Is it cancer?

Scared462016

just got done talking with surgeon. He told me I have dcis but it's not Cancer. So why the lumpectomy with 5 weeks Radiation? So it doesn't become invasive? What becomes invasive? The cancer I don't have? Conused. Please help me understand. Also test results. Dcis. Er positive.intremediate nuclear grade involving sclerosis adenosis.. ck5/6,er,smmhc,and p63

StaceySue2U

DCIS is Ductal Carcinoma "In Situ" - which means it's still in the ducts and not invasive. Once it evolves, it becomes IDC or Invasive Ductal Carcinoma. So if you catch it before it becomes invasive, you've nipped cancer in the bud. I don't know all the rest of the terms really, except ER positive means estrogen is what feeds it and makes it grow. I don't know if you'd have to go on estrogen blocking therapy if you had the lumpectomy and radiation or not - that's for somebody more knowledgeable than me to answer.

StaceySue2U

So for example, with me....I didn't catch it while all of it was still "in situ". Mine grew into neighboring tissue and became a tumor, and tumors can spread elsewhere in the body. I did still have some DCIS in my breast when I had my mastectomy but some had already become invasive cancer. So I had to have a mastectomy and will have to be on estrogen blocking therapy and might or might not need chemotherapy.

Scared462016

thank you so much for the response. I really appreciate it and feel a little better. I so wish you the best of luck and a healthier year. 💖

StaceySue2U

You're welcome. I'm sure some more knowledgeable ladies will be along shortly to help out more. A healthier year to you, too!

percy4

DCIS is cancer, but it is confined to the ducts, and has not yet become "invasive cancer" (meaning it can possibly spread, as can any invasive cancer). The ability to spread is one of the definitions of so-called "real" cancer, and that is why the controversy about whether DCIS IS cancer. It is, but has not made the final molecular change to being able to spread on its own. DCIS, by definition, cannot spread. However, if DCIS recurs, it does so half the time as DCIS, and half the time as invasive cancer. Apparently, higher grade DCIS with certain markers is more likely to recur as IDC than DCIS, low grade, without certain markers. You should ask your BS or MO about the specifics. Sometimes, in my experience anyway, they gloss over things, going by the "usual".

percy4

The good news is we are very lucky to be in the DCIS category (even with a microinvasion, as in my case), than in any further category. Our prognoses are very good.

rosierosie

I have the same dcis non invasive low nuclear grade, I had my surgery this past Friday, I had it with a SNB, my doctor told me the same thing Lumpectomy, and then I would have to talk two different oncologist doctors, I was so afraid of the surgery mostly the SNB but honestly it did not hurt at all, When I went to surgery they took me to radiology I had two needles I guess for the dye, then i had the wire inserted in my breast. I had the blue dye when I was put under. Please do not be afraid it really did not hurt. I have discomfort under my arm from the biopsy, but I do not even see any incision on my breast, there were bandages on my breast, I took them off and there are steri strips. My breast looked worst from the steroetatic biospy, I have no bruising is this normal? I get some shooting pains in my breast, I just thought it would look alot worse. When I woke up my surgeon came by to see me, we did not talk he just gave me a ok sign with his hand and told the nurse I was ok. Do most surgeons do this, I have to see him next week. if anyone know if this is normal please advise thank you

ilaam

I have it too. My surgeon told me it is not the evil cancer we all hear about because it is in-situ and can be healed only by mastectomy or lumpectomy+radiotherapy. In-situ is a stage as he told me, a very early one. Mine was high grade, that's what I read in the pathology report. When I asked the sugeon he told me In-situ does not have a grade. He meant probably that this does not change the treatment. Unlike percy4 I thaught there is no recurrence risks in in-situ dcis but as she said prognoses are excellent. I looked for similar cases and I know that it doesn't prevent us from getting old or having kids. Scientifically it is cancer but let's say it is the "best" type or stage of cancer we can have as it is curable. After all, I hope so. Good luck to you Scared462016.

Annette47

DCIS is cancer that has not made the final change necessary to leave the area in which it originated (the ducts). The problem is that some DCIS will make that change and some may never but there is no way to tell which is which.

For example, large areas of high grade DCIS with comedo necrosis are more likely to, while small areas of low grade are less likely to, but I have known of people where most of the breast was filled with DCIS and there was no invasion. I had intermediate grade (although with comedo necrosis) and it was less than the size of a grain of rice but had already begun to spread outside the ducts. There’s just no predicting which will become a problem with certainty, which is why all DCIS must be at the very least removed from the breast via either lumpectomy or mastectomy. The necessity of further treatment (radiation or hormonal suppressors) will depend on various characteristics of the individual and their cancer. For example, low grade DCIS in an elderly person may be at such low risk of recurring that they would probably be ok without further treatment. In a much younger person with high grade DCIS the risks are higher and more treatment is warranted.

guessnoonecares

I could have written your post. How is it not cancer when there are cancer cells and you are going through surgery and radiation? My RO even made a comment when he was writing out my paperwork during my first visit. He said they are required to write DCIS and check off the box that indicates not cancer. He even said that it always seems strange to him, because the patient is having surgery to remove cancer cells and goes through a lot. I really appreciated hearing him say that and I thanked him.

I'm reading on these forums that others with DCIS have conflicting feelings about whether it's cancer or not. When I was diagnosed and scheduled for surgery, I was handed a pamphlet about BCRC (breast cancer centers of Texas) and was advised to give them a call for support. So I called and spoke to a "navigator." All I asked was for access to their online forum. It's private and requires a password. She never gave me a password, and I think it was because I had DCIS and not cancer in her opinion. It wasn't cancer enough for support but yet it is mentioned in detail in their literature. I felt like a jerk for even reaching out for support. But I knew nothing at all about this and wanted to communicate with others who have been through it. Thankfully I found this lovely community! Wish I had just gone here first.

percy4

Hi guessnoonecares - I see you have deleted your Post, and I get that; I have done that a lot of times. Just want to say, though you may not want to hear it, that we, here, at least, do care. i give this to you just because of the username you've picked. We care. It is not the same as your husband, boyfriend/girlfriend, children, bosses/employees, parents, friends. etc., seeming to care. I know that. Or, if you are alone in this World, right now, and have no one near. Still; second place as we may be, we do care. We are in this together. I hope you will Post again. Love - Percy xx

ChiSandy

In situ definitely DOES have a grade (at least ductal in situ does)--anywhere from 1 to 2 to 3, based on histological characteristics (differentiation from the surrounding cells, mitotic rate--aka speed of division--, tubule formation, and the cells' internal structure--such as whether there are “cribiform” or irregular hollow spaces, “comedo necrosis” or dead black spots in the middle resembling blackheads,etc.). It is also analyzed for hormone receptors, but usually not for HER2 status. It is staged as 0 until proven otherwise. Some specialists are suggesting that small grade 1 DCIS confined to a single area can be periodically vigilantly monitored without surgery, but it’s still controversial. It’s almost universally agreed that grade 3 has got to be removed--whether by lumpectomy or mastectomy depends on how big relative to breast size, how many areas there are, its location, and if it does or doesn’t have hormone receptors.

wiseseeker

Hey! What type of reconstruction -- if any -- did you choose and how is that going? Thanks for your reply. -Best, Ellen (Recenlt diagnosted with paget's disease + one small nearby area of DCIS Stage 0 / High Grade. Surgeon wants to take the whole breast even though a small 2nd area biopsied toward the chest wall came back as NO DCIS -- it was just fibrous. In fact, I have spoken to no one where two spots were biopsied during one biopsy (stereotactic) and they came back with two different results. Does that mean I had "two biospies" or just two needle sticks for one biopsy?