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DCIS

The TVClubHouse: General Discussions ARCHIVES: 2005 Dec. ~ 2006 Feb.: Health Center: DCIS users admin

Author Message
Colordeagua
Member

10-25-2003

Sunday, December 18, 2005 - 7:47 am   Edit Post Move Post Delete Post View Post Send Colordeagua a private message Print Post    
Have any of you ladies out there been diagnosed with DCIS (ductal carcinoma in situ)? Unless you (or someone you know has) have been diagnosed with breast cancer or DCIS specifically, you probably don't know what it is. It's the best kind of breast cancer you can get because it's caught at the earliest stage. It's considered stage 0 cancer. But it is "C". It's not invasive. Just a lump in a duct. But it can be multifocal (more than one lump in different areas of the breast).

Treatment for it varies, but rarely seems to include chemo. Some have mastectomy. Some lumpectomy. Some have full 33 radiation treatments. Some don't have radiation. Tamoxifen prescribed depending on whether the lump is ER + or -.

I'd say the worst about the diagnosis is what it does to you mentally or emotionally -- it is cancer. Believe me, it is a word you never want to hear. I don't think you can fully understand unless it's happened to you. A friend or loved one being diagnosed with cancer is not YOU being diagnosed.

I was diagnosed with DCIS three years ago. I had an easy time physically with my treatment -- lumpectomy, 33 rad treatments, three of five years of tamoxifen completed so far with only mild side effects. Though diagnosis was only DCIS, mentally was a whole 'nother thing. But I'm over it. Just occasionally get hit with anxiousness / worry about it. Even having just DCIS, it's another risk factor for possibly invasive cancer in the future. Or maybe I'll never hear the "C" word again. You just never know. Actually all women (and, yes, a few men) can be diagnosed with breast cancer. But until you have you just don't think of it with regards to yourself -- unless there's a family history of it. (I'm the only one in my family.)

Has anyone else been diagnosed with DCIS? How were you diagnosed? How long ago? What were your treatments? How are you doing? What helps me the most is positive outcomes after diagnosis, but I want to hear it all.