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Hidden Margins
Hi, Everyone, it has been a while since I last posted anything. I have been tied up with the research focus group survey lately. I am still on the clinical trial of Herceptin, Taxol, Tykerb (Lapatinib) and Zometa. I am tolerating the side effects fairly well and am responding greatly to the treatment.
I am not sure if this is relevant to the topic or not. You all seem much more knowledgeable on the subject than I but I found the discussion to be very interesting.
I was first diagnosed with DCIS stage "0" in March of 2004. I went through a lumpectomy and radiation with no node removal. They even went back in a second time and removed more tissue to recheck the margins which once again came back clean. They assured me that they had removed all of the microcalcifications that were present and that I was now cancer free. I continued to have mammograms and checkups done every six weeks. I thought that I was very blessed to have caught it so early and was thankful that I didn't have to have a mastectomy.
In December of 2005 I came down with a gall bladder attack and when they went into remove it they were shocked to find cancer spread extensively throughout my liver, I also have two spots on my spine. The doctors seemed to be completely baffled as to how this could have happened. The only explanation they had was that a stray cell must have been missed and that it had entered into the blood stream. They still do not believe that there was any node involvement and they keep telling me that even if they had removed the entire breast that the results would still be the same. I have been plagued with the over whelming feeling that if I had opted for a mastectomy instead of a lumpectomy that I may not be sitting where I am today.
I worry about other women who are initially told that they have DCIS and are stage "0." I worry that this could happen to them too. I kept hoping that new research would come out that would possibly change the way they go about diagnosing and treating DCIS and other early stage breast cancers.
Some of what I have read here on these posts regarding this topic of hidden margins is difficult for me to understand. Are these new findings suggesting that new techniques should take place in the initial diagnoses and treatment of early stage breast cancers?
Can someone please explain these findings and what they mean in laymen terms that I can better understand.
Thank you so much everyone, I truly appreciate all of your great insight and depth of knowledge on the subject.
Sincerely,
Nicola
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