[adelay]

I had a lumpectomy to begin with and although I had clear margins my oncologist thought it best to have the mastectomy after reading my path report and seeing how many nodes were involved, being triple positive and being so young at DX. When I had completed my chemo but before radiation I had my mastectomy surgery. My surgeon said I had clear margins and didn't think the surgery was necessary. Didn't know what to do so I went for another opinion at OSU's James Cancer Center and he agreed with my oncologist and deep down it was what I wanted too. I went ahead and had the mastectomy, just on left side. They found no residual cancer at that time which was wonderful. I am happy with my decision as there are no more mammograms on that side and I fear recurrence less now that it is off although I still know that is a possibility. I have decided not to have reconstruction at this time, maybe someday. I had a lot of rads and burned pretty badly so that may not even be an option for me. Not sure any of this helps but just wanted to explain why I first had the lumpectomy and then went back and had the mastectomy. It was the right choice for me. Good luck and keep us posted.