I agree it's a personal decision. They explained that no matter how good the surgeon - there is still some breast tissue left behind by the muscle wall. They also had a study of 10,000 nurses that showed the (people with similar cancers) had 2 groups and 1 group chose mastectomy & one did not, that the reoccurrence rate was the same in both groups. This was a panel of highly respected surgeons, oncologists, etc. from the Omaha area. They said the 4 places it most likely came back in was the brain, bones, liver & lungs. Statistically, it did not come back in the breast as you would expect it to. I was also surprised with this information. This was in 2019. My tumor was right up against the chest wall. I had already chosen a lumpectomy & did not have the BRACA gene. I'm sure each person is different.