DCIS Alternatives for treatment
I have a recent diagnosis with DCIS moderate to high grade. Has anyone else received this diagnosis and chosen to do nothing but monitor the situation? I went from biopsy and ultrasound results with a likely lumpectomy to the MRI results with a 4cm + area and recommendation for a masectomy to remove the 'cancer'. Any thoughts?
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Hi @theunexpected , There is currently an ongoing clinical trial (COMET) studying the effectiveness of just monitoring low grade DCIS. It sounds like your DCIS is not considered low grade which is why surgery is being recommended. I’m sorry that you can’t have the lumpectomy you would prefer but the size is too big to get a good cosmetic result. Some DCIS will never become malignant but scientists are still researching how to determine that. I had a small amount of DCIS adjacent to my IDC so it’s quite likely it could have been removed before it became invasive if it were found earlier.
There is a genomic test called the Oncotype DCIS that some clinical trials are using to determine low grade (score less than 39.) You could discuss the possibility of using this with your surgeon if you want to try monitoring but high grade on pathology is unlikely to come back as low grade genomically. All the best as you figure out your treatment options.
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Thank you.
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I found that high grade has about an 80 percent chance to become stage 1. I am trying vitamin C IV of 50mg, soursop bitters, apricot seeds just 2-3 after a meal once a day to help it not grow and kill it. There is no reason to go to surgery without trying to have your body heal itself. I’m trying it. I don’t want any surgery. Also don’t stress because that won’t help you heal,
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@Joyfulnhappy, Did your doctor recommend this alternative treatment?
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@joyfulnhappy , have you checked out the alternative medicine threads? They are not very active (bco specifically states they do not endorse alternative medicine) but you might find an audience there. Overall, this forum is very much oriented toward conventional medicine but many of us use complementary medicine for comfort and symptom relief.
I can’t paste URL’s but the title is Alternative Medicine. Take care
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Thank you. I will check that out.
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It is unlikely that any doctor practicing conventional oncology would recommend this.
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Hello to All:
I received my intermediate grade stage 0 DCIS diagnosis a few weeks ago from a stereotactic biopsy. I have basically a "field" of calcifications, so the sample was only from one area of those. Had my first appointment with the surgeon who recommended a full mastectomy since she felt the area was too large for a lumpectomy. With luck, I may not need radiation or chemo after surgery, but maybe will do some hormones. Currently, the plan is to do the DIEP reconstruction on the same day as the mastectomy.
I've been doing research though and now I am questioning what I need to do. I was 70 when diagnosed, just turned 71. I did understand that because of my age the chances that I would have a recurrence, or even that the DCIS would progress into IBC are low, so I wonder if its worth it in terms of quality of life to go through such serious surgery and whether just closely monitoring for any changes might not be a better option. The only concern I have is because of the multiple areas of calcification and not knowing if one of those might be IBC instead of DCIS.
I would be extremely grateful for any advice and counsel any of you might offer and wonder if there are others in the same situation that I am.
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Hello @chdar919. I’m so sorry you are joining us but I think you’ll find lots of helpful support here. I have a friend in a similar situation as you with high grade DCIS and she’s contemplating a double mastectomy with reconstruction. It’s a big decision and very overwhelming! We’ve talked about what going through a mastectomy is like and what recovery might look like. It’s so hard not to make our decisions based only on emotions! This is such an emotional thing and I know I felt a sense of urgency, so I felt pressured to make decisions much faster than I liked.
My situation was a bit different, with having both IDC and DCIS, in opposite areas of my breast, so the surgeon didn’t give me an option of having lumpectomies. I had done my research and was prepared to hear the recommendation of a mastectomy. So I had a mastectomy on that one side and eventually an implant. My plastic surgeon was eager to do a DIEP flap on me but I was too overwhelmed with the whole of cancer and the unknowns (would it be in my lymph nodes, would I need chemo, etc) that I just couldn’t see involving another part of my body. It’s been just over 2 years since the mastectomy and I’m feeling all healed, life is pretty much back to normal. I’m glad I did reconstruction and my plastic surgeon helped me have an end goal. The recovery and healing from my 2 surgeries did take time, it was definitely a process with some physical therapy needed … but any quality of life issues was more from the hormone treatment and having all “menopause” symptoms all at once than from the surgeries themselves. I never understood “quality of life” the way I do now. Cancer has been such an eye-opener! Anyhow, this is my long-winded welcome and I’ll send you a private message also.
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