Have my Appt with my Onc on Thursday . I want to discuss my options on having surgery to get my lump removed in my right breast and have a breast reduction . That was my original plan till i found out i have Mets .
My PA told me that surgery is personal preference in my situation and most woman have it for personal reasons . Studies showed it makes no differents one way or the other .
I would love to hear if any of you had surgery or decided not to do it and why . Really don't want to take a risk of infection and go thru the pain but i want that lump out of me . Would love to get your opinion on this matter .
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Anitafazz
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Hi 👋. I find a tumor in my right breast cancer and I take the option the surgery Mastectomy Radical. And I was 8 years free cancer In oct 2018 we find a tumor on my left hip (acetabulum) This is my history 😍.
For physiological reasons I would have it removed. I hated having a lump inside my breast. For your wellbeing you have to go with what you feel is right. I was Cancer free for 5 years after the removal. I was then diagnosed with Metastasis to my bones and, lung and lymph nodes. It was the same,type,of,Cancer I had in my breast and Oestrogen driven.
I had a breast reduction on my left side to balance up my previous right mastectomy , while on Ibrance, and I am glad that I did it . I was stable after a year on Ibrance and my onc said it was the best time if I wanted it doing , and my general health and bloods were good . I wouldn’t choose to have any non-essential surgery just now tho’ with the pandemic ...I would at least wait until early next year. I had the left side reduction done as a day patient in my week off Ibrance and I just had an extra week off ibrance . I had a very supportive onc / breast surgeon but they did want my neutrophyls to be above 2 for surgery to take place , I had antibiotics after the op to reduce the risk of infection and had injections post op to boost my wbc . Then I went back on Ibrance .
It worked out well for me , but I would listen to your onc /breast surgeon as to whether it is advisable for you at this time. Take care ! x
I am scheduled for a lumpectomy, axillary lymph node dissection and possible sentinel lymph node biopsy, on 12/4. I just want the cancer out of me too, and thought that was the first thing that would happen. I have been on Ibrance and anastrozole since the new year, with really good results. The oncologist and breast surgeon do not think the scar will be any smaller and the surgery less intrusive, if they wait for the tumor to shrink more. I say, “get it outta me!” So, I have been told that I will have a smaller, younger looking breast, after the cancer has been removers. I will have to wait to see if I want to consider a surgery for symmetry. Not sure I wa t any unnecessary surgery or pain. After I am looking at 6 week of radiation, M-F.
How long will you have to be off Ibrance for surgery? I just don’t understand how leaving that tumor in there is ok . She told me it’s up to me . I would have to have a reduction on left to match them up . Good luck with your surgery and let me know how you feeling .
My oncologist does not even really check my remaining breast because she said because I have Mets the treatments would not change. I have a hard time wrapping my head around that. It has to be a personal decision for you.
Hope things go well for you.
Theresa
Hi Anita,
I would say go for it if that's what you want. I have wanted the tumour removed from day one. It was going to be until I found out the disease was metastatic. I was given the option of a lumpectomy or a therapeutic mammoplasty. I chose the latter. But surgery was called off shortly after that. I know what you mean about wanting to get rid of the tumour. It is a constant reminder of the disease. It must help to remove it, even if to just remove some of the disease burden on the body. I don't see how keeping it in place can be justified. But then I am not a doctor or medical professional. I think I am going to be offered surgery at long last, but I will have to wait and see before it's final.
Thanks for your post which generated lively discussion and advice! I am living at age 78 with MBC (dx December 2018 Er/Pr positive, Her2 negative) , so am 2 years into this new BC world and feeling strong and hopeful). AFTER 20 years cancer “free”. My MBC Presented with bone mets which responded nicely to Kisqali + letrasol but I still have a “ new very small primary” at the previous lumpectomy site, overlapping old biopsy scar tissue. After 20 months, bone mets are “gone” but I developed a skin rash to Kisqali...so Kisqali, ( having done its magic) was stopped, leaving only letrasol, to do its magic!
I too want the “ bad stuff” out of my body and my mind. Had a surgical consult arranged by my Onc and together we 3 weighed the risks and benefits of either surgery OR no surgery + diligent surveillance. In my case ( and each of us is unique) “we” have achieved excellent distant control of the MBC bone mets, they don’t even show up on recent scans and the “ new” primary is very small (14 x 11mm) and stable. The big “risk” for surgery is the increased likelihood of lymphedema and the possibility of not “ getting it all”...even if surgery were to be a full mastectomy. Add that to the general risks of any major surgery : infection, swelling, plus the dreaded Covid 19 environment we all are living with these days! So, for me, we all agreed to continue the current plan: no surgery, diligent surveillance, CT scans every 3 months, continue with letrasol only which is working well and, for the time being, “leave well enough alone”. If things start growing again, the surgery option is always “ on the table”.
My story is just one set of circumstances for a plan for managing one case! Hope my story is helpful, but remember it is only “ a case of one”! Good luck with YOUR “case of one” and pursue good advice and engage in careful thinking to decide what’s best for YOU!
I was diagnosed at stage 4 with "extensive bone mets" so never had an early stage cancer and was thrown right into the world of MBC. That was in 2004, and at that time lumpectomy was the recommended surgery for those with denovo MBC. I have lobular bc, which forms one cell thick strands rather than lumps and the primary cancer in my right breast extended into the muscles around the breast. That was a long time ago and I don't remember how long I was on Letrozole before the lumpectomy. (Cancer was E+ P+ her2neu-) The lumpectomy was not difficult. One of my opthamologists, a long time ago, told me that Vit E helps surface tissue heal, so whenever I've had surgery, as soon as the stiches/staples are out, I put vit E oil on the healing scar and some of them nearly disappear. I have large breasts (D cup bras) and there doesn't seem to be any difference in size between them. I got nearly five years from Letrozole plus Zometa for the bone mets. Then I got over 9 years from Faslodex, with Zometa and then Xgeva when it became FDA approved. I've now been on Exemestane for nearly 3 years. I did have a second lumpectomy after being on Faslodex for a bit. One bit of advise I was given by a large breasted friend who'd had a single mastectomy, was to insist on a double mastectomy (because of the size of my breasts) because the single left her with real balance issues! The other bit of wisdom I have picked up from other women is that having breast reconstruction at stage 4 can make new cancer in the breast or immediately near by, more difficult to find early. That I would definitely ask my onc and surgeon about, but I did decide a long time ago that if a mastectomy was even advised, I would push to have a double. As a long timer with MBC, one of the things that has helped me cope is to remember that we cannot control the cancer but we can control what we do about it! Keeping appts, taking our meds, learning what we can, and not letting it dominate our lives. For me, the last probably took at least a year or a year and a half to be able to do! It's a scary diagnosis. I was diagnosed right before my 58th birthday and I'm 74 now. I've lived to see my daughter marry, my step-daughter have a darling daughter, my other step daughter graduate from college and then go to grad school and get her MSW and go into the sort of work than my father and then I did. I've had to stop gardening as I can no long bend over, but I still enjoy baking, writing and cuddling with our dogs and cats. And I seem totally unable to write short notes here......LOL
I’ve read some evidence that surgery of the primary tumour can disrupt the cancer cells and make the distant cells more active without the primary .....so for metatastic cancer may not be worthwhile taking out the original lump. Might be worth some research. All the best, Kate
Hi I am I. The same situation as you,I know exactly how you feel, I was diagnosed in April with a tumour in my right breast , and advised it was metastic to node under my arm nodes in my chest and suspicious areas in my spine! Such a shock to the system!!! Have been on Ibrance and letrozole since and first scan in august showed no evidence in under arm, chest nodes breast tumour reduced and no change to spine. Just want this monster out !!! Though can see the cons just hate the thought of it feeding off me. Hope things work out well for you , it’s a difficult journey and so much information to try to take in!
Everybody is so different. I have a large tumor in my right breast. I was diagnosed stage iv from beginning so I was told no mastectomy or chemo and I would be sent to cancer center where they treat the whole body. My tumor is fairly large in my breast. You cannot see it if I am wearing a bra and a top but my breast is dimpled and my nipple turned inward but I am okay with having it in my breast.
For me the thought of letting them cut my breast off scares the hell out of me. It is not going to make my stage iv disappear and other than the way my breast looks (I am not married and 60 and am not in a relationship) so it does not bother me to keep it in there.
Surgery was never an option for me as I was diagnosed de novo. Tough decision to make. Good luck. ❤️
Well I have had a similar experience but for everyone the time and the situation is different. My breast cancer wasn't discovered until after it had gone to my hip. So no surgery was planned as they felt it wouldn't help. Fast forward 7 yrs. later and I am 80 yrs old. The breast tumour started growing and pressing on the skin. Received radiation but the tumour broke through. So surgery was done and they ended up taking the whole breast plus lymph nodes. The surgery was so easy. After one week with a drain in and no discomfort all was well. No pain. In retrospect I should have had a breast reduction done on the other side.
I was happy to get that breast off. I might have felt different at 60.
Started Ibrance and Faslodex. Went down to 75mgs.
10 months later to now, I have nodules in my left lung that are growing after 2 scans. My Oncologist wants to move me to Xeloda but I am not sure we have gotten all the mileage out of Ibrance that we can.
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Yes to trial. 
Recent and upcoming surgery
Update – surgery tomorrow, then on to Xeloda
