Hurry up and wait?

Hi Linda, I waited 7 weeks between the core biopsy and the first lumpectomy, as I had only been given a diagnosis of atypical ductal hyperplasia after the core biopsy, and I was not actually anticipating a DCIS diagnosis (although that's why they do the surgery in those cases). After they found the DCIS (and no clean margins), it took another 2 1/2 months before I had the re-excisions to achieve clean margins. Partly, that related to a move to a different surgeon and hospital, and partly it was due to the wait for the BRCA testing.  Here's the thing, it's very unlikely that DCIS will progress to IDC in a short period of time even grade 3 DCIS with comedonecrosis).  What you don't know, until you have the surgery (lumpectomy or mastectomy) is whether you already have IDC or microinvasion (a tiny amount of IDC). Even with early stage IDC, waiting a few extra weeks is really unlikely to cause a problem.  There are many women on these boards who have long delays to treatment (waiting for mastectomy, in particular).  I also waited almost three months from the lumpectomy to the radiation, due to bureaucratic issues with the large cancer treatment hospital I used (mine was also grade 3 with necrosis).  I hope the rest of this journey goes smoothly for you.

I don't know if waiting will make a difference for you, but for me it didn't. I had a sterotactic biopsy within a week of my mammogram which found the DCIS , but my lumpectomy was not until the next month, and the little piece of DCIS that was left behind along the needle track had not gone invasive. Like you, I spent the wait worried about what was growing in there yet to be found.