DCIS

Hello MsFoxtrot,

Welcome to the community.

Any decision after a cancer diagnosis is difficult, do you have a specialist breast care nurse? they are a great point of call to help and

advise you on the best way to progress your treatment.

You could also take a look on-line and try and weigh up the pros and cons of treatment options.

From  personal experience my wife was open and willing to accept and try anything that was on offer.

I hope this helps.

John.

I had 11mm high grade DCIS in 2015 in upper left quadrant.  As was standard then I had 15 sessions of radiotherapy after my surgery.  You should have planning meeting with radiotherapy so maybe get more details on risk /benefits 

hi MsFoxtrot

that is a very difficult decision to make, I don't envy you.

You mention you're being offered 1 week of radiotherapy based on new studies.  Those are the studies you need to discuss with your team.

1. Why are they now offering 1 week rather than 2, which is what Grogg had and that wasn't that long ago ??
They will have access to the studies to answer your questions and that's much better than you Googling but you can, you just have to tread carefully and stick to reputable sites.  Most women will have had 2 weeks up until recently. 

2. Will 1 week sort out that remaining positive margin, however tiny. ?  This will be their professional opinion but based on those studies again.

I wasn't offered radio, as my DCIS was upgraded (downgraded?) to Her2+++ post surgery and I then had 5 months of chemo and Herceptin.

I was however offered a revision surgery as my implant was too big and there was a tumour the original surgeon had missed due to lack of information on the MRI scan report.  The second surgeon said although he was expecting to remove more breast tissue there was nothing left to take post chemo. 

It may be possible to see how you go after 1 week and if you can't face a 2nd week stop.  Ask that question too. 

lots of love and hugs

Carolyn

xx

Hi 

The 5 treatment Radiotherapy has come about as a result of a randomised trial where it was found that 5 higher dose treatments are as effective as 15 smaller doses.

Things evolve over time. When I started training as a radiotherapy radiographer in 1979 the standard was 25 treatments with 5 more as a boost so things have definitely improved.

You will have a meeting with your radiation oncologist and they will explain to you the risk and benefits of the treatment and the extra boost. I wouldn’t try and make a decision until you have talked to your oncologist and heard their recommendations.

Good luck x

Hi MsFoxtrot I was diagnosed with DCIS in April. High grade lower left inner quadrant.  I had a therapeutic mammoplasty and one of my clear margins was only 0.047mm because, like you, no breast tissue left to take.  I had 5 days radiotherapy in August, which went well with few side effects, but I wasn’t offered the boost.  It seems to be fairly common now to do higher dose over shorter period. I have now been passed to the open access team with annual mammograms for 5 years.  My oncologist’s parting comment was that I haven’t had breast cancer!  Good luck.

Hi can I ask what radiotherapy treatment you had please, did you have the boost xx

Hi 

I gave just finished radio therapy and was only offered the 5 days with no boost. My diagnosis was the same as my mums (5years ago) only I had two small tumors. She had to do 15 days with 5 boost so I am going with the technology must be improving. 
but in your dilemma to make your own choice I wouldn’t know what too good for best. I’d def spk to bcn x 

Hi I just had 5 days of RT to whole breast last August - no boost.  I didn’t get offered anything else, I think 5 days is becoming the norm.  In fact, I have a friend on a trial which is aiming to reduce the number of days again.  As Army says I think technology & treatment is evolving so quickly.   Apart from some sharp pains through my breast, which I still get randomly, I didn’t have any side effects.  I had my first annual mammogram in May 2022 & thankfully everything is clear.

Hi, i think it also depends on the consultant and the area of the hospital.  I asked my consultant about the 5 days of radiotherapy and he said it was usually offered to older people who struggled getting to and from the hospital for appointments and it was mostly through the lockdown period.  I should be having radiotherapy after my therapeutic mammoplasty on 1/8.

I had my treatment at the Royal Berkshire hospital.  This seems to be preferred option but obviously depends on prognosis etc.  I also had a therapeutic mammoplasty & DCIS was high grade.  Had op 14/05/21 within 2 weeks of diagnosis & RT started 02/08/21 so outside of lockdown.  Apart from my stay in hospital I was allowed someone with me, although I chose to attend RT alone.  I was 60 at the time & drove myself to & from appointments.  Interestingly, I’d been in contact with my son who tested positive for covid 3 days before my treatment but they me go ahead.  I took LFT’s daily (all negative), isolated, & RBH pushed all appointments to end of day so I didn’t come into contact with anyone (effectively treated me as though I was +ve).  Bonus was was no parking issues!  RBH is generally a great hospital & quite forward thinking but I agree it probably depends where you are in the country.