DCIS mastectomy and no tamoxifen?

I too had only DCIS in final path and had a BMX. I had seen an Oncologist before and followed up after to be told no further treatment needed. The BMX took care of everything, no radiation, no tamoxifen!

Hi Beatrice, because your diagnosis was DCIS, which as you know is non-invasive, you don't have the risk of metastatic disease. That is what Beesie was talking about when she talked about individuals with invasive breast cancer taking tamoxifen after bmx. They are taking it to suppress the hormonal activity which might spur on metastasis or breast cancer in the small amount of remaining breast tissue. While there a small number of individuals with DCIS who do get recurrence despite the low risk, the risks of the side effects of the Tamoxifen probably outweigh the risks of recurrence in your case. There may have been reasons why they had the increased risk, such as narrow surgical margins (or no margins). If you try to pretty much eliminate the risk of bc, you take the chance of increasing your risk of endometrial cancer or deep vein thrombosis or other possible serious side effects. Plus, there may be unpleasant day to day side effects. If someone has the risk of metastasis or higher risk of recurrence of invasive disease, then it is worth taking the chances of serious and life style side effects with Tamoxifen. I hope this helps. The thing is, whatever treatments we choose, we always have to walk away with some uncertainty.

I am scheduled for a first visit with an oncologist to discuss Tamoxifen. In June I had a MX of the left breast with reconstruction. DCIS was totally removed and right breast has been clear all along. My breast surgeon recommends I take it to "make sure the right breast stays healthy". Anxious to hear if the oncologist agrees that I take it for five years.

I see most of you posting here have had mastectomies for DCIS. Wondering if you can tell me how you came to that decision. I had DCIS in 2009, and there are new pleomorphic calcifications in the same spot the DCIS was 4 years ago. My radiologist said there's about a 40% chance it's a recurrence. (It was about a 20% chance of cancer 4 years ago. Ha!) So I meet with my surgeon Monday and will schedule a biopsy. I know it might be nothing, but I just have a bad feeling, and am starting to consider what my course of action will be if it is cancer again. I had a biopsy in my other breast 2 years ago, so this is the third one in 4 years. I do not want to continue to go through this, so if it's cancer, I'm thinking a mastectomy might be a good choice for me. Any thoughts/advice?

jmb5, I had a MX because I had no choice about it - too much DCIS in too small a breast. If I'd had a choice, I would have gladly had a lumpectomy + rads, or even a lumpectomy without rads, if the surgical margins were wide enough. So I didn't decide to have a MX; it was thrust upon me.

I believe, as Annette noted, that after a lumpectomy + rads, because rads can't be done again, a MX is the only option (or, I suppose, one could opt for a lumpectomy without rads). But personally even if that wasn't the case, for me a second diagnosis would change things. At that point, I would figure that my breast tissue is a friendly environment for cancer cells, and I would opt for a MX.

Good luck with the biopsy results. Hopefully it's benign!

Same for me. MX was the only option for me, multi-focal in the breast. No Tamoxifen for me either.