Stage 0 Breast Cancer Is Not a Simple Thing: Read My Story by Leslie W

I never knew there was such a thing as stage 0 breast cancer until I was diagnosed with it. It turns out, it is the most common form of breast cancer. As face value stage 0 seems like it would mean simple, right? Wrong! I am here to tell you stage 0 breast cancer is still cancer and it still has to be treated. 

It's a long process of tests, decisions, surgery, possible radiation and if mastectomy is the recommended treatment, reconstruction (which in my case is happening five months after mastectomy). Standard of care for DCIS-stage 0 breast cancer is lumpectomy with radiation and possible hormone therapy for those with hormone receptor positive cancer. If left untreated, up to 50 percent of cases will lead to invasive cancer. I personally think that radiation causes more harm than good and the hormone therapy causes many side effects. 

I was not a candidate for lumpectomy, as 9 cm of tissue was affected. I was recommended mastectomy on the affected side, but chose to do both sides, to avoid hormone therapy and ever having to do this again. This has been a difficult choice, but the best choice for me. 

Follow my story by following Heather Holter's blog, Maxed Out Minivan.

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