First of all, what a bummer you've joined us.
Secondly, I'm glad you've got hold of this before it's got completely out of hand. As Suziex said, DCIS is a VERY early diagnosis, before cancer has developed the ability to spread outside the milk ducts. I have fingers crossed that the MRI will confirm this. I don't know of anyone who's had DCIS without any invasive cells who has needed chemo and radiotherapy, so if your final diagnosis is DCIS and no IDC (invasive ductal carcinoma, the cancer that DCIS typically turns into if it's left to its own devices) then your treatment regime is likely to be less crappy than it could be. But please don't take that as me belittling your diagnosis - far from it, there isn't a competition or heirarchy with BC. I'm just hoping you don't need chemo or rads on top of surgery. And also, most of us on here, including me, aren't medical, and we haven't seen YOUR notes, so we can't say what the best thing is FOR YOU, just speaking from our own anecdotal knowledge.
A couple of things to be aware of with MRI and its results. It is VERY sensitive, and can often show up "abnormalities" that are, in fact, perfectly normal and non-cancerous, and it can be very difficult for the person interpreting the MRI to know what's a nasty and what's just a normal difference (like a cyst, or a fatty lump, or other stuff that isn't worth worrying about and not related to cancer) and they often err on the side of caution. So IF you are called back after your MRI for further tests, DON'T PANIC! When my tumour that they'd spotted on ultrasound didn't show up on a mammo I had an MRI and they spotted another "suspicious" area so I had another biopsy, but I burst into tears at the result when it turned out to be absolutely nothing to worry about.
As for surgery, there are lots of different things they can do with DCIS, all depending on what YOU have. Some people have wide-spread DCIS throughout the breast or in several places, others have a small localised area. Sometimes they suggest a mastectomy (as DCIS, particularly high-grade, has a fair chance of turning into invasive ductal carcinoma, IDC you might see it referred to as), but sometimes they'll do something called a wire-guided, erm, I've forgotten what they call it! (sorry!) but it's a bit like a lumpectomy but you don't have a specific lump that the surgeon can see, as DCIS is a change at a cellular level so they take a look for calcifications or other signs of DCIS and work out what they need to remove.
That's without taking into account your family history. That might put a different spin on things for you, but your specialists who have access to your details will have a much better idea than any of us on here.
I would certainly recommend you give the helpline a ring in the morning so that you can have some help to work out the questions you need to ask, about DCIS, different types of surgery, genetic testing etc etc. Working out what questions to ask is often the most difficult bit of the whole process! That, and sitting in The Waiting Room, where we have all been, and we all know the agony of.
Some tips for the MRI.
Bring some warm trousers without any metal in them (elastic-waited PJs or fleecy something) and some toasty warm socks, and if you tend to feel the cold ask them to cover you over with a blanket once they've settled you into the machine. They have to keep the room chilly for the machine's benefit, and keeping warm can very much help you relax. When I had mine, I lay on my front (with boobs dangling through a hole - very weird!) and my forehead resting on a very comfortable firm foam block. I just zoned out and imagined I was lying on a massage bed waiting for a massage. Unfortunately the masseur never arrived, but the notion helped greatly with keeping calm. That, or imagine a nice sunny beach sunbathing - I seem to remember that image wandering round my head too.
It's VERY noisy, with lots of banging and buzzing, but it's all very rhythmic, so if you can also imagine yourself in some kind of dance trance tent at a festival (while sunbathing and waiting for a masseur) that can also help. At mine they gave me headphones which very cleverly had an echo-y quality, so with my eyes shut I felt much more like I was in a wide open room, because of the acoustics with the headphones.
Sometimes they will want to introduce some contrast dye, so they'll put a cannula into your arm beforehand, and will warn you when it's going in, as it can feel a bit weird. I have to say I didn't notice at all, but some people feel it a bit cold, or perhaps a bit stingy. I actually found the whole thing very relaxing, in a strange kind of way.
If you're very nervous about that kind of thing, ask if you can visit beforehand, so you know what to expect. They should be happy to show you round.
As for the holiday - GO FOR IT! A week or two is unlikely to make any difference at all to your outcome, and you may even be able to see it as a celebration of your boobs before they are subjected to treatment, or if you know you're due for a mastectomy they'll give you the chance to say goodbye to it/them.
Best of luck. And call the helpline.
CM
x
