Decisons, Decisons....

In addition, with your diagnosis, I would have the Tamoxifen as well.

I doubt it.. My original plan was to have lumpectomy, chemo, radiation and tamoxifen... After chemo I chose the mx, but will still be having the tamoxifen.

Being BRCA1+ was a game changer for me...I went from believing I would have a lumpectomy and radiation to a BMX and hysterectomy. I was 43 at diagnosis. Too young to spend the rest of my life worrying about if and when this would return.  My onco put my odds at recurrence at 67%+ in the cancer side and 40%+ on the non-cancer side. Additionally, she said I had a 40-60% of ovarian cancer. That is one sneaky cancer. It's hard to detect. I was done having children, so I had no problem having a complete hysterectomy. I didn't want an ooph...I knew my odds of endometrial and cervical cancer were elevated, so it made sense to remove it all.

People say it again and again, but it is a personal decision.  I didn't have angst. Honestly, I was relieved to get the surgeries. Not to be crass, but I didn't want to keep what had the potential to kill me. It's not like I have a 0% chance of recurrence or mets, but it's now approximately 5-10%. If I were still single, considering having more children, or had a lower grade of cancer, I might have looked at it differently. I was er-, but pr+. I take Aromasin daily and will continue for as long as they will let me. 

It's hard to hear that you are BRCA+. I had no family history. It was stunning. I remember being in shock. My treatment plan changed, as did my view of breast cancer. I can't change my genetics, but I could control my risk. If you have not already, please visit the FORCE (Facing Our Risk of Cancer Empowered) website. It is for BRCA+ people, whether they have cancer or not. There is a wealth of information and support.

Whatever you decide, know that you can do whatever it takes. I felt much better once my treatment plan was in place. There was so much I could not control, but knowing what I needed to do seemed to center me.

booboo. I would like to make a suggestion to seek a bilateral breast MRI, if u have not had one already. With your high grade DCIS and being newly diagnosed BRCA1, having this diagnostic testing is so important to be sure nothing is going on with the opposite breast prior to surgeries. This is considered standard of [pre-op] care with being high risk and facing surgery. Its also important to know all your options as well. I highly recommend several books that can help u with your decision making. They include " Positive Results" by Joi Morris, a great personal friend, and Dr. Ora Gordon. Other great books include "Previvors" by Dina Roth Port and "Pretty is what Changes" by Jessica Queller. These books are priceless and so informative for every high risk woman having a predisposition to HBOC.

Seek opinions, do your homework and gather all the facts to make a fully informed decision. I have a significant family history of BC/ OVCA and had a risk reducing nipple sparing mastectomy one year ago with no regrets and my breasts are far better looking than my originals. The relief is immeasurable. I've lost nothing but my risk and have no more worries. Best wishes to you!

The decision to have bmx (prophylactic) surgery was an easy one for me because my mother had her first mastectomy when she was 31 and most of the women in my family died before the age of 50. Also anytime my mom would get re-occurrence, cancer was stronger and more aggressive.  I truly believe that this was the right decision for me to do the surgery even though I'm only 27 years old I like others mentioned it's a very personal decision and you have to be ready for it. When I was told that I have this gene there was no question in my mind specially after I had my kids because I didn't want my daughter to go through the same thing that I went through when I lost my mom. I think you will come to a decision that will be best for you but sometimes it takes time. Wishing you all the best.