radiation or Tamoxifen or both or none

z7788

Dear people,

I have diagonised dcis grade 2, 8cm on my left breast in October 2015, and operated with mastectomy + direct silicon reconstruction in end November 2015. The pathology report says: dcis 11cm, grade 2, with multi-focal IDC stage 1 < 6mm. The surgical margin is positive. I will start the radiation thearapy plus tamoxifen. My questions are: Are these two treatment really necessary? And should I have them at the same time?

Thank you.

CAMommy

if you have IDC with your DCIS most likely they are necessary, especially with positive margins. My Drs didn't start hormonal therapy until after radiation. That seems to be standard.

IDC always has the chance, even at stage 1, to become metastatic that's why they treat it so aggressively, often also with chemo.

What has your MO said?

LisaAlissa

Hi z7788!

And in fact, sometimes when they discover IDC, the basically through out the existing plan and start over, with a plan for the IDC. An IDC plan is generally considered sufficient to deal with any DCIS. However if your IDC is really, really small (characterized as "micro-invasive") that might not be the case.

You need to talk to your MO. It sounds like you weren't expecting to find IDC during your surgery. You need to discuss what this means for your on-going treatment. With positive margins, you may be headed back to surgery. Or on to Chemo. It may be time for a new plan...

My best to you,

LisaAlissa

z7788

Thank you for the useful information.