Making Decisions

Decades ago, women were wheeled into the operating room not knowing if they would wake up with a breast still in place or not. Today, there's a great deal of emphasis on the doctor and patient sharing the decision-making process. There's also a lot more information available. While having power and information is a good thing, it can also be very stressful. Many women feel—if only at times—that it'd be much easier if their doctor would deliver a firm, old-fashioned order about what they should do.

In the short term, making your own decisions may seem difficult. But in the long term you're less likely to feel anxious and depressed about what's happened to you if you took an active part in the decision-making process.

The most important thing to remember is that your treatment choices depend on your unique situation: the size and nature of the tumor, and your style of making decisions. If your doctors tell you that in your particular situation, lumpectomy and radiation is likely to be equally as effective as mastectomy, then you can feel confident in either option. You are not risking your life by keeping your breast.

Ask yourself, "Do I want to try to keep my breast?" Many women's first reaction is to say that they don't care about their breasts—the "just save my life" response. After the shock of diagnosis wears off and you've had time to think about it, you may find that keeping your breast does in fact mean a great deal to you; particularly when you feel reassured that you are not compromising your life.