I chose lumpectomy

I was offered:

1.  Lumpectomy + axillary lymph node dissection OR sentinel lymph node biopsy (a study at the time) for my Stage IIb R intraductal cancer.  This was circa 2017.  As sometimes happens, I was later changed to Stage IIIa following surgery as 3 nodes were found to contain cancer.

2.  Mastectomy with reconstruction with implants OR DIEP flap. 

Although initially tempted by an insurance-covered tummy tuck, there was much that could go wrong with the DIEP flap.  In 2017, it was one day in the ICU to monitor the arterial flow and make sure there was no obstruction.  Another issue in 2017 was the radiologists were not as experienced reading mammograms on a breast with DIEP flap reconstruction.  This is likely different in 2024, but in 2017 I opted not to deal with either of these.

Mastectomy with implants involved 2 surgeries and if radiation is needed, there are additional complications to consider over and above possible surgical complications.

I chose lumpectomy to lessen the number of potential complications and my oncologist said there was actually a small survival advantage (3%).  Again, this may be different now as there have been 7 more years of research.

I was quite pleased with my results.  A plastic surgeon was in on my lumpectomy and rearranged some fat for symmetry with the other breast.