Angry and Scared

Hi dksmith. I am curious as to your diagnosis in your signature. DCIS can't be stage 2 only grade 2. DCIS by nature is always grade 0. Are you sure you were not dianosed with IDC? Just letting you know.

As for the BRCA, don't forget, it is only present in 15%, even with a strong family history. It could still be negative and I am hoping that is the case for you! Hugs.

Hi, dksmith - it can all be very overwhelming and the emotional response is just part of it. Someone on this board said, 'DCIS is breast-threatening, not life-threatening' and that helped me keep it in perspective. The initial phase of diagnosis and determining your treatment path is the most stressful, even more so than recovering from surgery! Once you get all of the info, make your decision, schedule your surgery, you can just let the burden of finding your treatment path go. It's a crash course in oncology and very stressful! If you can, take breaks from it all. It helped to be around people that made me smile. Sometimes it felt like a break to not think about cancer for 5 minutes, but it does help. You will get through it and be stronger for it. I was diagnosed almost exactly a year before you and had to have MX (opted for BMX), and life is mostly back to normal. Except I appreciate everything more and have no time for things and people that are not worth the time! I wish you the best in your treatment path. You will get such valuable help on these boards, so ask lots of questions. Best wishes!

Yes to the abbreviations above.  Did you get your BRCA test results yet?

I have a friend whose mother and sister are BRCA positive but she is not.  You never know!  Fingers crossed for you.

I had the first stage of my reconstruction done in the same surgery as the MX.  It was a long surgery and it took about 5 weeks before I felt like working.  I didn't have short-term disability insurance either and really wished that I had.  I'm a contractor and work at home, so no work = no pay.  Somehow it all worked out.  I had four surgeries last year and stretched them out across pay periods so I was never without income.  If this process teaches us anything, it's what is really important.  The rest just falls away for a while.  Waiting is the worst!!!  Trust that your fears are worse than the reality, and our bodies are a lot stronger than we think.  

It has been three years since my mastectomy.  Have a history of female cancer (cervical in 1994).  Couldn't afford the BRCA test when I got DCIS in 2010.  First doctor I had would only do lumpectomy, not mastectomy.  I didn't feel good about it with my history and my family history so I found another doctor.  The other doctor totally agreed with my decision and made me feel good about it.  This is a very personal decision and you need to do what is right for you.  The literature that I found (may not have been accurate--so much info out there) indicates a very slight higher risk for those that get lumpectomy.  I also had high grade etc., the worst kind, so for me I felt it made sense.  I am going to get my breast rebuilt, chose not to at first, sometime within the next year.  Anger, fear, crying are all normal.  We don't really have a support group where I live, but in some places they do.  You might check with your hospital.  It would probably help.  There are times in our life that are tough.  This is one of them.  The only thing I can say is hang in there.  It got better for me--three years since mastectomy.  I don't take things for granted now.  I think I enjoy flowers more, the sunshine, birds, my cat, and especially my family.