More than half of women with DCIS are spared a mastectomy

[News]

Over 60 per cent of women who have a form of breast cancer in the milk ducts (DCIS) are spared a mastectomy, according to latest research published today in the British Journal of Cancer.

More... (http://www.news-medical.net/news/20100119/More-than-half-of-women-with-DCIS-are-spared-a-mastectomy.aspx)

[islandgirl]

Hi there: It's an interesting article. I had an initial lumpectomy (DCIS non-invasive dx) with very poor margins. While I was offered a repeat of a lumpetctomy, I opted for a mastectomy. I had numerous mammograms and an MRI prior to surgery. My MRI suggested I had a very localized, tiny spot of cancer cells. When the pathology came back, it was very widespread, likened to 'cells sprinkled like salt'. I felt relieved I had made that decision. When I was diagnosed 7 years later on the other breast (wide-spread DCIS with microinvasive cells), it was a no-brainer to have another mastectomy. That being said, following my initial mastectomy I wondered about the incidence of the over-diagnosing of DCIS. I had been considered a very low risk for recurrence (though technically it wasn't a recurrence, but rather a new cancer), so it definitely put a different spin on the aggressive treatment I opted for initially. Thanks.

Jude
Island Girl