Radiation for DCIS???

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BlueHeron
BlueHeron Member Posts: 154
edited January 2016 in DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ)

Hi all. I'm scheduled for Lx for IDC on 1/14. My mammogram also shows calcifications which look suspicious, but biopsied benign. They couldn't biopsy everything, though, so I'm nervous about hidden DCIS (there is also DCIS associated with my tumor).

So my question is..... If I have the Lx and rads, would the rads kill off any remaining DCIS? Do we even know? Maybe we don't, cuz everyone has it removed first, but I thought I'd ask this wise group.

Thanks.

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  • Annette47
    Annette47 Member Posts: 957
    edited January 2016

    My understanding (and I could be wrong) is that yes, the radiation would kill off any stray DCIS cells that might be remaining, but that it probably wouldn’t be enough to take care of a larger concentration such as an actual tumor, but hopefully something that large would have shown up on imaging.


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  • BlueHeron
    BlueHeron Member Posts: 154
    edited January 2016

    thanks, Annette. I get confused by DCIS. My mammograms always have calcifications due to fibrocystic tissue, so when I picture DCIS I picture it sprinkled like the calcs. I'm fearful of missing something. But I really don't want Mx unless I do in fact have widespread disease.

    I'm meeting with rad onc tomorrow just to discuss, see what she thinks.

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  • LisaAlissa
    LisaAlissa Member Posts: 1,092
    edited January 2016

    Talk with your radiologist about it, but my understanding is that the calcifications which are of concern are those which form patterns. Lines, branching patterns, that sort of thing. Random scattered calcifications do not indicate a potential BC problem...

    HTH,

    LisaAlissa

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  • BLinthedesert
    BLinthedesert Member Posts: 678
    edited January 2016

    Calcifications are simply a response to "some" sort of disruption in otherwise normal breast tissue. They can be caused by injury, inflammation, or cancer. DCIS calcifications are no different from IDC calcifications. DCIS is lesion, just like IDC is a lesion. Not all DCIS is found by calcifications (e.g., by mammogram) -- some (like mine) manifest as a "lump" - it was found on ultrasound, when a lump was felt in my breast. After they identified they were able to so some funky mammogram positions to also find calcifications close-by. MRI identified the whole area into the chest wall.

    My understanding from my RO is that the radiation will indeed kill off any "errant" cancers -- as long as they are in the radiation field.


    Best wishes to you!

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  • CAMommy
    CAMommy Member Posts: 437
    edited January 2016

    I just wanted to add, my DCIS was much bigger than expected. It showed 17 mm on mammo but ended up being 5+ cm after lump. My surgeon said he can feel the diseased tissue from the good tissue.

    I'm glad I got radiation though, I am worried there was some more hanging out somewhere. Although the radiologist told me nothing can hide in my "fatty" breasts.


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