DCIS Alternative Treatment

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Kim0215
Kim0215 Member Posts: 5
edited May 2020 in Just Diagnosed

Good morning - I am wondering if anyone on this forum who has been recently diagnosed has found any alternative methods of treatment. I am a candidate for the COMET study and am considering it. I really don't mind the surgery part but the radiation and tamoxifen are drugs I do not want in my body. The clinical trial I think still does both, just not the surgery. Is there any other way you may have found? My diagnosis is as follows:

Final Pathologic Diagnosis

1. LEFT BREAST, 3:00 AREA 1, STEREOTACTIC CORE BIOPSY:

DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU, NUCLEAR GRADE 2 WITH CENTRAL NECROSIS, SOLID PATTERN. MICROCALCIFICATIONS ARE PRESENT IN ASSOCIATION WITH DUCTAL CARCINOMA IN SITU. NO INVASIVE CARCINOMA IDENTIFIED.

Thanks - never thought this was a forum I'd have to use. It's overwhelming...

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited May 2020

    Hello Kim! First, we wanted to send you a warm welcome to the BCO Community. There's a lot of support and information here, in all topics relating to breast health and breast cancer, so we hope you're able to find what you're looking for.

    You may want to take a look and/or post in our forum for those contemplating alternative approaches to treatment. Breastcancer.org do not recommend or endorse alternative treatment, but we respect the choices of our members.

    Also, you may want your diagnostic and treatment information to show in your posts signature, in every post. To do this, just click on My profile' (top right corner), then click 'My diagnosis' and fill out the relevant information. Then you have to make it "public". This way others can easily know your situation and offer the best support and advice.

    We hope this helps. If you need help with anything around the boards, feel free to get in contact with us, we're always here!

    The Mods



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  • Beesie
    Beesie Member Posts: 12,240
    edited May 2020

    Kim, sorry that you've had to join us here!

    Surgery alone can be a viable option, depending on the size and focality of the DCIS, the surgical margins and the level of recurrence risk that you are willing to live with.

    The thing to keep in mind is that all DCIS is not alike, and in some cases the risk of recurrence might be very high if radiation is not done after a lumpectomy whereas in other cases the risk might be quite low. Approx. 50% of recurrences after a diagnosis of DCIS are not found until the cells have progressed to become invasive cancer, so avoiding a recurrence is the primary objective of DCIS treatment. Generally radiation reduces recurrence risk by about 50%, so the amount of benefit you get depends very much on your specific diagnosis and surgical pathology (grade, size, focality, surgical margins). Endocrine therapy (Tamoxifen or the AIs) reduces local (in the breast area) recurrence risk by about a further 50%, and provide an additional benefit of reducing the risk of a new primary breast cancer in either breast.

    Lots of others who've been through this board have considered doing surgery alone, and many have done it. Here are just some of the discussion threads on this:

    Topic: Has anybody decided to do excision only? Or active monitoring?

    .

    Topic: Anyone with small grade 2 DCIS opting out of treatment?

    .

    Topic: Anyone choosing no radiation after lumpectomy?

    .

    Topic: Ten years "all clear" - lumpectomy only - no other treatment

    .

    Topic: Anyone ER+ PR+ opting out of hormone therapy?

    .

    Topic: DCIS: choosing surgery only, followed by monitoring

    .

    If you have not already done so, you might want to read my opening post from this thread, which the Mods kindly pinned to the top of the DCIS forum.

    Topic: A layperson's guide to DCIS

    .

    And you might want to read about the Oncotype DX for DCIS test, which helps assess recurrence risk and the extent to which radiation would be beneficial, or perhaps isn't required:

    About the Oncotype DX Breast DCIS Score test

    .

    Lots of resources to help you with your decision!

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  • Kim0215
    Kim0215 Member Posts: 5
    edited May 2020

    Thank you! This is very helpful as I learn to navigate all this information. I’ve met with one surgeon and have a 2nd opinion scheduled next week so this gives me time to research and get a lot of questions together. I realize every one is different and I also just found out in February that I have a couple of “hitchhikers” on one of my ovaries that is throwing my estrogen into overdrive so I have a lot to review and consider. Blessings to all I come in contact with moving forward on this site. There are a lot of women who are far more heroic in their journey than I will ever have to be and if I have to be in a “club”, it looks like I am in good company.

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