DCIS

2015 I was treated for DCIS.  I had wire guided surgery followed by 15 sessions of radiotherapy .  I had 11mm high grade DCIS.  Before surgery I was told it was intermediate grade but after surgery upgraded but it did not change my treatment plan as there were no invasive cells.  If it had been invasive then it might have changed plan e.g. fufrther surgery if no clear margins, possbily chemo.  I had to wait just over  week for pathology of surgery. 

  Yesterday I had my 5 year mammogram and was given all clear abs discharged from clinic . 

I had little pain after surgery but I was sans after biopsies so it might just be a pain threshold thing x

I'm newly diagnosed DCIS and having more tests Friday. So may have misunderstood the whole way this is described and understood. I think that "In Situ" part of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, by definition mean it is not (yet) invasive, it may be growing but isn't spreading (?yet) If it changedes to the invasive sort it is then called IDC or invasive ductal carcinoma, at which point it could be given a 'grade'. It sounds like you have been caught before this, but your Dr's and nurses will know and will tell you if you ask them to clarify it for you. Also I do hope an expert here can give you proper information here rather than my certainly inadequate 'understanding ' so far which may well be worthless. It's a very good question, so ask your team is my advice! They may have given you a contact number for them if you are not still in hospital

I think you are maybe getting staging and grading mixed up? Staging is always 0 with DCIS but grading is important too as gels how fast the cells are changing and can be low, intermediate and high grade, this impacts in. % chance of recurrence etc

I had high grade DCIS and was told that high grade is the most likely to develop further so needed getting rid of. I am forever grateful to all the team who spotted it.

Hi

If the DCIS is just that and not invasive (you will find out when you get your full pathology) your treatment plan should be the same. If you are ER/PR+ you will be prescribed medication to reduce the amount of oestrogen in your body, this is the case whether it is DCIS or invasive. If there is an invasive part then chemotherapy may come into the plan, but that would depend on many different things. If the surgeon hasn't got clear margins another operation or mastectomy may be needed, but again this only happens in a small number of cases (it did happen to me, the other way round, I had an invasive lump and they found extensive rupturing DCIS, and couldn't get clear margins so I had a mastectomy on my 4th op) My consultant was un-interested in the DCIS except trying to get rid of it, and it was the lump I had which guided my treatment plan.

It is pretty normal to still be sore after your up, try and make sure you still do your exercises though.

Easier said than done, but don't try and pre-empt what will happen, the chances are you will be "only" needing a short course of radiotherapy and possibly medication.

Best wishes

Jo