What surgery did you choose for DCIS and how was your experience?

Making treatment decisions for DCIS can feel overwhelming, and it's completely natural to seek insights from others who have walked this path. The experiences shared by community members who have undergone both breast-conserving surgery and mastectomy can provide valuable perspectives on recovery, decision-making factors, and what to expect during the healing process.

Hello Kimberly! I was originally diagnosed with IDC, stage 1b, in my right breast. With just that diagnosis, I was leaning toward a lumpectomy (after chemo, due to lymph node involvement). After further scans and biopsies, DCIS (stage 0) was found in my left breast. After the additional finding I immediately changed my decision to have a bi lateral mastectomy. I finish chemo in May and see the surgical oncologist again in June. Surgery should be end of June. My original choice of lumpectomy was based on not wanting to lose my breast and honestly the complexity of the surgery to remove the breast and the decision I would have to make on reconstruction. With all the other testing and getting ready for chemo, it was all too much to think about. But after finding it in the other breast, my mind started wondering why. And if it “popped up” in both, will I keep having tumors develop in my ducts? So my mind shifted to, remove the ducts! Everything we can. I know the mastectomy doesn’t guarantee me no chance of reoccurrence. But the way my mind works, I think it will bring me some “peace”. And I know me, if I chose the lumpectomy and would have a recurrence, I would live with regret and the what ifs. So now if I do have a reoccurrence (please NO!) I will feel like I did everything I could from the start, to have prevented it. It definitely isn’t an easy decision. And it is a very personal decision to each person going through this. I have had time to research and think through my decision, while I’ve been going through chemo. I am 2 chemo cycles away from being done and still stand behind my decision. I’ve talked to all the doctors I’ve seen, about my choice. They all seem to think I’m making the best decision for me and my case. It is so scary because we don’t want to make the wrong decision but also we don’t have a crystal ball that predicts our future. Good luck to you!!

I was diagnosed with DCIS in 8/24 after undergoing a lumpectomy for a different condition. Had i known about the DCIS ahead of surgery i might have opted for mastectomy but maybe not. After the DCIS diagnosis i spent days on pubmed, the national library of medicine website. There was some evidence suggesting that a recurrence post mastectomy was more likely to be metastatic. (Now, this could be because patients with higher grade DCIS are more likely to undergo mastectomy. And these patients are also at higher risk for recurrence or a new invasive cancer.) anyway, i opted against mastectomy, had whole breast radiation followed by a boost to the DCIS site and have been on an aromatase inhibitor since. My side effects from radiation were mild . I have had a lot of side effects from the medication but those seem to come and go, wax and wane. I would suggest you discuss recurrence risk with your doc. Good luck! Keep reminding yourself that DCIS has a good prognosis.

Also, recovery from lumpectomy was very easy.