Newly Diagnosed also have BRCA2 Gene

@Rubylulu Glad to read that you have now got a path to follow & more important, one that you are happy with. Reading your story, i would have done the same thing! I had invasive DCIS, stage 1, no node involvement so had lumpectomy. My surgery gave clear margins so I was advised I only needed to have 16 doses of rad as precaution BUT as my mum died of ovarian cancer, they sent me off to have the gene test before they were happy to commence my rad. I was very afraid of the result as if it were positive then I would have had to face your choice which seemed too radical for DCIS. As you know, once you have had rad, it makes recon harder if you have to have it in the future so i was throwing up what to do ( rad v mastectomy) waiting for the results. The test came back negative so I went ahead with the rad & needed no chemo or HT. As a precaution, I did have my ovaries & tubes removed from advice from my medical team as mum caught the dreaded disease at 39 y.o & died at 46 y.o. i am 52 y.o so don't need them anymore & may gyny onc said it was a no-brainer for me to have the op. Peace of mind is such a strong feeling & you must now feel like a weight has been lifted. I reckon you won't look back now as you will not have to worry about the BC coming back once you have the op & you will have a "new couple of girls" that won't cause you any grief!! Hugs & strength to you xx

A hard decision, but I'm glad you are going with your gut, and sound ok with it. 
Take care 

Good to have made that decision, I'm sure.  Try to let it go (as much as you can) now until surgery.

Met with surgeon today and booked in for Bilateral Mastectomy & Reconstruction at the same time.  Now that I've finally made the decision I feel like a weight has lifted off my shoulders.  Yes it was early stage DCIS (although they did say it was twice the size of what they originally thought) the issue of family history and I have BRCA2 gene was just too much to ignore.  In the end I had to go with my gut feeling and whatever would give me the most peace of mind.  Surgery is not until another 4 weeks.  Finally feeling good with decision!  I know there will some pain and emotional times ahead, but I'll get through it with great support from family and friends. 

What @kmakm says is a good idea - a list of pros and cons is always helpful in clarifying exactly what is important to you.  I have a distant American cousin who did this when she was diagnosed a few years ago.  Some of her items about what she needed the other breast for were rather funny such as "do I need the breast to work with the horses".

Oh dear not easy decision!  Here's a link that may help, hopefully

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/mast_vs_lump

Have you made your pros and cons list, actually written it down?

Still can't make up my mind - a re-exision (hopefully to get clear margins) or forget that and go for the double masectomy.  Just when I think I've come to a decision, the little voice in my head questions it.  I just can't shake the idea that a double masectomy for DCIS seems just too "radical".  My surgeon says I can do either, but no guarantee the re-exision will show clear margins.  Very difficult to work or sleep at the moment as my thoughts are totally consumed by this.  I meet with surgeon in 2 days to book in for next operation - the questions is - which one!!  I know it's only a decision I can make but just feel I need to 100% committed if it's a masectomy and at this point I'm not.  

I'm having a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction next Friday.

I had a 1.6mm tumour with no spread to the lymph nodes. I had a wide local excision (lumpectomy) but there weren't clear margins so my surgeon went back a week later to take more. This turned up a big bit of DCIS that hadn't showed up in any scan or ultrasound. I am generously endowed in the chesticle department so while you can see a difference now it's not too noticeable.

From there I could have proceeded to radiation and left it at that. However my family history is dreadful. My mother had BC at my age and survived, but my sister didn't when she got it, dying less than two years ago at 47. Genetic testing was done but no known gene was found. However there is something going on in my family and I am considered at high risk for having more. As I am now raising my sister's kids as well as my own, there's no mucking about with this bugger of a disease. I had a genomic test to see if chemotherapy would be curative on any stray cells that were looking for somewhere else to roost. The test came back clearlypositive so I had chemo.

There are a number of other factors that have led to my decision to have the bilateral mastectomy. I was also influenced by radiation mucking up the chances of a good recon. These decisions are massive and highly personal. There's no wrong or right. Listen to your gut and your medical team. How risk averse are you? Can you live with yourself if you don't have a mastectomy and you develop a BC? Or is life too awful to contemplate without your own boobs? A very useful thing for me was to write down all the reasons why I was proceeding, when a friend asked me on WhatsApp. It unexpectedly clarified everything for me and I stopped going backwards and forwards on it.

Think about it, talk about it but also do an activity you enjoy and don't think about it! Let your subconcious mull it over for a bit. Best of best luck Ruby. K xox

Hi @Rubylulu. It's a decision only you can make. Just know that we're here for you whichever way you go.
Take care