DCIS and IDC

TammyMarie · August 2009

Hi,

I was diagnosed with DCIS and IDC last week. I have two small spots in my left breast. One is 4mm and the other is 5 mm. I had several mammograms, MRI, ultrasound and stereotactic biopsy. The biopsy came back as low grade (Nottingham score 3/9). The Nurse informed me the inital pathology report is favorable. I am also ER positive.

The doctor is recommending a mastectomy. I don't think I can go through with this. Is there anyone out there who wnet through neo-adjuvant therapy in lieu of surgery for DCIS and IDC with associated microcalcifications? I have read that some clinical trials were somewhat successful. I know in the end I will probably face a double mastectomy as I am going back on Monday for another biopsy on the other side due to some suspicious spots that turned up on the MRI and ultrasound. However, I feel I need to try less drastic options first.

Comments and feedback are appreciated!

baywatcher · August 2009

TammyMarie-

I (like you) had early stage breast cancer twice. The first time it was in my left breast and I ended up with a mastectomy. The second time (4 years later) I had IDC so I let them take the right breast too since I was already lopsided.

Since my surgeries I have started reading everything I can on cancer. It is my belief that I could have cured my cancer if I had pursued other more holistic methods. If I could rewind time, I would try to drastically change my diet and see if I could reverse the cancer or at least keep it dormant. I am now a vegan and I am hoping it kills any other cancer cells in my body or at least keeps it under control. I wish I had tried this first and if it didn't work, I could do surgery. I just didn't know anything about the role of nutrition as a cancer fighter.

I have read numerous books and if you are interested I will pass their titles on to you. Please note that most of the books require giving up meat, dairy and refined carbs in your diet, forever. You may not want to do this or you may not believe it but I am just trying to give you my opinion. People will roll their eyes when they read this but think about it and it really makes sense. Food is medicine.

I recently got information from the living health institute. I know nothing about this program but I think it is a raw food plan. This is an example of what I wish I would have tried before I had the surgery. This information was provided to me by the T. Colin Campbell Foundation. Check it out as it may be helpful to you. What ever you decide, good luck to you.

Featured Survivor - Brenda Cobb

Brenda Cobb is the founder of the Living Foods Institute in Atlanta, Georgia. Brenda reversed her own cancer eating a plant-based diet, and now runs the Living Foods Institute as an educational center to help others transition to a plant-based, whole foods, mostly raw diet. Watch Brenda's interview on our YouTube channel!

TammyMarie · August 2009

Dear Baywatcher,

Thank you so very much for taking the time to respond to my cry to help. Since my cancer diagnosis one week ago, I have been trying to educate myself on the subject. Not being a medical person, it was difficult to interpret my pathology report. Some of the articles and books I have read hinted that diet plays a major role in the fight of cancer. I would be most grateful if you could provide the titles of the books. I want to at least try to fight this cancer before I decide to have a mastectomy. I never ate a lot of meat, but probably consumed to many refined carbs over the years. I am age 50, pre-menopausal and took birth control pills for at least 16 years of life.

I am scared that if I opt not to have a mastectomy that the doctors will just send me home to die. My husband said they will still do some type of treatment. I cannot see losing both of my breasts if there is even a small chance the cancer can be fought in another way. One of my friends, who also had cancer several years ago, told me to look at this as a preventive measure. Do you think I am crazy for wanting to take a chance and try some other form of treatment first?

I look at mastectomy as the last resort. I am a size "B" and was told lumpectomy would be too disfiguring. Wonder if they can do some type of reconstruction with a lumpectomy. I am not a vain person, but would like to grow old with my body parts still in place.

baywatcher · August 2009

Books to read 1. The China Study by T. Colin Campbell 2. Food for Life by Dr. Neal Barnard 3. Anti-Cancer by David ? (Can't remember last name). You can probably get these at the library and these will get you started. I am age 54, pre-meno and also took BC pills.

The doctors will want to do surgery because it is standard treatment. If you discuss the role of nutrition in fighting cancer, your doctor probably will tell you that it won't work. I don't think you are crazy for wanting to take a chance and try some other treatment first. I wish I had tried before I did the surgery. I have been dealing with brutal depression since my surgeries. I think a big part of the depression is that I regret not trying something other than the surgery. I will never know if I could have reversed my cancer but I feel that I could have. This nagging regret that I have over this issue has made it hard for me to move on although I am really trying. It has been very hard to lose my breasts and I am not vain either. I miss my body parts more than I ever imagined I would.

I am sure that if you do decide to have surgery, there are reconstruction options. If I were to have reconstruction, I would consider NOLA and have my surgery and recon done at the same time there. From everything I have read, they are the experts.

Good luck with the bioposy on Monday.

TammyMarie · August 2009

Hi Baywatcher,

I will definately go to the library to check out the books. So far, surgery appears to be the standard method of treatment. When I read your message, I thought that this is me if I decide to go forward with the decision to have the mastectomy. All I ever think about is cancer. I have been married to a wonderful man for 31 years, two grown children, no grandchildren. I live in the Seattle area. I am hoping that I may qualify for a clinical trial at Seattle Cancer Care Alliance.

I have read about the reconstruction options and talked to a lady who went through it 8 years ago. She said even after all these years, she still experiences pain. I am not sure I could ever get over the loss of my breasts. They are not very big, but they are a part of me and part of being a woman.

What is NOLA???? I have heard that you can still have reconstruction done years after surgery. One of my neighbors told me an elderly woman (age 77) who lost her breast several years ago, decided to have reconstructive surgery done.

I hope that one day you will be able to move on, because living with depression is horrible. Everything you said is what I believe will happen to me if I don't try something else first.

I asked the doctor the other day if they could just pump me full of poison, bring me to the brink of death in hopes the cancer cells will die. He said I could ask the question when I meet with the care team next Thursday. Did you get a second opinion before you had surgery? One lady, who had cancer 8 years ago, told me that I am grasping at straws, that she herself, was also looking for a miracle. She said that if/when I finally make up my mind, I will find peace. I am not so sure I can ever say, yes, go ahead and remove my breasts. I read that DCIS is considered a pre-cancer. So in essence, I have one pre-cancer and one cancer. I think I am going crazy, because I really don't want to have to make that decision to go through with the surgery. On the other hand, I don't want to die either.

deni63 · August 2009

Hi TammyMarie, You are facing an incredibly difficult decision. May I recommend that you find a good naturopath? A naturopath can talk to you about nutrition and supplements and guide you with your treatment for the cancer. I see a naturopath who has worked with cancer patients for over 30 years.

It sounds like a very drastic measure to recommend a mastectomy for DCIS, which is actually precancer and not yet cancer. It may go away on it's own. Nutrition is a huge part of your healing. Certainly try this first before drastic surgery!

baywatcher · August 2009

TammyMarie-

Check out www.breastcenter.comwhich is what we refer to here as NOLA. I am sure you can find more info out about it on the reconstruction forum. While you can have reconstruction done years later, I think the best results happen when you have it done at the same time as the surgery. You only get one chance to have it done right, that is why I would go to NOLA. I didn't have reconstruction but there are a lot of ladies that did and they would be glad to offer advise. I do know that if you do a lumpectomy the docs will want to do radiation and that can interfer with your reconstruction choices.

Please think about it when you ask the doctors to pump you full of poison so the cancer cells will die. Chemo is not without side affects. Remember, the poison goes all thru your body and can have lasting effects. I am in a support group here in Key West and our group leader is a retired oncologist. He has been a wealth of information and we have discussed chemo at length here. I myself have never had chemo or radiation since I did the mastectomy route. As far as chemo goes, Dr. Campbell who wrote the China Study has been interviewed on TV and stated that in his opinion, a whole food plant based diet was as effective as chemo in controlling cancer. So it depends if you want to go the traditional route or if you want to go the holistic route. There are no guarantees either way.

I did have a second opinion and even a third opinion. They all said mastectomy because my DCIS was so extensive. It was in 3 areas of my breast. I was absolutely terrified and told myself that I was at peace with my decision to have the mastectomy but I lied to myself. My biggest regret is not trying diet first as the diet change has not been a problem for me. I haven't eaten meat for years (I did eat fish) but I ate a lot of dairy, mostly cheese, as well as other unhealthy things. Now I don't eat unhealthy because in my mind if I eat that crap then the cancer cells will start growing again.

You have to try and figure out what is right for you and what you can live with. That is why I stress the role of nutrition. I only wish someone had told me.

TammyMarie · September 2009

Hi Deni63,

I had surgery two weeks ago. I opted for lumpectomies to remove two areas of LCIS in the right breast and two one area of DCIS and IDC in the left breast. I have one very large incision on the left breast. The lumpectomy took 1/3 of the breast tissue. I am deformed, but the pathology report did not show any IDC. So now I am worried they missed it. They did find cancer DCIS in the right breast. May have to go back for a second surgery. I am in the process of watching what I put in my mouth as nutrition plays a huge role in this. Will find out soon about additional treatments.

DCIS and IDC

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