6. Second Opinion

Mom and I went up to UC Davis Cancer Center today. I was anxious to learn more about internal radiation. As it turns out, the internal method has not got enough data to know what the long term success rates are. It is not recommended for young people like me. Guess if I were 10 years closer to the grave they would consider it, but I'm not, so they won't. Guess that is a good thing.

Then my brain started to wonder what to do now.... I don't want to go through 6 weeks of radiation only to have the chances of recurrence at 20%. I want it closer to 0 % ! Explained to the surgeon my desire to avoid radiation. He said a mastectomy would most likely NOT require radiation, unless of course it is in my lymph nodes or too close to my chest wall.....neither of which is probable. But they won't know about the nodes until they do surgery.

According to the surgeon I can do either method - Lumpectomy with radiation or mastectomy with reconstruction and probably avoid radiation. So now I have to decide whether or not to remove my left breast and have reconstruction surgery. My next move is to reach out to friends and friends of friends who have been through this so I can ask them about their treatment and whether they regret doing or not doing  a mastectomy. Working on scheduling time with a Plastic Surgeon at UC Davis to discuss what is involved and what to expect.

This is a very tough decision. I am not looking forward to losing a boob, but losing my life would suck a lot more!! I will continue with my quest for information in hopes of finding the right decision for me.

So happy that my mom was there with me...sure makes it easier to get through - love you mom!!