Booth breast or 1, DCIS

Juniper81

After I felt a hard spot in my right breast. I had mammo, ultrasound, and finally a byposy which showed DCIS. I was told most likely a lumpectomy and then sent for an MRI. MRI showed the DCIS pretty busy in my right and showed "dots" on the left. I was then told mastectomy on the right and because of the spots of major concerns on the left dual mastectomy. I walked out of the surgeons office numb. A day later it's all sinking in, do I do both? Do I get MRI biopsy for the left? Do I get implants? I am 36 with 5 and 1 year old kids and I am messed up. I am scared but do not want to rush into it. Not to mentioned 3 weeks ago my mother passed away.

I am also already a ovarian cancer survivor over 8 years ago.

Thank you for any advice or support.

Moderators

Hi Juniper-

We want to welcome you to our community here at BCO. We're so sorry you find yourself here, but we hope this community is a source of support for you as you begin down this road.

This all sounds like a lot to process, we don't blame you for being overwhelmed. There's no reason you have to decide immediately, take some some time to go over all your options, and seek out a second opinion if possible. You might find it helpful to read through our surgery forum for some guidance: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/91. We also have a forum on DCIS, where diagnosed members share their surgery and treatment plans and decisions: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/68

We know it's a lot to deal with. And we're so very sorry to hear about the loss of your mother. We'll help you through this!

The Mods

Cedarlake17

Hi Juniper,

You have been through so much. So sorry to know that you need to make these difficult decisions on top of grieving for your mom.

I was diagnosed with extensive DCIS in my left breast about a year ago. My doctor recommended a mastectomy. I also had some questionable spots in my right breast. I have two children (4 and 6 years old at the time) and was in a similar position to what you describe, facing the seemingly impossible choice as to whether to have one or both of my breasts removed.

I ended up deciding to have a bilateral mastectomy. While that won't be the right choice for everyone, for me it was a good decision. I felt that if I only did the single mastectomy, I would forever be worried about my other breast. (My mother has been through breast cancer treatment twice in the past two years). I was also worried about needing to take the possible time and energy to go through everything more than once, especially with two young kids. Ultimately, my post surgery pathology showed no evidence of cancer in my right breast, but I still feel confident in my decision (most of the time).

What I have found the most amazing about this whole crazy journey, is how incredible my kids have been through it all. Pre- surgery I was naked around them fairly often, and we would take family showers and baths. I thought that would be over post- mastectomies, but they are totally fine with my body. They were a little concerned and curious at first, but now it is just normal to them, which helps to make it more normal-feeling for me too.

I did immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders (last April) and replaced the expanders with permanent silicon implants in September.

Although I have yet to post very much on this site, I am very thankful to all of the women who have shared their stories and advice here. It is an amazing resource to help you find your way.You will make it through this.

Nursepatient35

I am so sorry you have to deal with this. Even though some will say, you're lucky you caught it early since it's DCIS, it still just really really sucks. Unfortunately you know too much about cancer already having gone through the ovarian cancer and I'm sorry to hear about your mom.

I also found a lump in my left breast and after a biopsy found out it was DCIS, I was crushed. I had some people tell me how it's so good I caught it early and I'm lucky i wouldn't need chemo. But I still had a really hard time with the fact that I even had to go through this. I have a 2, 7 and 9 year old. I was so worried how it would affect everyone in my family, job etc. I never did get a MRI because in my gut I knew the only way I'd ever not constantly worry about a recurrence would be for a double mastectomy. I got diagnosed early January, had surgery on Valentine's day and I feel like life is pretty much back to normal at this point. I need one more surgery to exchange my tissue expanders to implants but then I'm done. The very worst part of all this was the time between diagnosis and surgery. The mastectomy was rough for the first 3 weeks and then it just started hurting less. I took 6 weeks off work and probably could've went back at week 4. All I can say is go with your gut. Do whatever treatment that you feel will give you the most peace of mind.