Jennifer Douglas: Let’s offer DCIS patients the choices they need for their treatment
Jennifer Douglas, Writer and DCIS Breast Cancer Patient Advocate, shared a post on LinkedIn by Marianne Sarcich, Founder of Breast Health 101 with Marianne, adding:
“I have so many thoughts on this. As a DCIS survivor, I was offered options because my DCIS was categorized as cancer.
I’m grateful for the choices, and am worried our surgical options may be diminished if DCIS isn’t considered cancer. We need more data, and until then, let’s offer DCIS patient the choices they need for their treatment.”
Quoting Marianne Sarcich’s post:
“The DCIS debate. It’s not about what you call it. It’s about how you handle it. And does the right screening tool exist to support the watch and wait approach often recommended.
As one of the one in four who’s DCIS became invasive? No, Not for me and my dense breasts. Only pathology from surgery found my invasive stage 1 breast cancer. Found the cancer throughout my nipple. All pre-surgical imaging missed this.
And, we know early detection and starting treatment as soon as possible can give you the best possible outcomes. Would I still be stage 1 if watch and wait was my plan? Would I have needed chemo and perhaps even radiation at that point? Neither of which I needed.
Perhaps the screening tools needed don’t exist yet. Perhaps there are other options to consider. To protect the 75% whose DCIS never becomes invasive and protect the 25% like me, who’s DCIS does.”
More posts featuring Jennifer Douglas and Marianne Sarcich.
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Global Summit on War & Cancer 2023, Online
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