Hi, I have just returned home from the breast clinic where I have had a diagnosis of DCIS, following a recent biopsy.
I also have sero-positive RA (rheumatoid arthritis) and take lots of meds for that. I have to have an op to remove the 10mm calcifications on 8th May and will have to manage/stop my immunosuppressant meds before that.
I'm a bit of a mess to be honest.
Hi. I am sorry to hear about your diagnosis. I too was recently diagnosed with dcis and am scheduled for surgery on may 9th. I am not as experienced as many of the other warriors in this group but I just wanted to write and say I hear you and you are not alone. Please try your best to be positive no matter what and have faith that things will be okay. I believe they will. Hang in there and reach out if you want to chat. You will get through this! It is just a moment in time!
Hello Moomin8 ,
I had a lumpectomy on 1/31 and have found this site to be very beneficial and informative, especially with answering post op questions. Doctors in general don’t seem to be proactive in providing a lot of information on what to expect or do AFTER surgery, and although they are open to questions, it was hard to think of all of them at the time. Just this morning I found out from a post on this site that it takes a full 6 months to heal inside completely (this is in general, as every case is different and individualized). I had invasive ductal (meaning part (1mm in my case) had broken through the wall), a 2cm tumor, stage 1, and my understanding is that this is somewhat more serious than DCIS because yours is contained within the duct walls; and I’m on my 10th week after surgery feeling almost fully recovered, so was surprised to hear 6 months for full recovery. I was told by a friend to be careful not to lift more than 5 lbs during your first 5-6 wks after surgery - could cause more scar tissue. I still have a hard knot in my chest that I’m supposed to massage and apply heat to (surgeon and post op instructions did not initially tell me that). It has slowly diminished in size. Cancer is complicated, with lots of factors going into determining your recommended post op treatment. For example, my 75 yr old friend had DCIS last year, stage 1, and they recommended 5 days of radiation, no chemo (no lymph nodes involved), and they did not put her on the anti-hormone pill for 5 yrs (it works only if your cancer is hormone receptor (HR) positive). In my case, I didn’t have to have chemo (they took two lymph nodes to biopsy - negative!) or radiation (benefits didn’t outweigh risks - would have lowered chance of recurrence by only 8%, and the risk is localized) IF I take the HR pill 5 years. The pill works on HR+ patients because it kills the estrogen in the body that an HR+ tumor and cells must feed on to grow and survive.
So hope this info gives some insight. Keep your chin up - it could be worse as I’ve learned that if you have breast cancer, DCIS is one of the most treatable and less severe than other types.
correction: my friend with DCIS was “Stage 0” , not stage 1, because a tumor had not formed - it was calcifications. Hers was HR+, but they didn’t think needed the hormone blocker pill for 5 years considering benefits vs risks of side effects.
I think mine is stage 0. It's quite confusing. I am having a lumpectomy without taking any lymph nodes. I'm keeping everything crossed that it all comes back OK 🤞🤞🤞I work in a school and so I have to face everyone Monday morning. My colleagues knew I had a biopsy, so it's a lot to share. I'm not intending on oversharing, because I don't think that helps anyone. But in the same vain, if someone asks, I'm not going to lie about my journey. Wishing everyone as smooth a journey as possible. We will all have our unique journey, but will definitely benefit from all the positive and informative help we can get 🥰
Stage 0 DCIS Double Mastectomy
Recently diagnosed with DCIS 
Diagnosis
4yrs post first diagnosis 
