Why chemo first, masectomy later?

Becca had a question about why I'm doing chemo first. Here is my answer:
I am having the chemo first because I still have breastmilk since I only stopped nursing last week, which complicates surgery. The surgeon would have wanted to wait a couple weeks to do the surgery, then wait 4 more weeks for me to heal before starting chemo. I just felt like 6 weeks was too long for me to wait for chemo, because the thought of the cancer spreading is what keeps me up at night.

I have a very aggressive cancer that seems to spread easily, and they said they have done studies where the chemo has been first or last, and it makes no difference in the overall survival rate. I just felt like I needed to start asap with something.

Even if the chemo shrinks the tumor or makes it disappear, I will still be having a bilateral masectomy. I am 32 years old with very young children, and I don't have to ever worry about this cancer coming back. I am not my breasts, and luckily my husband holds the same opinion. My life is worth that to me - to be able to raise my children to adulthood, to continue with all the work that I know Heavenly Father still wants me to do here. I just feel it is the right thing to do for me.

Of course I will have reconstructive surgery, and the surgeon tells me that they will look very close to real breasts, so at least I will still feel like a woman. But my family is the most important thing, and they need me here, with or without breasts (that were getting saggy anyway).