Should I choose mastectomy over lumpectomy for DCIS?

This is such a difficult decision to navigate, especially when dealing with the overwhelming emotions that come with any cancer diagnosis. Many people in this community have faced similar crossroads between different treatment options, and there's no universally right answer - what matters most is finding the path that feels right for your specific situation and gives you the most peace of mind. Consider discussing all your concerns about hormone therapy, recurrence anxiety, and quality of life with your medical team, as they can help you weigh the benefits and risks based on your individual case before making this important decision.

At first i was definitely leaning toward mastectomy for my DCIS. I did a LOT of research on DCIS and read a few studies that seemed to suggest if a patient suffers an invasive cancer after mastectomy, it tends to be found at a later stage and involve a distant body part. I wound up feeling safer keeping my breast and having regular mammograms. Radiation therapy was not a big deal for me but hormone therapy has been challenging. I am now on my second aromatase inhibitor and doing better. Discuss treatment and recurrence rates with your physician. Good luck to you !

Thank you for your response! & wow, I didn’t know that about invasive cancer after a mastectomy. Thank you for that. I also found out that I also have LCIS as well. I’m going to meet with a breast surgeon the 2nd week of October to discuss a mastectomy. I’m going to be doing some more research! Thank you again & good luck to you as well!

Definitely talk about recurrence with the surgeon. Those were a few studies, not a huge number. It just made sense for me.

And good luck to you!!!

I hope whatever you chose went well and all cancer is removed! I had the same thing and chose a lumpectomy twice. However, cancer remained so I chose a bilateral mastectomy. I'm waiting for my implant surgery. I don't regret any decision because they were made with the best information I had at the time. Speedy recovery!

I was diagnosed at MSK with DCIS & since the amount they needed to remove was too large for a lumpectomy I had a mastectomy. MSK is phenomenal! Very caring & thorough. They started recostruction the same day as the mastectomy. Now I go for more saline fillups weekly until desired size is reached. No big deal! The area of the missing beast feels numb. It may never feel the same as original. But all the cancer was removed & no further treatment! Good luck!