@SuzieQuzie- hi Suzie! I had a bi-lateral mastectomy just over a year ago, after a DCIS stage zero diagnosis. The big difference between us though, is that I am positive for a BRCA mutation. That made my decision a no-brainier for me. Regrets? None. I am struggling with trying to decide whether to have reconstructive surgery or not. I don't want more surgery, for obvious reasons, but not having breasts is weird, to say the least. I had no complications with my mastectomy. I am still tender a year after my surgery, and my doctor tells me that is likely to not completely go away because of the scar tissue. It's not awful or anything, just a nuisance and a reminder.
I can't really say whether you should move forward with surgery as that is such a deeply personal decision. But I have experienced great relief and peace, and freedom from constant fear by having had this surgery (and a complete hysterectomy due to my high risk of ovarian cancer).
If you have any questions about what this surgery was like for me, feel free to ask! I am happy to tell you anything. :-)

Hi, I had a bilateral mastectomy last April. I had cancer in my right breast. Unfortunetly Breast Cancer runs in my family so I opted for the bilateral. Most of the time it feels like I am wearing a corset. But it out ways going through and having another surgery should it have shown up in my left breast. It's a choice that only you can really make. I was looking at a breast reduction anyway! I just wasn't looking at it this way!

Hi, I'll join in the discussion late here. I'm a Stage 1 IDC and had a BMX with no reconstruction. I wanted to get life back to "normal" as quickly as I could and didn't want to worry about mammograms every year on a remaining breast. Interesting how we all approach our diagnosis so differently yet are all so connected. Be at peace with your decisions regarding treatment and we will all be here for you.

I had dcis stage 0, opted for a lumpectomy to be followed by radiation treatments. However, did not have clear margins and needed more surgery. At that point, and after having genetic testing and meeting with my oncologist, I whole heartedly decided on a bilateral mastectomy. The numbers/risk for recurrence depend on many factors..genetics, environment, treatments,.lumpectomy vs mastectomy, skin sparing vs nipple sparing mastectomy etc....Talk to all team members involved, gather information and make your decision...it is your decision. We all have different diagnoses, different family history, different experiences, different expectations, different body images etc. Make sure it is a decision that you are comfortable and at peace with.
Good luck with your decision :-)

Hugs

The other issues in recurrence is you need to change your eating habits and exercise. Mastectomy removes all breast tissue and lumpectomy does not. I have a friend who had a lumpectomy and radiation and 4 years later had breast cancer reoccurrence. Its also important to have the Oncotype Assay test perform which will tell you if chemo will benefit you. Also depends are if your breast cancer from was caught early. Mine was and because of is and Oncotype results and consulting with a radiation oncologist all I have needed is surgical intervention.