I’m so stuck! I was diagnosed ILC stage 1 - this past Dec. My local oncologist recommended a DMX since lobular is tricky to see on scans, I had a couple types of pre cancer, and I think in part because of my age (30F). Her reasoning made sense to me. She said I had about a 20% chance of developing another breast cancer in the future.

Then I got a second opinion with specialists in Boston…these doctors really know their stuff. And they are pushing for the breast conservation route. I had a lumpectomy in Dec but my margins weren’t clear. So Boston says excision surgery with radiation will give me the same outcome as a DMX with no radiation. They say Tamoxifen is the most important piece of the puzzle for me.

I know I’m the only one who can make this decision but I’ve been stuck for a while. At first, my gut said DMX. No scans every 6 months for the rest of my life, I could avoid radiation, and generally FEEL safer, even if that’s not necessarily true. I met with a plastic surgeon recently and they told me if I get a recurrence years down the line after going the breast conserving route, the radiation I get will make reconstruction very difficult. That also makes me nervous.

But I’m also 30….giving up my breasts is so difficult. I haven’t had children yet. I’m still thankful I have a choice, I know many women don’t. The horrors I’ve read about tissue expanders and implants also make me think twice. I’m very active and my job requires me to be very active.

Any advice to get me out of this limbo would be helpful! I don’t have much longer to make this decision.