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Breast cancer treatment
When There Is No Consensus: One Woman’s Journey Through Breast Cancer Treatment
To radiate or not — that is the question
There is no “good” cancer to have. But if there were, it would be the kind with which I was diagnosed. DCIS. Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Say that three times fast.
When the doctor called to tell me it was breast cancer, I was driving to Thanksgiving, and had two more hours driving ahead of me.
My heart lurched when I saw her on my caller ID. My brain lurched when she told me the results were positive. Then I grounded myself with a mindfulness practice, called my sister, my son and a couple of friends, and kept driving.
The doctor reassured me, and I reassured those I called, that DCIS is one of the “good” cancers. The treatable kind.
My sister still cried after we hung up, but I didn’t know that until I was recovering. She’s a trouper who was with me throughout, keeping my spirits up and bossing me around in general to help me recover.
What is DCIS
DCIS is a fancy name for breast cancer cells contained in a milk duct. Contained is the operative — no pun intended — word here. Contained is what makes the cancer I had the…