I am still here to whine about it.
Back to the surgery question, I did have the last surgery and I told my surgeon that he only got one more chance at this tumor so if he had to, he should take the rib. It gave him a chuckle but he did scrape the rib to get everything he could. He was an amazing doctor and a good surgeon.
You said you took radiation, so I assume that you had the last surgery, how are you feeling now?