My DCIS "in-situ" Stage 0 was contained in the milk duct and all milk ducts were removed so there are no more abnormal cells in that part of my breasts. I had a similar problem witht the other breasts 4 years ago but no abnormal cells were found. Since I do not have milk ducts in either breasts I can not have a recurrence of DCIS, but like every woman there is no guarantee that something could be detected at the next mammogram or MRI in other parts of my breasts.
The MRI showed nothing after the milk ducts were removed which means there may be something too small to see or there is nothing to see at all. The doctor still suggest that I have radiation on the affected breast.
I am very hesitate to have radiaiton (since it can only be done once on that area of my body) to kill something that may or may not be there! That sent up a red flag to me!
My doctor said that with radiation I have a 65% of no recurrence within 5-8 years. It takes the average cell 8-10 years to turn into a cluster of bad cells that can be seen on a mammogram or MRI as possbile cancer. Since radiation will kill all the current bad cells whether seen or not I can understand that nothing will be seen on the mammogram or MRI within 5-8 years.
My concern is that radiation also kills good cells and when the body is growing new cells, do these cells have a greater chance of forming clusters that will become bad cells in 8-10 years.
I would like to hear from other who did not have a mastectomy but chose to have radiation, especially those who made this choice over 10 years ago. Has breast cancer recurred? What about the effect of radiation on your other internal organs? Are you having any medical problems related to radiation?
Thanks for your reply.