After I found out I had bc 2 women from my motorcycle club told me they too had just lumpectomies, chemo and radiation. One is 8 years cancer free and one is 4 and they also second guess their decision. I hate what it has done to me more mentally than physically. It's on my mind every minute of every day. Some days I can push past it, other days I could cry for hours. People tell me how strong and brave I've been but they really don't know what a toll it takes on your mind and body. This website and everyone on it has really helped me a lot.

Dear Zgfighter, I too chose a lumpectomy . Talking to a couple of friends who did bilateral mastectomy and I thought I would too because I wanted the cancer gone and was I emotional as all you know. I made my decision and only God knows if we will get it back. As for people who feel compel to give their opinion and may not have even gone through what we all have, they should just keep quiet and just be there for us.

I had lumpectomy on r breast in January 2014. Surgeon said due to size of tumor, approx 2 cm in relation to size of my breast (large breasted) I was a good candidate for lumpectomy only. He did,know ever say some women choose other routes, mastectomy etc.. I am also HER 2 positive. Margins clear after surgery. Spread to first lymph node but no others. Had chemo and radiation, and currently still taking Herceptin every 3 weeks ( due to her2 status). I have always felt my Oncologist would have preferred I have a bilateral mastectomy, due to the her2 status, but she didn't push it. Most breast cancer survivors I talked to prior to my decision to have a lumpectomy had bilateral mastectomies and strongly urged me to dig deep and be sure if I could be comfortable with my decision. I appreciated everyone being honest, and feel glad to have been able to have had information and to be able to have choices. I do find people do tend to be critical of my decision, which surprises me. Even people I don't know that we'll feel compelled to say things like , "'didn't you just want to get rid of your breasts when you found out you had cancer?". Life is interesting.

I am 56 and also had a lumpectomy and had friends that did both. I only did radiation and took the oncotype test because I did not want to do chemo due to my white blood count has always been really low and I have a lot of skin problems due to eczema. I did not think my body could handle chemo and my oncotype scores were low so I decided not to do chemo. I think I will always wonder if I did the right thing. People are always telling me I look good but inside no one but us Cancer women know what it is like. So stay strong as you can and remember you are not alone in this fight

Hi Flame and Matilda luckily I got through chemo without a port.