Dear meg55,
I had two lumpectomies, and am now cleared to start radiation therapy in a few days. The plan for me is the same as yours: 16 plus 4 boosts. It was frustrating to learn after the first lumpectomy that they didn't get clear margins and I had to have a second one. I am really sorry that you had to have three! I also wondered if I just shouldn't have gotten a mastectomy, but even at two (or three?) lumpectomies, they are much less invasive than a mastectomy, and still leave plenty of tissue so that breast reconstruction surgery is not necessary. I understand that with a mastectomy the skin on your chest is usually permanently numb, plus no nipple. Still having an active sex life, these are important considerations for me. As one of my doctors reminded me, if it becomes necessary in the future, I can still get a mastectomy, but once the breast is gone, it's gone. So I think it is worth a try to see if lumpectomy plus radiation does the trick. Statistically, the survival rate is the same (in my case, better than 99%). Hope this helps.