DCIS - "no big deal"?

Hi Suzmarie!

I'm sorry that your doctors are making light of your diagnosis. DCIS does have a good prognosis but surgery is surgery. I had a lumpectomy in January. It was performed as an outpatient surgery. (I was home by 4:00 pm that day.) The most uncomfortable part of it was the wire insertion, which shows the surgeon precisely what tissue has to be removed. There is an awesome thread on this site, The Lumpectomy Lounge. Whenever I had questions, I would post them there and the lumpectomy pros would answer them.

Barred Owl is right that you should ask about radiation. You might also ask whether they plan to take out any lymph nodes, like the sentinel node. Also, ask about what you should wear after surgery. Some surgeons will wrap you up tightly; others prefer that you bring a compression or tight sports bra to wear. Such a bra is necessary so you don't develop seromas (sacs of fluid that form where your tissue was removed). Also, ask about whether the surgeon will be inserting a drain. Many ladies who get lumpectomies don't get drains, but I did.

Hope that you get the answers you need! Best wishes!

Hi all. Suzmarie, your story is 99% similar to that of my mother's. Down to dates, pathology, and all. Hers was Er positive and PR weakly positive. She was just dx'd with DCIS, moderate to high grade, with solid and necrotic components, with one area of microinvasion. Her surgery is July 15th. Her BS also said that this was no big deal, and even suggested that a simple lumpectomy without radiation might be possible. We've been scrambling to find out more information, about proper treatment etc. The BS mentioned mastectomy, but didn't give her a chance to choose that. He downplayed everything and said this was not a big deal. She is going to have her lumpectomy and they are going to do a sentinel node bx as well, because of the microinvasion. Based on what I've read, I think she needs radiation and some sort of hormone therapy to avoid recurrence. I don't know how bad the side effects are. She is so scared and doesn't want to make any decisions. She wants to leave all the decisions up to my father and myself, knowing we would do our best for her best interests. Good luck to you.

my doctors haven't said "no big deal" but they have said that they will take care of me and I will be fine. I think it's a big deal. It's scary.

I think doctors do down-play the serious nature of this type of BC and I believe they see it as a very early and highly curable type of BC. BUT, they are not the one experiencing the diagnosis and treatment so imho, they should never make light of such a serious disease in ANY stage. They should encourage and tell you that this is the best of the worst case scenarios but that they take it seriously and will get you through it with treatment and encouragement. I hate that so many view this as a non-issue when clearly anytime they cut into you and then fry you it is clearly serious enough. Also taking any of the chemo-preventative meds are not without issues for many as well. Ugh...sorry they made you feel this way. Hugs...we get it around here!