If you’ve been wrestling for a long time on whether or not to have a preventive double mastectomy, here’s how to tell that you’re ready for this procedure.
Presumably what brought you here is that you’ve learned you qualify for a preventive (prophylactic) mastectomy.
Within seconds of being told that I was eligible for a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy, I knew I was ready to have it.
But to be fair, I did a little research on the alternative: taking a pill like tamoxifen for 10 years.
What made me qualify for the surgery was the result of a risk analysis for which my sister’s diagnosis of breast cancer heavily factored in.
My risk was 21 percent, way lower than someone with a BRCA mutation, but it was still in the qualifying range.
I’ve read of women with risk percentages in the 80s who nevertheless struggled with the decision to have the prophylactic double mastectomy. They may struggle for years.
It took me seconds; I was ready on the spot. Other women as well have been ready immediately upon hearing their qualification.
I won’t lie; I was very scared – but of the general anesthesia! Nothing about the breast surgery itself shook me up.
But the idea of having a tube inserted into my throat to breathe for me, not awakening, or awakening with a damaged trachea … these thoughts continuously hammered at me even though I was good and ready for the preventive bilateral mastectomy.
You Know You’re Ready for a Preventive Double Mastectomy When …
• You see your body as a whole rather than in components such as breasts.
• Your concern over the whole, rather than a component, has priority.
• You acknowledge you’ll miss your breasts, but you also clearly see the bigger picture: your HEALTH.
• When all you can think of is when postop you can get back into the gym and marvel at what your body can DO rather than what the scars will look like.
• You can no longer go through life wondering when that other shoe will drop.
My 21 percent risk did NOT include the fact that I had dense breasts. Even before I had the risk analysis done, I feared every time I did a self-exam; every time I was facing a clinical exam by my primary doctor and OBGYN; every time I had a mammogram; every time I had a screening ultrasound.
And the fear persisted in between these events, too. I hated living like that. If you do, you’re definitely ready for a preventive bilateral mastectomy.
Questions to Ask Yourself
• If I don’t have the surgery, what quality will my life have, always fearing breast cancer? Always afraid I’ll discover a lump in the shower or during a monthly exam?
• How will the never-ending anxiety impact my cardiovascular health? My sleep?
• What if I don’t have the surgery but then a few years later, I’m diagnosed?
• Will I be able to forgive myself for not having the preventive double mastectomy when I had the chance?
• Even if the diagnosis is early stage, will my life ever be the same?
• Will family members forever look at me differently?
• Will my parents forever be fearful for me that “it” might come back?
• Will the recovery period of a preventive surgery be worth cancelling out lifelong fear and anxiety?
Answering these questions will help you determine if you’re ready for an elective double mastectomy — even if you don’t want reconstruction (my option).
Finally, you know you’re ready for a preventive double mastectomy when you realize that the hassle of postop recovery lasts only several weeks, while the torture of lifelong fear of cancer lasts…well…for the rest of your life.
