Niece diagnosed

Blanaid

Hi All,

My Niece has just tonight been diagnosed with DCIS and recommended radical Mastectomy. Its 10cm with possible signs of spreading....don't know the technical terms. She is 35 with 3 little boys under four, littlest being 5 months old. she was still breast feeding but obviously with today's dx she has been told she must stop feeding immediately. They need an MRI of her without Milk it that makes sense. As she is still feeding, it's difficult for the Medics to see if it has spread....there is "clouding on her other breast".....What are your opinions on double mastectomy as soon as her milk has cleared up? She has a coil in, which needs to come out immediately (estrogen etc). They have seen some signs that it has moved outside of the immediate tumour (again I am unsure what this means). I do understand Cancer speak in general terms as my own daughter had AML (leukemia) but I would really like advise from women who have had similar dx as my niece.

Moderators

Hi there, Blanaid! We're so sorry to hear about your niece. It's hard to comment on her treatment and cancer without more details about her diagnosis, but we're sure other members will chime in with their experiences with DCIS. You can read more about DCIS and some general treatment options on our main site: https://www.breastcancer.org/symptoms/types/dcis

The Mods

Palesa2018

Hi Blanaid, so sorry that your family is going through this. You will find a lot of support in this community.

How was your niece diagnosed? Biopsy? Any other info from the biopsy? I'm 39 and was also diagnosed with extensive DCIS. I had a bilateral mastectomy during which IDC measuring 5.5mm and 3mm was found. While my left breast was clear I opted to have both removed and had implants. I too have two small kids and I'm taking courage in the experiences I find on this forum, I read research papers extensively.

As she goes through this journey to determine her treatment plan they will check lymph nodes, hormone sensitivity, size etc. Breastcancer.org has a lot of very useful info.

Wishing you and your family strength through this journey.

Nursepatient35

I was also 35 with 3 small kids when I was diagnosed with DCIS. My tumor was smaller (2 cm) than your niece's. My other breast was fine as far as I knew but I never did an MRI since I chose to do a bilateral mastectomy. The stage your neice is in right now is the toughest. The waiting for results, just finding out is so hard. I got diagnosed in January of this year, had the mastectomy on Valentine's day and exchanged out my tissue expanders for implants in April. I can say life has gone completely back to normal for me and she will get there eventually too. Right now, she probably has several different choices. She needs to choose whatever in her gut feels right for her. Although it seemed extreme, I chose a mastectomy because it gave me the most relief that I'll never have to deal with this again. Someone told me in the beginning, you won't die from this but the next few months are just going to really suck. They were exactly right.