Ughhh

Missmom79

well after a abnormal mammo, a core biopsy of 10 samples of tissue they came back DCIS but the thing is that I have redness that has gone away some but not completely right in the area where they found the DCIS. Also there was thickening in the area that was red and where they found the DCIS. So he sent me for an MRI. Calls me same night and says he wants to do another biopsy and a lymph node biopsy. So I don’t kno what to think.

Beesie

Ughhh is right.

Sounds like the MRI is showing something that might be invasive cancer. That doesn't mean it will be - MRIs are known for false positives - but it's better for the surgeon to have as complete a picture as possible before operating.

Pinkness, thickening and DCIS doesn't compute, so it's possible that you have two separate things going on, with the DCIS being one, and something else (malignant or benign, such as an infection) causing the pinkness and thickening.

Still hoping this turns out to just be DCIS, which is seeming to be less likely but is still possible. The fact the some of the redness has faded is a positive sign.

Fingers and all other appendages crossed for you.

Missmom79

well DCIS is invasive also though right? They have to operate either way. The redness has gone but there is still thickness. I just don’t know. I asked him if he didn’t find anything on the MRI then what would he do and he said he’d have to do a biopsy to see why my breast was doing tha

Beesie

No, DCIS is not invasive. It is non-invasive and fully contained within the ducts of the breast. It has to be removed only because it has the potential to develop into an invasive cancer and there is no telling at what point that might happen. In most cases, the surgical removal and/or killing off of the DCIS cells (with radiation or anti-hormone therapy) effectively avoids the eventual development of an invasive breast cancer.

These days many experts consider DCIS to be a pre-cancer, although that is controversial because treatment is still recommended.

Spoonie77

Has there been talk of doing a punch biopsy on the area with the thickened skin and redness? Seems like if the MRI is showing a support for a lymph node and a further biopsy of the DCIS, that could be appropriate as well? Unless there is some other potential cause for the redness & skin issues that I'm missing, if it were me I would bring it up into the conversation and see what the response is. Can't hurt to ask, especially if you are concerned.

So sorry for the delays. Waiting is the hardest. Hoping that you have some answers sooner than later and in the meantime remember you are not alone.

Hugs.

Missmom79

yes i asked for a punch biopsy but he said he wanted to do an MRI First. Because he wanted to see what the whole picture was and what was missing. All they see is skin thickening on the mammo and a bunch of calcificstions on th mammo as well which are all directly where the redness was (barely there) and he said after mri he wanted to see where he could target to take samples. I am just like 10 samples and all DCIS? She was gonna take 20 but for some reason she didn’t. And so I am Er - and pr- is that bad? I can’t be treated with hormonal meds then? This has me a train wreck. And thank yo