Should I get a double mastectomy for DCIS?

“The findings suggest that patients and their doctors should focus on risk factors and appropriate therapy for the diseased breast, not the opposite breast, and that ipsilateral DCIS should not prompt a bilateral mastectomy.”

Can DCIS return after double mastectomy?

The retrospective analysis of more than 3,000 cases over 22 years found that locoregional recurrence after mastectomy for DCIS is uncommon, but it is significantly more frequent among women younger under age 50, especially those younger than age 40.

Will mastectomy cure DCIS?

Surgery is the first step to treat DCIS. It removes the abnormal tissue from the breast. Depending on how far the DCIS has spread within the milk ducts, surgery can be mastectomy or lumpectomy. If DCIS is spread throughout the ducts, affecting a large part of the breast, a total (simple) mastectomy will be done.

When is a double mastectomy recommended?

When is bilateral mastectomy recommended? Having both breasts removed is recommended for women at very high risk of breast cancer. For example, those who have tested positive for a breast cancer (BRCA) gene change are at very high risk.

Should I have a mastectomy for high grade DCIS?

Mastectomy involves removal of the whole breast and is usually recommended if the DCIS affects a large area of the breast, if it has not been possible to get a clear area of normal tissue around the DCIS by wide local excision, or if there is more than one area of DCIS.

Double mastectomies | Duke Health

What are the chances of DCIS coming back after mastectomy?

Clinical outcomes following mastectomy for DCIS are excellent, with both clinical trial and population-based studies consistently reporting a 1%–2% rate of local recurrence with long-term follow-up compared with approximately 10%–15% following breast conservation and radiation (19–22).

What is the best treatment for high grade DCIS?

Radiation therapy

Treatment of DCIS has a high likelihood of success, in most instances removing the tumor and preventing any recurrence. In most people, treatment options for DCIS include: Breast-conserving surgery (lumpectomy) and radiation therapy. Breast-removing surgery (mastectomy)

How painful is a double mastectomy?

While recovering from surgery, most people have some pain. Recovery times vary depending on the specifics of your double mastectomy. After a mastectomy without breast reconstruction, it can take three to four weeks to feel mostly normal. If you also have breast reconstruction, recovery can take six to eight weeks.

Is it better to have a mastectomy rather than a lumpectomy?

Lumpectomy and mastectomy procedures are both effective treatments for breast cancer. Research shows there is no difference in survival rate from either procedure, though lumpectomy has a slightly higher risk of recurrent cancer.

How serious is a double mastectomy?

The recovery time from a double mastectomy can vary from person to person, but it typically takes 4 to 6 weeks. Some surgeries involve removing the breast tissue but saving the nipple, while others remove the whole breast. More radical mastectomies also remove chest muscle and, rarely, the lymph nodes.

Is DCIS likely to return in other breasts?

Patients with DCIS have a 15% chance of invasive local recurrence, Dr. Narod noted, but “preventing the invasive local recurrence has nothing to do with preventing death.

Should I have surgery for DCIS?

Studies show that about 75% of DCIS cases may never become invasive breast cancer. Still, current guidelines for DCIS often recommend surgery, usually lumpectomy followed by radiation, to remove suspicious lesions.

Does size of DCIS matter?

The larger the area of DCIS, the more likely it is to come back (recur) after surgery. Doctors use information about the size of the DCIS when recommending further treatments.

What percentage of DCIS comes back?

Having a history of breast cancer – even stage 0 ductal carcinoma in situ – is considered to be a risk factor for developing breast cancer in the future. In approximately 50 percent of cases, breast cancer that comes back after DCIS treatment is found to be invasive.

Is Tamoxifen necessary after DCIS?

Research shows that radiation therapy and hormonal therapy after surgery for DCIS reduces the risk of being diagnosed with either another DCIS or invasive breast cancer in the future.

How do you stop DCIS recurrence?

Radiation Greatly Reduces Risk of Recurrence for Women with DCIS, a Type of Noninvasive Breast Cancer. Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is a low-risk form of early-stage breast cancer. Women with DCIS can have radiation after the tumor is removed to lower the risk that the cancer could come back.

What are the disadvantages of a mastectomy?

Disadvantages of mastectomy

you have permanent removal of your breast. if you have breast reconstruction the surgery takes longer and it can take some months to recover. you usually have 1or 2 smaller operations after a reconstruction (to match the reconstruction to your other breast as much as possible)

Does mastectomy reduce risk recurrence?

FACT: This is completely false! No evidence has ever been shown to prove this. FACT: Undergoing a bilateral mastectomy drastically reduces your chances of breast cancer recurrence since almost all of your breast tissue has been removed.

Can you request a double mastectomy?

Some women who've been diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer in one breast choose to have that breast and the other healthy breast removed -- a double mastectomy. Removing the other healthy breast is called contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

How long is hospital stay for double mastectomy?

The surgery usually involves a short hospital stay of 1 to 3 days and a follow-up in 1 to 2 weeks, but it may be longer if your procedure is more complex, or if you also opt for immediate reconstructive surgery. You also have an option for a delayed reconstruction or no reconstruction at all.

How long does a double mastectomy operation take?

Having one breast removed, depending on the type of the procedure, typically takes two to three hours; having both breasts removed will take four to six hours. (If reconstruction is done at the same time, it will take longer.)

Should I have a single or double mastectomy?

There are reasons both for and against having a double mastectomy, but the bottom line is that it is a personal choice. Some people prefer preserving a healthy breast by having a single mastectomy, and others wish to reduce their risk of a second breast cancer, even if that risk is small.

Does having DCIS increase risk of other cancers?

A study published at the end of May in the British Medical Journal found that the risk of women developing invasive breast cancer after an earlier diagnosis of DCIS is twice that of the general population and that their subsequent risk of death from that cancer was 70% higher.

Why did I get DCIS?

DCIS forms when genetic mutations occur in the DNA of breast duct cells. The genetic mutations cause the cells to appear abnormal, but the cells don't yet have the ability to break out of the breast duct. Researchers don't know exactly what triggers the abnormal cell growth that leads to DCIS.

How long can you wait for DCIS surgery?

In women with a clinical diagnosis of DCIS, greater delay to surgery is associated with lower OS. Although most women with DCIS undergo surgical extirpation within 2 months of diagnosis, longer time to surgery is associated with greater risk of finding invasion and should be limited.