I'm opting for a lumpectomy because my surgeon said possibility of recurrence and over all prognosis was same either way. My mom had breast cancer twice. Had a lumpectomy the first time. She got it again over 10 years later, and had a mastectomy. She doesn't regret the initial decision.

@A MyBCTeam Member, I asked this question to a pathologist I work with, and he said it is very likely that there are yet-to-be-discovered inheritable genes for breast cancer. I know of a few who have a familial bc, but test negative for brca1 & brca2. You seem to be right on with your theory!

My Brest surgeon was suggesting dble masc, but I was overloaded with info when I was 1st diagnosed. I felt rushed to make decisions AND shop for oncologist and plastic surgeon was all too much in two week period. But I knew I wanted to take tumor out of my body ASAP. So I did the lumpectomy 1st then chemo. During chemo, I shopped around for plastic surgeon and did more research, and I did end up with dble masc one month after I was done with chemo. It was the right decision for me. It gave me the confidence that I was taking care of me at my speed with more information that I needed.

I have heard that they have NOT mapped all the BC gene clusters--BRACAS 1 & 2 are simple the two that they have mapped so far. I was also tested for PTEN--which gives carriers an even higher BC risk than the BRACAs--tested negative for all 3--however my mother, her mother and her sister all had BC premenopausal (early 40s)--we are Irish and there is supposedly an Irish family tendency gene that they haven't discovered yet.

Just because you have a mastectomy doesn't mean those fears go away. I developed a lump in my reconstructed "breast"- had yo up through a surgical biopsy last May. (This was 3 years after the implant). Turned out benign but still being followed closely. It can really depend on do many factors. Many studies have shown recently that in a lot of cases lumpectomy his equally sufficient and trust me, a fake breast is not the real thing. And the fears if recurrence don't go away. But they do get less the further out you get.