Breast Cancer Treatment Options: My Plans, My Fears, and a Little Humor
When you find out you have cancer, you do a lot of thinking. Granted, I’ve only known for one day, but in that one day, there have been a LOT of thoughts. The first thing I did was start researching because, you know, Google knows EVERYTHING. And yes, I found out quite a bit. As I was told, invasive ductal carcinoma is the most common form of breast cancer, and since it wasn’t there in my mammogram in 2021 and showed up in 2022, it means it was caught early. That’s something. I don’t know about stages yet, but I’m sure I’ll find out more on the 16th.
I am the type of person who plans for the worst. Maybe that’s bad, I don’t know, but it’s who I am. That does NOT mean I expect the worst to happen, not at all. In fact, I try very hard to always be a positive thinking person and to look on the bright side. That being said, I still tend to make plans for the worst-case scenario. And when you’re dealing with breast cancer treatment options, there’s a lot to think about.
If you haven’t read the whole backstory yet, you can check out my first post about finding out I had breast cancer. Spoiler alert: it was not the kind of call you ever want to get right before New Year’s.
What I Want to Happen
If I have to go through breast cancer, I know exactly what I want in terms of treatment options. I want a double mastectomy. Yep, you read that right. I want to go the slice-and-dice route. I’m not planning on breastfeeding any time soon, so I really don’t need them. And while I’m not in a relationship now (and let’s be honest, probably never will be), if it bothers a guy that I don’t have boobs, he’s not the guy I want to be with anyway. I’d rather just remove the offending boobies and never have the opportunity for this to happen again.
Plan A
So here’s Plan A: if I do get the double mastectomy, I’ll also have breast reconstruction. There are two main breast cancer treatment options when it comes to reconstruction: the silicone implant kind, or something called flap 
breast reconstruction. Flap reconstruction uses your own tissue—skin, fat, and sometimes muscle—to rebuild the breast.
Personally, I’d prefer the flap breast reconstruction. Why? Because then I’d finally have smaller, perkier boobs. Honestly, how great would that be? Itty bitty boobs! Sounds like a win to me. So yes, that’s my ideal scenario—take them away, and rebuild them better, stronger, and way perkier than before. Thank you, science.
Plan B
Now let’s talk Plan B. I am, of course, hoping NOT to have chemotherapy. Why? Because seriously, who wants to fill their body with poison? Not me, that’s for sure. However, if chemo ends up being one of my breast cancer treatment options, I already know how I’ll cope. Wigs. Lots and lots of wigs.
I found a purple afro wig, a long teal blue wig, and yes—even a mullet wig, along with a few more. Can you picture me walking into school rocking a teal wig on a Monday morning? I guarantee my students will never forget it. If I have to go through the ordeal of losing my hair, I may as well make it fun and bring some laughs along the way. Funky wigs = comic relief during a really crappy time.
Reality Check
Let’s be honest: am I hoping to lose my hair? Absolutely not. Do I want chemo? No way. But am I serious about the double mastectomy? 100%. I never, ever want to go through this again. My choices might sound blunt or even extreme to some people, but when you’re faced with breast cancer treatment options, you start thinking differently. You start asking yourself not just, “How do I survive this?” but “How do I make sure it never comes back?”
So here I am, just one day into this journey, already researching, planning, and maybe even oversharing. But that’s me. This is how I process. And if you’re walking this road too, maybe my slightly sarcastic, brutally honest approach to breast cancer treatment options will help you feel a little less alone.
Learn More About Breast Cancer Treatment Options
While I’m sharing my own very real (and slightly sarcastic) take on this journey, it’s also important to have reliable, science-based information at your fingertips. If you want to dig deeper into the different breast cancer treatment options—from surgery to chemotherapy to reconstruction—the National Cancer Institute’s guide to breast cancer treatment is a fantastic resource. It’s not nearly as entertaining as me in a purple wig, but it does lay out the facts clearly.
