Is mastectomy really necessary for a stage 2 breast cancer patient? Is there any other alternatives?

My mom have been diagnosed with a stage 2 breast cancer. the doctor wants her to undergo a mastectomy ( an operation where the whole breast will be removed). But she is scared to undergo such an operation and wants to opt for some herbal medicines that promises to heal cancer patients.

The decision is your mother's but I would opt for the surgery.

She could possibly discuss the option af a lumpectomy with her oncologist, this may be a viable alternative in her case.

I would be wanting scientific proof before I put my trust in herbal remedies, either that or be at a point where Dr's are saying there is nothing further they can do.

I have yet to hear anything other than anecdotal evidence for herbal cures.

If she goes down the herbal remedy track she may find that by the time she gives up on this and returns to the oncologist they are unagle to treat the spread of her cancer.

Chances of recovery after mastectomy are high, if treatment starts early.

I don't know but I would do the same thing as your Mom!!

You may want to do some quick research before surgery- Call Cancer Research Centers of America,in Illinois or Texas- contact your local chapter of the Brest Cancer Awareness support group and ask for direction.( you can find them in the local newspapers or as discharge planning at you local hospital. If you are not convinced the treatment is what you want , listen to your body and keep asking questions until you know what you are doing is what you want. Herbal and holistic medicines are great but add traditional in this case to be safe.

Mastectomy+chemotherapy+sometimes radiotherapy is only hope for cure this disease, don't lose time.
In Small tumors can use Lumpectomy and radiotherapy+chemotherapy

If she has these kinds of concerns my first suggestion would be to get a second opinion and find out what all the alternatives are. I was stage one and the first plan was to do total mastectomy also, but I did research and got into a Breast Cancer Center. Because of another medical condition it was decide to do a lumpectomy and a Sentinel node removal. I know at this time how scary this is for your Mom. Get as informed as you can and give the support she needs at this time

Depending on the type of cancer, a mastectomy is not always necessary. The new approach is a lumpectomy with radiation, and lymph node dissection, that takes the place of a mastectomy today.

I should know..I was diagnosed at Stage 2, in 2001, so its been 6 years, now, and I am very healthy .and then..I had the choice of either one of those surgeries. With one particular type of breast cancer, the cancer is spread through out the breast, so a mastectomy is the surgical way of dealing with that type of b/cancer.

However, I declined to do any treatments after my lumpectomy, I did alternative remedies, with no radiation, as it had not spread to the lymph nodes, which was a good sign.

Your mother has the right to take action and find alternative remedies, as I did, because they do work, but the decision is entirely hers to make, not her doctors.

Surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy are only one way to deal with cancer, and the death rate after those treatments are completed are high. Chemotherapy kills your immune system, and is supposed to kill cancer cells, but that doesn't explain why so many women have reoccurances after chemo,
if it is supposed to work that well.

I joined a support group in my town, and those women that followed the Chemo, Radiation and Tomoxifin, all passed away. One woman got uterine cancer from Tomoxifin, that is a side effect of that drug.

I opted for the alternative methods and they worked for me. There are herbs that can kill cancer cells, without burning your breasts, damaging your lungs, and bones with radiation. If you need further information, send me a message, and all the best to your mom.

Generally stage 2 means that it has spread to the lymph nodes near by, And I would not be wasting time with herbal meds.

A mascetomy is not always necessary but I would not rely on just herbal medicines. There isn't enough good studies on them. . . if you find statistics look for how many people were followed and for how long. . . if it's less than three hundred, less than at least a year, and if there was no "control group" (people not getting the supplments) it's not a good study. . .

She may be able to have chemo first to shrink the tumor and then have a lumpectomy. But don't let your mom be fooled that her breast will look perfect then. Many women end up with "dents" or a chunk of their breast obviously missing.

You all need to ask the Oncologist WHY he wants a full mast at Stage II. Has she had genetic testing and is BRCA 1 or BRCAII positive? Does she have high risk factors for recurrence? If so, removing the breast will take away the tissue where she could have a recurrence.

If your mom is not confident with what this medical team is saying she MUST seek a second or third opinion! She will drive her treatment and it must make sense to her.

Most of the people treated solely by herbal treatments die. I'm assuming your mom wants to live so I beseach you to get highly educated on breast cancer quickly. Visit sites like:

www.breastcancer.com
www.lbbc.com
www.cancer.org

Best of luck

flax seed is her best option if she really refuses to undergo the procedure. but my suggestion would still be to opt for surgery for the simple reason that its in stage 2 already and theres always the obvious risk os methastasis or cancer spreading. there is a worse surgery called radical mastectomy where aside from the breast tissues lymph nodes and adjacent muscle structures would also be taken out so if she doesnt get this surgery now things could get worse but still in the end the decision is in your mom's hands.i wish her all the best and hope this helps.

There is a team out of John Hopkins who focuses on cures of diseases. Not masking symptoms. They have been doing clinical trials for a couple of years and the patients that were thought to not recover have showed up and improved in their health.
I do not support surgery when it is not necessary. Im am for natural-proven-health cures.