Breast cancer treatment studied for ‘stage zero’ patients with DCIS

• DCIS, often called Stage Zero breast cancer, is the earliest stage and often diagnosed via mammogram, with no symptoms.
• In most cases, DCIS will not turn into a life-threatening tumor, but doctors haven’t been able to distinguish dangerous tumors from harmless ones.
• Now, they’re trying to ‘rightsize’ care, focusing aggressive treatment only on those who need it.

After a breast biopsy at age 40, Rawan Kajo was given two options: surgeons could remove one breast or both. 

Kajo, a pharmacist living in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, didn’t like either choice. What had been found in one breast was a calcification, not a tumor – essentially a risk factor for future cancer.