DCIS I was diagnosed with grade II/III DCIS. If there is just a 30% chance that DCIS will become invasive cancer, why do I have to be treated now? Couldn’t I wait a year and see what happens? I understand why you could think that this might be a "wait and see" type of situation, given that most DCIS does not go on to become invasive cancer.
But I—along with most doctors —would not recommend that you wait for a year to be treated. Not all DCIS is the same and your grade of DCIS—ll/lll is more likely to go on to become invasive cancer. Many people would estimate the risk for this type of DCIS to be between 50% and 60%, rather than 30%.
The data that we have about DCIS going on to become invasive cancer comes from women that were misdiagnosed, and they were more likely to have a lower grade DCIS. Right now, we have no way to definitively say which women with DCIS will go on to have invasive cancer and which will not. One day, we probably will. And when that happens, we will be able to tell some women that they can safely avoid treatment. But until then, it is recommended that all women who have been diagnosed with DCIS be treated.
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