I had lumpectomy first then cancer was in the margins and three weeks later I had a mastectomy. My reoccurence was may 2015 and spread to my ovary and tube also peritoneal. I had my ovary and tube removed. Which now I'm considered stage 4 my cancer is not curable but treatable. As of now I'm in remission. My doc.. Stated my chances were lower if I had the mastectomy of it coming back in my breast. However, I had all lymph nodes removed and 10 out of 25 had cancer. Even though I have it in the peritoneal area no cancer is showing on the petscans. Crazy disease this is.

Absolutely. Treatment and medicine are not fail safe as we know. Not all medicine and treatments work the same across the board for everyone. In our instances we can only gather information weigh our options and make a decision that is best for us regardless of what your doctor urges, studies or statistics say. Your needs are unique. Being confortable in your decision helps to empower you to improve your situation daily. I hope your surgery goes well and without complication. Good luck. There are many women that can help with any question on recovery from your surgery they will be willing to help as will MammaH I am certain.

I wish lumpectomy would have been an option for me. Mastectomy greatly affected my sex life, unfortunately. It's been 7 years for me. Fear of recurrence seems to run across the board no matter what surgery you've had, but fear should not guide a surgical decision in my opinion. Having a mastectomy won't mean you won't think about getting cancer again. And it quite possibly won't make any difference in your prognosis either.

True not much better than your own instincts to guide you.

I just read a study on medvisor.com, a great reference site. It indicated lumpectomy was as effective and some times more effective than mastectomy when it came to chances of reoccurance within a specific time line.

I had a lumpectomy. I had 7.5 years before a signs of reoccurance. I was finally diagnosed just after eight years post treatment of original breast cancer.

Medvisor.com even can tell you about clinical trials.