Hi Ladies...can I pick your brain?

There was someone else on here recently who said her DCIS was diagnosed via mammogram, it is not something I have ever heard of, but I am fairly new.  From what I understand, and could be wrong, they can have suspicion of DCIS from the mammogram but until a biopsy is done, they do not know. 

On my mammogram, I had extensive microcalcifications.  Calcifications themselves are not cancerous, but they can point to one and from what I understand, it is very good at diagnosing DCIS.  Depending on what her BIRAD score (how they rate her mammogram), they obviously thought something was suspicious and needed further checking - which is usually a BIRAD 4 (which you have a 80% chance of benign). Sometimes however they can tell from the groupings that it is more then likely cancer - a BIRAD 5, at which point you only a 5% chance of it being benign.  

As for being fast growing, yes it can happen.  My friend was having mammograms every 6 months and in 6 month period, she went from having nothing to her entire breast being covered with DCIS.  

As for taking half her breast...I don't know. To me, it sounds like a rather large lumpectomy.  Why would they take half her breast, that must be the area that the cancer is in.  Mine covered over 7.5 cm.  so if they went with a lumpectomy it would have been huge chunk of my breast, and I would have needed reconstruction (if I wanted).  It was recommended due to size and being multifocal that I go with a mastectomy, which I did.

Just remember if she has pure DCIS, it is always non-invasive and it is stage 0.  They have caught it before it turns into something else.  However, to be upfront, you never know until the final pathology is in.  It happens in a few cases, but sometimes they find something else upon final pathology.

I would request a copy of your MIL pathology report from the biopsy, and that can you give more information.  Such as size, grade, etc.

Please keep us updated!

Hi Corrie-

that is nice that you are such an involved D-I-L. Anyway, they can have strong suspicion of DCIS but can't know for sure until actual bx. Sometimes there are additional calcifications or other findings that are strongly suggestive of DCIS or IDC but it is not until the lump or Mx is done that the pathologist can definitively tell. Has you MIL had an MRI of the breasts? Sometimes that is helpful, or additional sterotactic (under mammogram guidance) or US guided (under ultrasound) guided biopsies to determine the extent of disease can help.

That being said, it is definitely possibly for DCIS to occupy a large area. My DCIS for example was 8x9x5cm in dimension. In a smaller breast (my pre-MX breast was DD++) that would mean a significant defect in the breast due a quadrantectomy or a partial Mx.

My DCIS (mostly not seen on mammogram - only the MRI revealed the true extent of disease) came up in 2 years, my mammo at age 32 was within normal limits and the second one at age 34 (delayed due to a pregnancy) showed a 7mm and 3 mm cluster of microcysts that both turned out to be DCIS. So yes, it can come up quickly.

Best wishes...

Corrie,

DCIS is ususally found with a mammogram as often there are only microcalcifications and no lump. When I was diagnosed with it in 2007, they did a partial mastectomy (ie large lumpectomy). They do this when there is scattered DCIS to make sure they get it all. She probably doesn't even have a mass, but getting DCIS can happen in one year.

The good news is DCIS in non-invasive so your mother-in-law won't die from this. She will probably need a lumpectomy plus radiation. 

All the best to her,

Sandie