For me reconstruction was done at the time of the mastectomy. I was very large breasted, and my mother was diagnosed just after I started chemo so my decision was easier to make. Being so big my whole life I knew I wouldn't be comfy with no booed. Mine are much much smaller then the originals. Im just laying in bed thinking that its kind of weird to talk about this stuff...I would have never thought this would all come so easily. Hugs to all of us, we are really awesome women!!

I was seriously considering it, but my oncologist talked me into reconstruction. I have decided though, if radiatioin made my skin to weak to hold an implant, then I will not have a trams surgery. i have decided that I don't want to go through more serious surgeries if I can help it. I'll know more next month when I see my PS. I have a friend of the family who did not have reconstruction and she told me that she never regretted her decision. She was in her 40s when she had her mastectomy and she is in her late 60s/early 70s now. Good luck. Whatever you decide will be the right choice.

I chose not to have reconstruction and although I miss having breasts I felt that I wanted to do everything possible to decrease my chances of recurrence. With reconstruction they usually spare the skin and I was afraid some cancer cells would be left behind there that could grow. I also just wanted to have one surgery and be done. I really wanted to be able to get my treatment started as soon as possible. I am definitely in the minority as most women so opt to have some type of reconstruction. Feel free to private message me if you have any more questions or I can be of any help to you.

I'm newely diagnosed (1 month) and 13 days from a double mastectomy and have no plans on having reconstruction. My husband says he just wants me cancer free and I feel there is soo much life yet to live that I have no desire to go under the knife electively and go through the pain and etc. involved with it.

Wow, I am amazed to read the number of people who chose not to do reconstruction. I don't feel like I am the odd one anymore! I decided against reconstruction as well. I didn't want any more surgery and more importantly I didn't want more recovery time. I had both chemo and radiation and I still have some tightness where I had the radiation. The other side that didn't receive the radiation feels great though. I wonder some times if I might still want to go back and do reconstruction, but for now, I won't. I still remember the one doctor who said that I could choose to do reconstruction at any time, so that made me feel much better with my immediate decision - knowing that I COULD change my mind if I ever decided I wanted to do reconstruction.
Good luck with your decision. You can certainly private message me if you want more info.
Barbara (ZoeyAnne)