Combined IDC & DCIS?

PollyOne

I'm new to all this so am hoping I'm putting this question in the right place. I had MX and SNB on 10/16/18. I missed my surgeon's call about the biopsy results, and the BS who took out my drain didn't really cover results she included in her notes. I'm T2N0, which I understand to be very encouraging. Apparently the ONC will order the follow up test for the likelihood of the cancer spreading so I've got a couple more weeks for that result. My question is what does it mean to have 3-5 mm DCIS in addition to a 2.1 IDC tumor? My BS seemed to indicate surgery was successful (clean margins) and my prognosis is good. Can I worry less now? This whole ordeal has been moving at warp speed,and I'm exhausted.

exbrnxgrl

It is not uncommon to find IDC along with DCIS. Since IDC is more concerning, you will be treated for IDC. Take care

Moderators

PollyOne, indeed it does go so quickly and can be very overwhelming. Try to take one step at a time, and make sure to get good explanations from your doctor. Bring someone with you if possible who can help you keep track of the details.

We're all here for you to help guide the process and you may find reading here to be helpful: Understanding your breast cancer diagnosis

PollyOne

Thanks for the reassurance xbrnxgrl, and moderators for helping me find the the informative links

beach2beach

I originally went into surgery believeing I had IDC. My final pathology (I had a double mx) was ILC with LCIS and DCIS. All within the same tumor. I read that its not that uncommon. You are treated for the main dx and since you had a mx and snb you can be pretty assured that there is no worries about margins. I'm assuming the text you are waiting for is the OncotypeDX test to see if chemo may be indicated?

PollyOne

Yes, I'm hoping no chemo because recovery from mx is going really slowly. It was supposed to be 2-3 weeks but could be as much as four weeks before I am able to go back to work. I'm running out of leave and our insurance is based on being paid for more than 80 hours per month.

Giveityourall

PollyOne,

Although we share the IDC diagnosis, I am hormone negative (no estrogen or progesterone receptors on my tumor) and HER2 positive. Nevertheless, my diagnosis has led me to Breastcancer.org and I want you to know that I have read your diagnosis before - invasive as well as in situ ductal carcinoma.

Regarding your medical test results, I found it helpful to immediately obtain a hard copy for all radiological or pathological reports.... even routineblood work. In fact, I requested a CD/DVD for all imaging procedures as well as the written doctor reports. Then, as the months progressed, I re-examined the various results for comparison purposes or educational reasons. For me, this provided a stronger (yet sometimes still cloudy) understanding of my cancerous tumor. Eight months have passed since my diagnosis and I still pull out old reports to re-read them. Every time I do this, I understand a little bit more.

My best to u. Giveityourall

Salamandra

I know what you mean, GiveItYourAll, I thought I had thoroughly ingested my pathology report. But today I had my one month follow up with the surgeon and only just realized that apparently there were 3cm of DCIS along with my 1.8cm tumor. I'm not sure how she got it all out with clean 7mm margins but she did and I'm grateful.

Apparently it's very typical to have DCIS with IDC. Just maybe a little less than I did. "You had a lot going on," she said. I'm glad I got to hear that in retrospect...

PollyOne

Hi Giveityourall,

My HMO policy appears to be that the test results are released during follow up appointments. I finally received the hard copy of my surgical biopsy last Friday and it had a lot more detail than my doctor had previously discussed. I understand most of it, I think. Most importantly, the results confirmed my choice of MX over lumpectomy and radiation. The second, smaller focus was 3.5 cm away from the tumor that had shown up on the mammogram and US. My surgeon actually admitted he might have missed it. At the very least I would probably have had to go back in. It's very sobering to hear your doc admit something like that! Anyway, fingers crossed for good outcome for all of us going forward.