Situ Ductol Carcenoma

Hi,PLEASE provide me some information regarding the "Situ Ductol Carcenoma". My sister is dignosed with it and she has Micro Calcification with clusters in her right breast and which is 9 cm spreaded.This momday her doctor is doing the Mastectomy.PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE..................................PLEASE provide me some information regarding this.

[Fernando Roque, MD]

Hi.  Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) is a very early form of breast cancer which is confined within the breast glands and has not yet spread to nearby lymph nodes and other organs.  At this stage, the breast cancer is quite curable.  More than 90% of women who have this kind of disease will survive and remain cancer free ten years after the diagnosis, as long as proper treatment is given.  The usual treatment for DCIS consists of either lumpectomy (only a portion of the breast containing the tumor is excised) plus irradiation, or mastectomy.  Since your sister seems to have a widespread area of DCIS (9cm), mastectomy is probably the appropriate procedure to be done.  If your sister's cancer also turns out to be hormone receptor (estrogen or progesterone receptor) positive, she will also benefit from taking hormonal treatment (e.g. Tamoxifen) for five years after the surgery.

Hope the answers help.