Cyst that were actually malignancies & wire localization

domesticwomen, I agree with MelissaDallas.  The family history that you have really doesn't sound like it would increase your risk, which is good news. You have to consider that 1 out of every 3 women and 1 out of every 2 men will develop cancer during their lifetimes.  So it's not unusual to find a few cases of cancer in every family.  In your family, it's just one case on each side of the family.  What would count as a family history is a pattern on one side of the family of multiple cases of breast, ovarian or prostate cancer, or other cancers that may be related to breast cancer.  And as MelissaDallas mentioned, it's these types of cancer among 1st degree relatives that is most important.

So it doesn't appear that you have a family history that increases your risk.  And as I mentioned in my previous post, having fibrocystic breasts also doesn't increase your risk. 

Fibrocystic Breast Condition  "Fibrocystic breasts are characterized by lumpiness and usually discomfort in one or both breasts. The lumpiness is due to small breast masses or breast cysts. The condition is very common and benign, meaning that fibrocystic breasts are not malignant (cancerous). Fibrocystic breast disease (FBD), now referred to as fibrocystic changes or fibrocystic breast condition, is the most common cause of "lumpy breasts" in women and affects more than 60% of women. The condition primarily affects women between the ages of 30 and 50, and tends to become less of a problem after menopause"

Fibrocystic breasts  "Having fibrocystic breasts doesn't increase your risk of breast cancer, unless the breast changes are associated with atypical hyperplasia (atypia) — the abnormal appearance and overgrowth of cells lining breast lobules and ducts."

It is true that having fibrocystic breasts can make it more difficult to distinguish between harmless fibrocystic conditions, such as cysts and generally lumpiness, and new lesions that might be a sign of breast cancer.  My strategy was regular breast self exams, so that I was very familiar with the 'landscape' of my breasts.  That way, anytime I felt anything different, I would keep an eye on it.  If the change lasted through 2 menstrual cycles, I'd get it checked out.  I also found that my large cysts tended to develop very quickly - and I knew that breast cancer doesn't usually develop that quickly.  So if I had a large lump that sprang up out of nowhere, I pretty much knew that it was yet another cyst.  But of course I'd still get it checked out by a breast surgeon - I was a regular patient of my breast surgeon for years!

The one condition that you have that does increase your risk is your breast density.  "Extremely dense" breasts would be level 4 density.  For someone who is 44 and pre-menopausal, the following article suggests that your 5 year risk would be approx. 1.8% (or 0.36% per year), going up to 2.5% (0.5% per year) as you get into your late 40s.  The article notes that the greatest risk is for those women who are post-menopausal, have extremely dense breasts and use hormone replacement therapy.  Breast Cancer Risk by Breast Density, Menopause, and Postmenopausal Hormone Therapy Use

Since you are pre-menopausal, what's most important to monitor is whether your breast density decreases over the first few years after you reach menopause. That's what normally (but not always) happens, and that will bring down your risk. And the important thing to keep in mind when you read articles about breast density is that they tend to compare the breast cancer rates of those with the most dense breasts (category 4) against those with the least dense breast breasts (category 1). So when they say that there is a "5 fold increase" risk, they are talking about the group with the highest risk against the group with the lowest risk. In reality however only about 10% of women fall into the lowest category, whereas approx. 2/3 of women who are pre-menopausal have fall into either category 3 or 4 and are considered to have "dense" breasts. So while there is no question that high breast density is a significant risk factor for breast cancer, the "4 times the risk" or "6 times the risk" numbers you read in many of the articles tend to be misinterpreted. The actual increase in risk, compared to the "average" woman, is not nearly so high.

Lastly, this information on cysts might be helpful:  Breast cysts  "If you have a breast cyst, you may need to have fluid drained more than once. Recurrent or new cysts are common.... "

Hope this helps!