how long did you wait from dx to surgery?

I was diagnoised on Nov 16 and my first surgery was Feb the following year.  I really wanted to know all that I could and meet as many doctors as I needed to feel comfortable with my decision.  Plus I did not want to deal with the holidays being sick.  It worked fine for me.

I had to wait six weeks from the time I was diagnosed to the time of the surgery. I had a bilateral with reconstruction so the two surgeons had to coordinate their time. I was a nervous wreck just like you. I was told that is OK to wait that long. My tumor was 1.8 cm. If if weren't for this forum I wouldn't have probably made it through. It did give me time to research my particular type of cancer so I was well informed by the time the surgery came. Hang in there!

Wish you all the best!

I have DCIS, med to high grade.  I was diagnosed on June 18 and had my surgery on July 19 and didn't start radiation until September 1. I was trying to decide between two very good surgeons, a man and a woman and made my choice based on first available appointment ( a two week difference).   I was anxious to get it out even though  intellectually, I knew I could wait.  

AS you can see from the above posts, waiting with a dx of dcis won't impact your surgery or chance of recurrence. And you are waiting just one month--that's not too bad ,except for what is naturally your anxiety. I concur with the above that there's much to learn and knowing more going in is helpful in all the decisions that lie ahead.

The doesn't make waiting easier, so keep busy and knowing that your dx is not life threatening and finding  your ca at this early stage is already insuring the best outcome for you.

You are less than 2 weeks away and it is okay to wait that long. Hoping for the best for you.

I was diagnosed 4/22 and had surgery 6/30.  As someone else said, it took two surgeons and they had to coordinate schedules.  Waiting is very hard, but it does give you time to plan your surgery choices, reconstruction etc.  I thought I knew what I wanted and after research made a lot of changes.  The time allowed me to be confident in my choices and not feel rushed.  Best of luck to you.

I was diagnosed with DCIS on May 13, 2010, had a lumpectomy on May 21. Two days before the surgery I found a second lump. This is after a mamo, MRI and ultrasound didn't find the second tumor. They removed it during the lumpectomy, and it was dcis as well. That's when my recommended treatment went from lumpectomy with rads to mastectomy. I have a strong history of breast cancer in my family, so I decided to go for a BMX. 

I waited until 9/20 to have the BMX. Dr.s said it was okay and I wanted to wait until my kids were in school. It was a long time to wait, but it gave me time to prepare, talk to other doctors and really reflect on my decision.

No regrets. Very RELIEVED it is over, still healing, but the end it near. I am happy my new boobs too. The PS did a great job.

 Good luck! Barbara 

Diagnosed in August 09, surgery end of Jan 2010; so surgery was six months after diagnosis.  Multicentric high grade w/ necrosis.  It was still all DCIS at surgery, but I was starting to get nervous that I was pushing the envelope.  However, that's how long it took for me to decide what I wanted to do, find the right Dr.'s and get the thing scheduled.

Cosbon,

I was diagnosed March 27 and had a lumpectomy on June 2; needed more excision and rad, but opted for a uni mx on June 28.  DCIS is not an emergency, although it feels like one!  It's a blessing to be able to take time to find out as much as you can, get a variety of medical opinions and figure things out in your own mind and heart.

I had immediate reconstruction with my mx.  I wish you success in your treatment!

Hi Bailee-

So sorry you are having to deal with this. Any chance of switching to a different surgeon? Or calling the surgeon's office and demanding to be done sooner? The good thing with DCIS is that you do have time, but I can definitely understand wanting/needing to get this part of it behind you.

(((hugs))) 

Baillee, can you have surgery after your trip? I know you probably want this to be done with, but maybe it would work out better?

I had my first biopsy on July 3rd, and surgery on Sept 25. In between, I had MRIs and MRI-guided biopsies. Those were tough to schedule in the summertime, with everyone's schedules. I was a basket case near the end and just wanted it to be over with. Didn't finish rads until January. A much longer journey than I anticipated, but it could have been much worse.

I was diagnosed in June 2007, had a lumpectomy in July 2007.  Margins were not clean, so was told I needed a unilateral mastectomy.  It took me a long time to accept it, and then we had to coordinate schedules between the bs and the ps - so my mastectomy was not until January 30, 2008. 

Baillee4 - my experience was that I would not have felt well enough for a trip like that 2 weeks after surgery.  It depends on how fast you recover (surgery makes you very tired), and how many drains you have.  I had only 1 drain (thank goodness), and was able to have it taken out 9 days after surgery.  I was off work for 2 weeks basically resting on the couch.  I went back to work (a desk job and I am able to work from home), but remember getting tired easily.  My job also requires travel, and I waited 6 weeks before I took a trip.  Primarily because during the first 6 weeks after surgery you cannot lift more than 10 pounds, and my luggage would have weighed more than that. 

Of course, everyone is different!

Best,

Patti

Two months. I did a lot of research on DCIS. I might have moved faster if I had a different diagnosis. I saw my neighbor suffer with lymphedema because she rushed into surgery so I was very careful.

I concur - two weeks is too short.  My DCIS was diagnosed on October 3 (breast cancer awareness month - of course!) and I had a bilateral mastectomy on December 19th.  As with most others, it was hard to schedule two doctors' schedules plus the availability of the hospital.  And in between diagnosis and surgery I went for a second opinion at Georgetown University Hospital.  I chose Loudoun Hospital because my sister is a hospitalist there and I knew I would get a private room and really good care as she is well-liked by the hospital personnel.  She had an oncologist, my primary care physician, a physician in palliative care, the infectious disease doctor, the breast surgeon and the plastic surgeon in to see me!  I think I was covered!