Diagnosed with IDC, DCIS, and ADH

Just got diagnosed with DCIS and wanted to know if I could wait 5 months to get surgery to take out lump in my breast. I have not talked with a surgeon yet. I'm just new to all this.

Thanks

Shan, what would be your reasoning for wanting to wait? Insurance, other commitments? While pure DCIS could probably wait (by definition it isn't going anywhere yet), the tricky thing is that a biopsy can be done and come back DCIS, but when the mass is removed final pathology may determine that IDC is also present (sometimes only a microinvasion, sometimes more). There isn't really any way of being sure you have pure DCIS, until it is removed and pathology goes through the tissue. So if you wouldn't wait 5 months to remove IDC, then you might not want to wait to remove the DCIS. So, your reasoning could be pretty important. I'd go for the surgical consult and discuss with him/her.

Hi Galway, welcome! There is a Triple Negative forum where you might find other women who have gone through the same regimen as you. The other place to look would be the chemo, before during and after.

well, actually I had a lx in December of 2002. I got a second opinion on my pathology as I felt 'lucky' with a pure dcis diagnosis, but didn't want anything to be missed as the first opinion was through a local hospital path dept. The second was from a dcis expert, who recommended an mri (my dcis architectural pattern frequently presents as multifocal/multicentric disease). I got that recommendation the day before my rads mapping appointment. Put rads on hold to fly off and get the mri (they didn't have anyone routinely reading breast mri in my city at that time). MRI found 2 more areas of concern in a different quadrant. So after the biopsies came back on both of those as dcis added to the fact that I had one very close margin from my lx, my bs recommended mx. The mx was in march of 2003, so not really a year; just a long several months. I am very glad that they found the additional areas of dcis before I had rads and walked away, potentially still with some bad cells intact. Just lucky I guess. But that's why I encourage people to get an mri before they make their final surgical decision. Best to have as much info as possible.

I think that lifestyle changes that are sustainable are best, as well as ones that take your preferences and existing lifestyle into consideration. What I mean by that is, if you already engage in healthy exercise that you enjoy, that area doesn't necessarily need to be altered. If not, look into activities that would get you moving more and that you would enjoy. For example, swimming is good exercise, but some people don't have access or dont' swim. I like cross country skiing in the winter, but some people don't have snow

Same thing for diet. Do you need to reduce your weight to be in the "low risk" BMI classification? Look at making sustainable changes that fit with what you already like. Do you like meat? or no. If you do, then you might want to consider reducing the red meat in your diet and reserving it for special occasions. If you don't, then it wouldn't feel like a sacrifice to reduce it even further (making sure you're still getting enough whole protein and amino acids). The best thing for getting your diet dialed in is to see a Registered Dietician; you may be able to get a referral at your treatment center (they may even have one there).

But the biggest thing I would encourage you to do is look at stress management. Meditation, mindfulness, yoga, breath work or guided imagery can be extremely helpful for your mind and body. There is research (using functional mri) that demonstrated changes in the length of telomeres on the chromosomes of participants who practiced yoga on a regular basis for a certain time period and is being studied in improving the recovery of bc survivors.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28576734

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25367403 (full article available through this link)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23650531

Making changes to reduce the typical stress in your day, and to enjoy each day to it's fullest are never wasted energy.

As far as the clip and margin, I would trust your RO and his/her recommendations. If you have questions, talk to him/her again (or seek a second opinion if you don't trust his/her opinion).

The lx vs mx question is a very personal one and I would not presume to advise you on that. There are many threads here where women list pros and cons as well as personal factors and their specific cell characteristics (or Oncotype testing) that help them decide. But ultimately, your decision needs to be one that you feel the best living with.

((hugs))