Double mastectomy

I just received a second diagnosis of breast cancer in my left breast that had a previous lumpectomy followed by radiation 15 years ago.  A mastectomy has been recommended with my concern that since I am large breasted having one side removed will present with lots of issues.  I have a strong family history of cancer and question whether it would be best to have both breasts removed?  I have read some of the comments on this site and it sounds very intimidating to have  this procedure.  How long has recovery taken for most women?  When will I be able to drive?  How soon has others taken to return to work? When does one feel strong and healthy again?

[SueYoung55]

Hi Marianna,

Double mastectomies recovery is maybe a week or so with the most irritating factor being drains. Once my drains were out everything was easy peasy.

If you are considering double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction, the reconstruction will put you at home for 6 weeks and you really need that time for your body to adjust to all it's been through as it's major surgery.

As you've had radiation already, you may want to consider DIEP flap surgery. But you can read more about that in this link.

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Breast-Cancer/Trans-flap-vs-implants/show/1308880?personal_page_id=384050

I flew from Florida to New Orleans for mine and got the worlds best micro surgeons, Dr. DellaCroce and Dr. Sullivan to do mine. It was covered by my insurance and I know they've done some for women on medicare so it's just a matter of working out a deal. But why not... for the best...... breastcenter.org offers a lot of reconstruction photos too.

Best wishes while you make decisions.