[Jackie07]

Heidi,

I wanted a double mastectomy in 2003 when the 1.2 cm tumor was found on the edge of my right breast near the center of my chest. I was talked out of it by my surgeon. However, she missed a small chunk of the cancerous tissue and then everyone missed it for 4 years. So I ended up with a recurrence and that's when I insisted on a double mastectomy.

Statistically, the doctors will tell you, it does not make much difference. But we are not part of the normal statistics. We have a very aggressive type of breast cancer that is called 'Her2'. (Mine was Her2+++)

Your situation is a bit different. You are very young being just 24. Have you checked out the Young Survivors website? I think you can find it by using the keywords 'young breast cancer survivors'.

Have you done a genetic counseling? I requested for the BRCA tests even though (according to my oncologist) the chance for me to have the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes is minute. However, they did find a 'Variant of unknown significance'. At the time, only my Mother's Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma was known to us. But last fall, we learned that my 2nd Brother (10 years my senior) had to have a colon cancer surgery. That information did it! I had had a hysterectomy/oophorectomy done this January (and my insurance company approved the procedure.)

Doctors tend to think that we are 'panicking' at the cancer news and that's why we wanted to get rid of everything. I really hope physicians will have better training in counseling their patients on this area. My family doctor did not like the idea that I had decided on the prophylactic hysterectomy/oophorectomy procedure all by myself. He told me to seek a second opinion. So I called my oncologist and he agreed with me and gave me the 'go ahead'.

Another consideration I had was that my MUGA score had been lowered significantly during my chemotherapy and I had to stop the Herceptin infusion at 22 weeks. That fact meant I would have fewer options if I'd have another recurrence.

Remember to keep your heart strong by doing regular exercises and eat well. I was 47 when I had the recurrence and double mastectomy. I probably would have kept the disease-free breast if I were your age when my recurrence happened.