I have DCIS, but not quite sure if it is contained, until the op, which is on 15th November. It was picked up at a routine mammogram, I had no idea, it has hit me like a sledgehammer. It will be followed by a course of radiotherapy. I would love to hear from anyone with similar experiences. Reading the other posts on this site has helped already and made me fell less alone.
Hi Lindsay,
Welcome to the BCC discussion forums, you’ve come to the right place for some good, honest support from the many informed users of this site. While you are waiting for replies from your fellow forum users I have put for you below the link to BCC’s publication regarding DCIS, I hope you find it helpful.
www2.breastcancercare.org.uk/publications/diagnosed-breast-cancer/ductal-carcinoma-situ-dcis-bcc39
Take care,
Jo, Facilitator
Hi Lindsay,
Thank goodness for the routine mammograms ! We just need to get it a bit earlier I think at possibly 45 as a lot of ladies on here have found there own lump including me. Waiting for your op till the 15th Nov will seem a very long time , so you need to keep busy and occupied so that your thoughts dont wander. Get out and about with your grand children if you can and explore all the local things happening in your area for half term. The autumn leaves are wonderful here in Derbyshire so get lots of fresh air, drink lots of water and carry on as normal. You will beat it.
Sending you big hugs Tracy xxx
thanks Tracyld, as you say the waiting is tough, but at least they gave me a date straightaway, so I didnt have to watch the post. I think I read somewhere that they are going to extend the age limits to 47 - 73.
Hi Lindsay like you my cancer was picked up due to an unclear picture from the routine mammogram and I go into hospital tomorrow for WLE and SNB. I to felt like I had been hit by a sledgehammer it is a very difficutl thing to hear but the advice on here to keep busy until the 15 is good as I find when I keep busy it is easier. Having said that there have been times where my concentration levels have been so low I could not even think what to do and I keep putting things down and losing them. Be kind to yourself over the next couple of weeks as you have just been dealt a hard blow.
Hello Mapie, All the best for tomorrow . I hope everything goes really well for you and that by this time tomorrow it will all be over and they will be thinking about sending you home. I am sure the girls at my hospital all went home but unfortunately I had to have a mx so I was in for 2 days.
Lindsay I believe the prognosis for DCIS is very good and that you should not need to have Chemo , so like you say fingers crossed that it is contained.
Sending you both big hugs and positive vibes.
Tracy xxx
Hi Lindsay, That is good that the age for mammograms is being changed. I hope that is in every area of the country. I hope your weekend has been good and that you remember to keep busy. What is your hobby? Do you like baking? I always found that making cakes helped me as when you stir the mixture you get rid of lots of emotion and have a finished result. I remember decorating some with white icing and cherries and my daughter just stood looking at them and we both burst into a fit of giggles. Humour and laughter help , along with the tears and sad days as well. Keep in touch x
Hi, recently had lumpectomy for DCIS, returned to surgeon Friday to be told it was a cancer. Have to have further surgery for margins and axillary nodes. Looking at chemo and rads and surgeon very confident. Thank god for this site, I’ve been educated and have gained a strength that I don’t recognise in myself.
Great information and tips from ladies who have been there and out the other side, so much better than friends/family who tell you ‘you will be fine’…silent screams follow that only a ‘dog’ can hear 
I still pinch myself and can’t believe I’m writing to complete strangers about a topic that I know nothing about but has consumed my life since 14th Sept… seems I’ll be needing you ladies for support for the time being…Thank you, Maggie xx
Hi Mapie, Every good wish for tomorrow, do let me know how you get on. Your advice to keep busy is very good, I have carried on going to the gym as much as possible and walking my daughter’s dog. The 15th cant come quick enough now, I just want to get on with it, then see about getting my life back to normal. I have had quite a few giggles about the various stories about SNB, the blue wee and so on, its important to laugh when you can. Hope all goes well.
Hi Maggie, thank you for your message, sorry to hear that you need more surgery. You are right about this site, only people who have gone through it themselves really know how you are feeling, and its really encouraging to hear from others who have gone through similar or sometimes worse experiences and have recovered and got their lives back. All good wishes with your further treatment.
Hi Lindsay
I am waiting to go for surgery for lumpectomy and lymph nodes on the 6th November. Don’t know whether it is DCIS but surgeon said it is very small and I will just have to have radiotherapy. Getting worried in case it is more. I haven’t even had the letter from the hospital giving exact details. Had to even ring for the date of my post op check.
I am glad others are going through the same, keep losing things, can’t concentrate and getting very angry over small things.
Bless you all for your support.
Hello Jennifer, your case sounds very similar to mine, its all new experiences is’nt it , what with the radioactive stuff, the blue dye, and the tracer wire. glowing in the dark, wired for sound, and looking like a smurf!! I am going for pre operative assessment tomorrow. talking of forgetting things, the daftest thing I have done among many others, was searching through my bag at the gym looking for my towel, when it was already wrapped around me. Its the waiting that gets you, it will be a long 2 weeks from the surgery to getting the pathology results. Hope all goes well for you on the 6th.
Thank you so much Lindsay - I am going for my pre-op appointment tomorrow. at 9.15 - time is dragging - just wish it was all over.
I seems a long time for the post op assessment - 1-2 hours. I thought this was just to see if you were fit enough for op. I am really fit and feel so well can’t believe I have got cancer.
Any information would be much appreciated.
when my husband went for his pre-op apointment (that was for a knee replacement) a lot of the time was taken up in waiting, first for nurse to do BP etc, then for ECG technician, then to see specialist nurse to do a lot of talking and get a lot of information, it did take a couple of hours, so I guess we will be the same. I feel pretty much the same as you, fit and well, I have 2 older sisters who aare diabetic, and I have been trying to keep my weight OK and have a good diet because of that, then I go and develop breast cancer of which I have no family history. The Breast care nurse says that biggest risk factors are being a woman and getting older, so I guess I qualify on both those counts. Lets compare notes tomorrow,
HI Jennifer , went for my pre op assessment today, they were really quick and efficient! My appointment was 11, I got seen by a nurse at 5 past, who did my BP, height and weight and Mrsa swabs, then straightaway by the Nurse practitioner who listened to my chest and heart, and took lots of details, the ECG technician came and did her bit, and then back to the first nurse who took some bloods. I was on my way by 11.45, I was amazed. Just have to wait for the 15th now, not exactly looking forward to it, but will be glad when its all over. I hope your day went well. Its my birthday in March so I’m trying to focus on the fact that by then I will be fit and well again and all this will be behind me. Keep your chin up, and give yourself a big hug on my behalf
I have been booked in for surgery on the 14th of Nov. I am frightened - but also happy that im having the little gremlin cut out. Does anyone know about recovery times and having a drain in?
Also had mastitis - and chest infection. Was feeling terrible - my GP was great and diagnosed these immediately. I think I picked up something while flying from USA - the UK. My stomach is in tourmoil with nerves and the unknown. This has a ben a real emotional roller coaster ride.
You’ve had things extra rough by the sound of it. I have been completely churned up and very lacking in sleep, which doesn’t help at all. I’m starting to feel a little more resigned to it now and just want ot get it over with. You asked about drain tubes - I had a long one in when I had a hysterectomy. It was an odd sensation when it came out, but it wasn’t at all painful. Will you definitely need one in ? I have been told that they dont use them at my hospital.
Hi Caroline 60 and Lindsay 0802
Re: Drains and recovery, as with most parts of your treatment, there dont seem to be hard and fast rules. My friend has mx and her drains were out with about 3 days, whereas I had lumpectomy and 13 lymph nodes removed and my drain was in for the full 10 days and I continued to leak lymphatic fluid (serus? fluid) for another two weeks after that, having contracted a minor infection. My wounds healed very well and very quickly though.
The IMPORTANT thing for a good recovery is to start doing the arm excercises you are given as soon as possible, and carry on doing them forever. If you dont do them, you will struggle to get use of your arm back to normal, and may develop what they call ‘cording’ where the tendons seem to feel very tight in your arm from the armpit down and it actually feels like you have a tight string in there. If you do get it, persevere with the excercises and it WILL go away.
PS wishing you both all the very best for a good recovery x
Lindsay0802 and nannabarb - thank you so much for your comments.They are really helpful. I will be doing the exercises as they sound as if they are part and parcel of the recovery process.
PS
I stink of Vicks vapour rub and have just did a steam and vicks face with towel over head breathing 5 minutes. Ahh thats better.
Regards
Caroline