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Re: Bilateral Mastectomy - or not?

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Posted by Shelly Blechman on 8/25/2000 from 216.246.34.217:

In reply to: Bilateral Mastectomy - or not? posted by Hanah Miller on 8/24/2000 from 64.12.105.179:

First, let me inform you that I am not a healthcare provider, however I have been in the field of breast cancer for over five years. I appreciate your dilemma and understand your fears, but I believe that a prophylactic mastectomy might be unnecessary in your case. Of all the hundreds of individuals I have dealt with over the years, recurrence in the second breast has not been that common. Of greater concern is metastasis to other parts of the body (i.e, lungs, bone, liver). If it were lobular cancer, which has a greater chance of occurring in the other breast, then perhaps a prophylactic mastectomy might be warranted. But a prophylactic mastectomy is also no guarantee, as breast tissue extends from the collarbone to the bottom edge of the ribs and from the breast bone out to the muscle in the back of the armpit. There is no way that a doctor can remove 100% of the breast tissue.
You might want to seek risk assessment counseling. There are a number of things to consider for risks of recurrence: if you have any genetic factors and/or a family history of breast cancer, your age, other risk factors (i.e., age a time of starting and stopping menses, childbirth and breast feeding, smoking, weight), invasive vs. insitu cancer, size of tumor, lymph node involvement, s-phase and grade of tumor...just to mention a few. Also, something to keep in mind is that if you get cancer in the other breast, it is a totally new cancer. You are only at a slightly greater chance of it occurring in the other breast as someone who has not had breast cancer at all.
I know that you must make this difficult decision soon and have a great deal to consider. I hope this is somewhat helpful. Of course I would be glad to speak with you directly. You may email me your number or call me at 626/332-2255. I will also contact some of our volunteers to see if they can respond to your question as well. Bottom line, you have to make the decision that you feel most comfortable with for you, your future and your family.

Shelly Blechman
Program Director
WIN Against Breast Cancer

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Our site is not a  place to post advertisements of any kind.  Any such messages will be removed. Please respect that this is a forum to help people address issues relative to breast health and breast cancer.  

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