Lumpectomy with no further treatment

Hi, jumping in on this thread. I am now in the position to say I am done with treatment and no plans for anything in the future (including no hormone therapy as I am ER- PR-) except 6 month checkups with BS who will be my primary (decision after discussion with MO and BS and RO). I'll also do annual mamm, next in July. I had lumpectomy 6/3 followed by 33 rad tx and I did 6 boosts (I think, its fuzzy without looking at my paperwork.) Finished rad 9/10! I had my BS followup 10/29 and GREAT report. Site looks excellent, flat scars, skin from rad is a little brown/discolored but should keep fading over the next year (keep using Vit E & Aloe  lotion for a year). So I am DONE!! Hope that the only thing I'll have to report in the future ever again is that I am a suvivor with 1, 2, 3, 5++++++ and on and on! So this thread is appropriate.

Hello JLM1,

Sorry you had to find yourself here but we want to welcome you to our community of brave and compassionate women and men.

You might find this thread: A guide to DCIS which was created by one of our long standing members Bessie helpful.

If you have any questions about the boards please feel free to send us a private message or check out the Help section: Here (general help) and Here (abbreviations list)

Sending you big hugs and warm wishes of recovery

The moderators

Hi JLM1,

The best way to find high quality treatment is to look for your nearest NCI designated cancer center/hospital. Not sure where you live, but there are many of them near me (live in the Northeast US) http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cancer

Best to you!

Thanks so much for all the helpful info!

Thank you Mripp. Your post was very helpful.

Hi JLM1 and welcome to the best BC site ever - so many of us here to help you thru each step of your journey. 

I had no family history, annual mammograms and was in shock as well - I am smiling because your posts sound like me - trying to keep as much control over something so shocking and unbelievable but the best thing you can do is read posts out here and continue to educate yourself and make the best possible decisions for your health based on your own research and the advice of your various doctors.  Stats are great but they are stats - it is very true what they say about our journies may be similar but they are not identical.

I just want to share with you briefly my experience which all in all, I have to say given the scary diagnosis was manageable due to my care, advice and support from this site and my belief in the skills of my caregivers.

2 Stereotactic Biopsies:  sounds scary because you are put into the mammo paddles and compressed - not as tight as an actual mammo and then numbing stuff is injected, which I did not feel, maybe a very slight burning but really it did not hurt - was similar to a dentist visit for the shot!  It looks scary - I had to watch because I did not have a weak tummy and I was interested in WHAT they were taking out of me!!!!!  LOL

Wire Placement:  not pleasant.  I think the person doing the wire placement did not let the numbing stuff kick in or maybe she did not give me enough. 

Lumpectomies:  had 2 because margins did not clear.  I was surprised - thought it would be much worse than it was.  When I first looked at my breast I thought it was mutilated but truly it was not!  It does look icky after surgery - think about how sensitive the nipple area is, etc.  I am actually glad they did the second lumpectomy because it looked a little better - whomever stitched me up the second time did a much better job.

Radiation:  obviously, radiation is not a good thing BUT it ensures cancel cell destruction, at least it did for me. I had done a lot of reading about it and continuously used Eucerin lotion - and I mean continuously!  I think that really helped my skin - I did not blister and I did not even burn - it turned a very dark brown - like I was at the lake all summer (I wish!) and I even still use the lotion now.  Getting ready for the treatment was actually more scary than the actual treatment and I was afraid the first time but after that it was fine.  I did not feel really tired until I was into my last week and that only lasted maybe two weeks.

End Results:  Personally, I am exploring reconstruction options.  Many do not after lumpectomies/rads because they look fine but I am a full size smaller now due to the procedures and rads so my personal preference is to fix it.  I am about 30 lbs. over weight and have a stocky build (thanks dad!) - I could do a lift and reduction on the healthy breast but I know I would not be happy with smaller breasts, I would rather be the same size I am now, which is only a B cup. 

I don't know if any of this will help you - I hope I can relieve some of your anxiety in a small way by letting you know that as long as you are happy with your medical team and feel you are in good hands and know that we are all here to support you, you can move beyond this diagnosis.

I had a lumpectomy two weeks ago, widespread DCIS, comido, Grade 3, HER2+++. Clear sentinel nodes and clear margins. Kaiser is pushing radiation, which I am reluctant to do. But the Grade 3, the comido necrosis, and the HERS2+++ all seem to push toward doing something in addition to the surgery, since each of them puts me at the high end of the recurrence scale. I don't want to do radiation because I am really concerned about lymphedema. I have watery tissue and a tendency for fluid to accumulate as it is. I travel a lot and am starting a new business as an intuitive painting teacher--I need my arms to be fully functional!

Any advice or relevant stories? Thanks

Hey dear! So glad to talk with you. I am researching alternative DCIS treatments and have discovered that Holy Basil and Curcumin are recommended to prevent DCIS progression. What have you uncovered? My problem is this: A 2.8 cm area of high-grade dcis was found and they want to do an MX because the rest of the images are dotted with suspicious calcifications that "could be" also high-grade dcis. I wonder if I had a lumpectomy and then they saw a wider area of bad stuff if they could legally scalp out a bigger area while i'm 'under' -- so naturally I'm scared -- but your research would be appreciated. THANKS.

Hi, my mother was diagnosed with a > 1cm lump in her left breast in april 2016.

She was operated, it was non-invasive dcis. Lumpectomy was followed by radiotherapy and tamoxifen.

Now she is going for her yearly mammogram. But, she is feeling a lump from past 15 days only with pain on touch both at site of lumpectomy.

She is very nervous, what could that lump be? As far as i know a lump can't appear in just 15 days. Could it be scar tissue lump? Do scar tissue make a lump??

Please answer to my question, i am really nervous