What to do for treatment????

sn75

I have DCIS in my right breast - 3cm, ER/PR positive. I met with the oncologist this week and discussed options. She sent me in for genetic testing that day because of my age - 43 - very limited health history of females on my dad's side, and prostate cancer with my paternal grandfather. I meet with a plastic surgeon this week and have my next appointment with the oncologist on May 7 to discuss genetic results and what to do.

I'm leaning towards double mx with reconstruction. I don't want to do radiation and hormones if I don't have to. I'm also a worrier and don't want to stress about what I could or should have done. I read too many stories of women who are back a few years down the road with a recurrence.

Am I being too drastic? And if I do have a double mx, what are the pros and cons of implants vs flap surgeries?

Meow13

Well my SIL had DCIS in one breast she decided to do bmx and she was going to do DIEP flap. Her surgeon inserted expanders under her muscle and she was miserable. When I had my left side DIEP I didn't have expanders or implants. She also got an infection, she had the expanders removed and had implants she is doing much better. She decided after the expander experience not to do the diep surgery and go with small implants.

Also when she had the bmx they found more dcis in other breast that didn't show on scans.

Lula73

My advice is to go with the surgical option that leaves you with a feeling of inner peace. Reconstruction-wise, DIEP or SGAP flaps leave you with natural looking and feeling breasts that are soft and warm. They move with you and will age with you. Buying bras (if you even need one after) is not a hassle because the breasts move like natural ones. And you never have to replace them or worry about rupture.

I had nipple/skin sparing BMX w/immediate DIEP flap recon last year in NOLA. We traveled there for it from NC. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I looked pretty darn good before all this, but I look even better today. Not many women who have had BC much less those who had mx can say that. The important things with choosing a flap surgeon are to see their before & after photos and make sure you would be happy to have those results for yourself (not just happy considering the diagnosis), how many of these procedures have they done, how many stage 1 flap surgeries they do per week (needs to be 1 or more per week), what is their flap failure rate (national average is 10%, NOLA's average is <1%), and what is their infection rate post-op (NOLA's is <2%), what all do they do in stage 2/how and what do they address on the lower 1/2 of the body in stage 2 (if they don't address anything or they only address scars or they say they can do anything you want them to but you'll pay out of pocket because insurance doesn't cover it, mark them off the list and keep looking). I hope this helped. Feel free to ask any questions

Here's a link to NOLA's website where you can see before & after photos of their work:

www.breastcenter.com

Anonymous

There is a DCIS board, so those ladies there might be able to give you more information, too.