For me my breast cancer was caught early, because of the size of the tumor the protocol was lumpectomy and six weeks of radiation. But when the pathology came back I didn't have clear margins so my breast surgeon gave me the option of either going back in and taking more tissue to see if she could get clear margins or I could elect for a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy and immediate reconstruction. It was my choice to have bilateral mastectomy. After the lumpectomy my mindset was on reducing/eliminating recurrence of breast cancer. I know a woman who had a lumpectomy and four years later had a recurrence in the same breast. My only regret is not having the mastectomy as my first surgery.

I totally agree with you Alysa...If they had done any kind of scan after chemo before surgery, they would have seen that my cancer was bigger than expected. Then I could have had 1 surgery instead of 2.

I had 3 different lumpectomies all in pursuit of the ever elusive clear margin...ie no cancer cells within the edges of the biopsied tissue. If you get clear margins then you usually move on to radiation. That was not the case with me my doctor recommended commencing with the mastectomy.....no worries about margins and no radiation. Reconstruction on that side and an implant on the other to plump it up a bit and I look great if I do say so myself ;) just had my 4 year mammo and all clear! on my remaining

My initial cancer actually grew during chemo which was supposed to shrink it small enough for a lumpectomy, which is what we tried first. He didn't get clear margins and a week later had do a single mastectomy. 2 weeks after that, they found it had moved into my lungs....so chemo (TAC) did nothing to my tumor....and it grew from 4cm to what we now know to be 9cm....during chemo!

After lumpectomy showed cancer they did MRI and found second tumor of different type but same breast and far from original tumor. Mastectomy was recommended.