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When There Is No Consensus: One Woman’s Journey Through Breast Cancer Treatment

To radiate or not — that is the question

Carol Lennox. LPC, M.Ed.
Middle-Pause
Published in
6 min readFeb 12, 2025

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Older woman getting a mammogram and smiling.
https://www.istockphoto.com Photo by peakStock from author’s IStock license

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…

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Carol Lennox. LPC, M.Ed.
Carol Lennox. LPC, M.Ed.

Written by Carol Lennox. LPC, M.Ed.

Psychotherapist sharing new choices. Leans far Left. Mindfulness practitioner before it was cool. LPC, M.Ed. Helping you make a difference every day

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