IDC and DCIS?

Kate8

I’ve noticed people who have already been diagnosed listed as IDC/DCIS ... does that mean they have two separate tumors/areas?

My mammogram results showed a suspicious mass and in another area of the same breast microcalcifications. The dr explained that the calcifications could be early cancer and the mass was also found on ultrasound ... I am scheduled for two biopsies but it was overwhelming in the midst of “getting results” that I didn’t think to ask what two separate areas of concern could mean.

Beesie

Most IDC starts as DCIS, so it's very common to find IDC and DCIS together.

DCIS is when the abnormal cells are confined to the duct milks. It is a non-invasive condition. If the DCIS cells continue to evolve, at some point they may undergo a biological change that gives the cell the ability to break through the wall of the milk duct. This change turns the cell into an invasive cancer and at this point the cell moves into the open breast tissue (outside of the duct) and develops from there as IDC - it is no longer DCIS.

Usually when this progress happens, some of the original cells progress but others don't, so some cells remain in the duct as DCIS while other cells have become IDC and are in the breast tissue. This is why IDC is often found with some associated DCIS.

This graphic is from the breastcancer.org information pages. At the bottom you can see a cell with DCIS in the middle of the duct and IDC on the outside of the duct in the breast tissue.

Kate8

That makes sense. I guess I was asking specifically about the people on this site and whether those with DCIS/IDC on their profile typically reflect your info above that it was of just one tumor/one duct or do some of them have two separate areas orducts.

Thanks.

bcincolorado

Mine was thought to be DCIS but after all was said and done it was invasive and I ended up with a mastectomy.

Beesie

Since most (but not all)people who have IDC also have some associated DCIS, in most cases where people list their diagnosis as IDC/DCIS, it reflects one area of cancer that includes both.

SUPer52

Kate8, in my case, I did have two separate areas. One was found to be DCIS, and the other one was like Beesie said, IDC with DCIS. There was actually more DCIS than IDC, but the IDC was considered the primary diagnosis because it is a higher stage. I was afraid that having two areas in the same breast would automatically mean a mastectomy for me, but they were small enough and close enough together, and I was fortunate to have a very experienced and skilled surgeon who was able to treat them as though they were one larger area rather than two separate ones. My choice was a lumpectomy. I had to have a re-excision because my margins did not come back clean the first time. It was the DCIS that remained, and my surgeon successfully obtained clean margins the second time.

This does not mean that you will also have two areas of cancer. It's possible that neither area will be positive or that only one is. I did also have a mass that showed on my ultrasound, but it was benign. Hoping your results are negative for any cancer, but if not, you may still have options for your surgery even with two suspicious areas, especially if it is early-stage. Hang in there; I found the time before the biopsy and the time waiting for those results to be the worst part.

Kate8

Thank-you all for your replies, they definitely gave me some clarification.

Obviously hoping for benign results and not looking forward to the next two weeks of waiting but I’m doing ok today!

Salamandra

Yeah, my DCIS was all around my IDC - I didn't even learn about it until after surgery. I listed it on my profile here without really thinking about it. Now I'm wondering if I should remove it. I didn't think about how it could be misleading.