I can't believe reading this! A preventive bilateral mastectomy!
Urgently!!?? This definitely is NOT  "state of the art".
How old is the mother? How old were the relatives at diagnosis? How closely
related to the mother are the relatives? And even if all these answers
would put the mother at very high risk - I still don't think she was
offered the right advice. Let her get a genetic test, let her have a
mammogram every 6 - 12 mnths, let her get checked by a doctor twice a year
- but a bilateral mastectomy?? Breast cancer in the family is a risk
factor, true, but not a guarantee for cancer. This woman should know to be
suspicious of any symptom, and she might get this operation done sometime
in the future if it will make her feel better, but weaning two children and
doing this within 8 weeks seems all wrong to me. By the way - there are
reported cases of cancer developing in remains of breast tissue after bil.
mastectomy, so maybe they want her to have a bil. radical mastectomy (a
very mutilating and crippling operation)??
The decision is the mother's, but I would definitely try to get a third
opinion, maybe through the Internet (lately someone mentioned a support
group about breast cancer - they would probably know whom to ask), with all
the relevant information.
Keep us informed about developements.

Mira Leibovich, MD
Israel