29 and Just Diagnosed

Mommy2Six

Hello, everyone. 

I'm 29 years old and was just diagnosed with low-grade solid-pattern DCIS. I have been having bloody nipple discharge for several months, and though my mammogram and ultrasound all looked normal besides showing fibrocystic breasts, the dr wanted to do an excisional biopsy. Eight days later I got my diagnosis. Drs are recommending BRCA testing and MRI, followed by surgery if anything shows up, and if not, then daily radiation for 6 weeks; 5 years tamoxifen; and MRI, mammogram, and ultrasound every 6 months for the next 5 years. Because of my experience watching family members fight breast cancer for years, as well as being sick of dealing with breast problems since I was 19 years old, I have requested a bilateral mastectomy. I don't know yet if my surgical oncologist will agree. She wants me to meet with other doctors in the practice first and hear more about all the options. Are there any other young women who have chosen bilateral mastectomy, particularly without reconstruction?

I would also be grateful for any information regarding DCIS statistics, or any information about whether the pattern of the DCIS makes any difference. Also interested to hear how long it took everyone to recover from simple mastectomy.

Thanks in advance.

Ariom

I am so sorry to see you here with this Dx at such a young age. We have a member who is an expert on DCIS and she has posted A Laypersons Guide to DCIS, just search for it and you'll have a lot of information that you may not have seen. There are also a lot of us who have had Umx or BMX and decided not to do reconstruction. Take a look at some of the threads on Deciding not to reconstruct.

There are women here who are young and have families like you who have decided not to reconstruct. I am sure some will be along to offer you some of their experiences. It can be quiet here, on the weekends.

I wish you all the very best, please let us know how you're getting on.

Moderators

Hello Mommy2Six, and welcome to Breastcancer.org. We're glad you found us but sorry you had to.

In the Topic: Important Links about DCIS you'll find good info about DCIS from our main site and also the the thread "A Laypersons Guide to DCIS" posted by Beesie.

Best wishes,

The Mods

Mommy2Six

Thank you. I will check that thread out. I'm so glad to find this community!