Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, What Are The Treatments?

Dr. Harness describes the treatments for ductal carcinoma in situ.

Dr. Harness, M.D.:
Well, the good news is, certainly in countries and places in the world that does breast screening, that the vast majority of in situ breast cancer is found by mammogram, by screening mammogram. And typical patient with in situ breast cancer needs to have that small area of their breast removed surgically. Sometimes we have to add radiation therapy to it. Sometimes surgery alone may be good enough.

There are other instances of needing actually anti-hormone therapy in addition to surgery and radiation therapy. It’s really important for people to remember there are hundreds of different kinds of breast cancers, and so the therapy needs to be tailor-made to size. The type in situ breast cancer, there are fundamentally three types: a low grade which is a very benign sort of pattern, intermediate grade, and high grade.

High grade is potentially dangerous. High grade can go on to a very high-grade kind of invasive cancer. So the treatments are really tailor-made to what we find in a specific patient.

About Dr. Harness, M.D.:
Dr. Jay Harness, M.D., is the Director at St. Joseph Hospital Comprehensive Breast Center. Practicing medicine for 35 years, Dr. Harness specializes in general surgery and medical oncology. Graduating medical school from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, he conducting his internship and residency at the University of Michigan Medical Center. Recognized nationally and internationally for his work in breast and endocrine surgery, Dr. Harness is the immediate past-President of The American Society of Breast Surgeons and is President-elect of Breast Surgery International. Dr. Harness can assist patients in English, Spanish, and Vietnamese.

Visit Dr. Harness at St. Joseph Hospital