Barbara H speaks out: "I just read your article on Management of DCIS and would like to offer some important feedback. The pendulum has now swung so far away from doing mastectomies that they are not being done when they should. Here is my story: I had a wide excision followed by radiation for DCIS in 1977. In Oct. 2001 I had a local recurrence. (Stage II cancer) I was at high risk of a recurrence - high nuclear grade, comedo-necrosis, 40 years old; multi-focal tumor -- although I didn't know this at the time. While the study you quote mentions such wonderful survival at 8 years, this is a highly misleading figure. From what I read, also in studies by M Silverstein, the risk of recurrence increases over time. Most women won't have had a recurrence until at least several years have passed. Of course, they are still alive at 8 years - but maybe not at 10. And certainly not at the ripe old age they would have gotten to, had they had a simple mastectomy. And while they are alive at 8 years, this may be after chemotherapy (a nightmare) and axillary node dissection (a life changing event) and tamoxifen (an awful drug to have to take.) I have found lots of research on the web by mainstream doctors that shows increased rates of recurrence following L/R - yet they continue to refuse to recommend the most effective and simplest solution: a mastectomy. It's criminal, and in many cases, equivalent to murder. Since you obviously do your research, I thought you'd like to know about this." Remember we are NOT Doctors and have NO medical training. This site is like an Encylopedia - there are many pages, many links on many topics. Support our work with any size DONATION - see left side of any page - for how to donate. You can help raise awareness of CAM.