my Breast Cancer blog

Right about this time three years ago, I received a lumpectomy to remove the cancerous tumor in my left breast. My surgeon told me surgery was all I needed since my disease had not spread to any lymph nodes or neighboring body parts. So I did what this very capable man told me to do, had the surgery, and moved on. I’m perfectly fine with this course of action—on most days. Sometimes, though, I wonder if I should have had my now high-risk breasts lopped right off my chest. Some women do this for cancers less invasive than mine. Some women, having never even had breast cancer, do it too.

Prophylactic, or preventative, mastectomy—surgery to remove one or both breasts in hopes of preventing or reducing the risk of breast cancer—is often a chosen route for women with a family or personal history of breast cancer or a genetic predisposition for the disease. The mere likelihood of getting cancer is enough for some women to remove the breasts that put them at risk.

Prophylactic mastectomy clearly reduces the risk of breast cancer. But it doesn’t guarantee breast cancer will never strike. Breast tissue is widely distributed on the chest wall and cancer can appear in the armpit, above the collarbone, or on the upper part of the abdominal wall. The chances of this happening are slim. Still, they exist.

On the days I question my decision to keep my breasts, I wonder if I should have slimmed down my own chances of getting breast cancer again. Maybe. Maybe not. I’ve lived three years beyond my diagnosis with my troublesome breasts. Maybe I’ll be fine for another three, and then three more, and then three years after that. Only time will tell. What I can tell you, though, is this: If cancer comes a knockin’ again, these knockers are coming off.