one of my friends was diagnosed with breast cancer in the right side. she is 30 years old and had lactated two babies. the biopsy reveled invasive ductal carcinoma grade II. she had 5 separate lesions. she is doing now investigations (MRI, bone scan,etc..) and she will undergo mastectomy after 1 week. my question is: dose anyone have similar experience? and what about partial or total mastectomy? plus, any one have experience with breast reconstructive surgery? recent trends in treatment?
i appreciate your help.
much obliged.
It seems quite a few younger women are being diagnosed with breast cancer. Your friend being diagnosed at 30, is, sadly, another young women found to have this disease. It sounds as if this falls into the early stage and since she has 5 lesions, it wouldn't make sense to try to do a lumpectomy. Sometimes, there is other lesions found in the breast that weren't seen earlier. If lumpetomy's do not have clean margins, the surgeon has to keep going for additional surgeries until clean margins are found. Did her surgeon ever consider bi-lateral mastectomies? The many younger women I have talked to who have had breast cancer had both breasts removed and reconstruction done as almost a preventative surgery. No two breast cancers are the same. The testing on breast cancers get down to specific cells and every woman's breast cancer is developed specifically for her. No longer, is it the "shotgun" approach. Surery, chemotherapy, radiation, and hormone therapy all depends on cells specific to each woman. Since you are such a caring friend, maybe you can go to one of her appointments with her and take notes. There is usually so much information given, your friend is probably somewhat, in a fog. It is a lot to grasp at one time. I am glad she has had preliminary pre-surgery testing out of the way. If she chooses to have reconstruction, depending on the type of surgery she chooses, she may come out of the mastectomy with a tissue expander. Over time, the expander is enlarged to facilitate an implant. I just don't think she is a candidate for any kind of lumpectomy with so many lesions. As for prognosis... nobody can really say. There have been so many advancements in breast cancer treatment, odds are in her favor for sure. Oncologists talk in percentages because they are looking at huge numbers of statistics. Your pal is an individual and I'd be absolutely upbeat and positive for a long life! This is a lousy thing to happen and it won't be an easy road but there are plenty of us out here who are living wonderful healthy full lives. I wish the best for your friend, and you are wonderful to care about her like you do. Take care.....
The Following User Says Thank You to uptownJ For This Useful Post: drhoby (06-03-2012)
first of all i should thank you so much for your care....i do really care for my friend, by the way i am a maxillofacial surgeon but oncology is far away from my speciality...i will attend the surgery with her....
i do not have any experience with breast cancer coming in this young age, so i posted here as i want to help her as much as i can. her surgeon did mention bilateral mastectomy which i could not understand! my friend had breast and nipple pain 1 year ago and she didn't seek for advice tell she felt the lumps, so i can say that self breast examination is very curtail to all of us, which i am not used to do regularly to myself, but after this experience i can say it is a must.
i will meet her oncologist also...
once more i want to thank you so much, and i will keep you updated, as i think that those experiences are useful to all of us.....
take care..
