My second opinion came from my new doctor, Dr. F. He has a beautiful office in a newly renovated downtown hospital, and his staff is super nice and helpful. I found him through recommendations on the FORCE message boards. I really like him.
We talked in depth about my predicament and his experience with it, and his opinions as well as mine. He asked me what I think, what I want, and how I feel, and he answered all of my questions to my satisfaction. He met with me for over an hour. (Also, it's worth noting that his office has fantastic gowns. They're made out of jersey knit so they're super comfy. I would really like to keep one.... lol.) He told me he has done over 200 mastectomies like the one I'm considering. He has only had one person develop breast cancer post-mastectomy. Those are better odds than the national average. He works closely with a plastic surgeon in the same hospital, who also has extensive experience. I have an appointment with him later this week.
Let me tell you a little about this mastectomy. Basically, what happens is the breast surgeon (Dr. F) will scoop out all of my breast tissue, including some lymph nodes (if I choose, so he can test for cancer cells). Then I have three options. Option 1: the plastic surgeon will immediately put in implants. This is called a one-step. Option 2: the plastic surgeon will put in tissue expanders, which are hard crescent shaped shells that he will inject with fluid every few weeks until I like the size, and then he'll do a swap surgery where he takes out the expanders and puts in the implants. Option 3: flap surgery, where basically the plastic surgeon takes fat from other parts of my body, like my belly or butt, and puts it in the space that used to be occupied by breast tissue. There are complications and things to consider with each of these surgeries, so I'm not really sure which route I like best. I lean away from the flap surgery just because I feel like its a lot of surgery at once and it seems like it would be harder to recover, and I'd be left with more scars. But implants come with their own problems as well, like needing to be replaced every so often. Anyway, these are things I'll be asking the plastic surgeon about when I meet him.
Dr. F and I also discussed my own personal cancer risk, and he told me what I've felt in my gut all along. My mother's age does have a bearing on my own time frame. I'm 29. She was 35 when she got cancer for the first time. That's only 6 years away for me. That's scary stuff. There's no guarantee that I'd get cancer at her age, but the fact that she had it so young is not good news for me. However, I feel better that I'm in his hands because he seems to have the same ideas about it that I do. He feels that I need to be vigilant with my surveillance, and that I need to be screened every six months. I hate the screenings, but I'm so glad to have a doctor who doesn't think I'm overreacting.
I'm tired of hearing that I'm overreacting. You can't know how someone in my position feels unless you've been there. Its so hard to constantly worry about whether I should just do the screenings or do the surgery, and if I don't do the surgery and I get cancer then I made the wrong choice, and then what if I get cancer and it spreads really super fast and kills me, and my babies have to grow up without a mom? It's hard to be in a position to have to decide these things.
Anyway, back to Dr. F. I've decided that I am going to stay with him. He's really nice, he had a good handle on everything I asked about, and he has lots of experience with women in my position. He didn't put any pressure on me about surgery either, he told me to think about it and ask any questions I have and I can call all the shots. He said I am in charge here. I like that. He also told me to call his office any time and he'd get back to me with any answers I need. I left feeling really good about the visit, and I'm looking forward to meeting with the plastic surgeon!
Additional information:
Cancer.gov Fact Sheet
Article about PBMs becoming more common
Christina Applegate's experience with being BRCA1+ and PBM
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