DCIS: Is it Cancer?

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - November 16, 2016 - Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment, Knoxville Community, Patient Stories

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Nicole and her girlfriends went for their annual mammogram. It was always more fun to do it in a group. Although they were all in their young 40s and the government is trying to tell them not to have a mammogram till they turn 50, they listened to the advice of their physicians and have been getting screening mammograms since they turned 40. Nicole’s mammogram had some microcalcifications, small pieces of calcium that are deposited from breast tissue. Most often, fibrocystic breast changes can cause calcium deposits, but on occasion, the calcium can be deposited by cancer. Nicole had a core needle biopsy and was told she had Ductal Carcinoma In Situ. Nicole had breast cancer, or so she thought. Her friend Amber, who knows everything, said that Nicole did not have cancer, that DCIS is a benign growth. Well, does Nicole have cancer? Is DCIS cancer?

Yes. DCIS is cancer. DCIS can recur after excision. DCIS can transform into a malignant tumor. Cure rates are as high as 98%, but 2% still succumb to the disease. Thus, DCIS is cancer, but benign cancer, as opposed to malignant cancer, which can spread throughout the body.

I have breast cancer. What about my ovaries?

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - August 29, 2016 - Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment, Knoxville Community, Patient Stories

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Jane is a 36-year-old mother of three just trying to make it through the day. She has children in three different schools, and the constant driving was taking a toll on her. One day, while putting on her seat belt, her left breast hurt. She thought nothing of it as she drove around town from school to ballet to soccer and to the grocery store. Then, one morning, in the shower, she noticed a lump in her breast. No one in her family, not her mother, not her sisters, not her aunts, had breast cancer. Still, she was scared. She called her physician who recommended a mammogram and ultrasound. Jane had breast cancer.

Do I Need My Ovaries Removed?

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - July 5, 2014 - Breast Cancer Diagnosis, Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment, Genetic testing, Knoxville Community

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“My friend Jenny’s a nurse and she told me I needed my ovaries removed.”

Jenny’s friend, Laura, was just diagnosed with breast cancer and before even seeing the breast surgical oncologist, Jenny told Laura to have her ovaries removed.

To Keep or Not to Keep? That is the Question – for my Breasts.

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - April 9, 2014 - Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment

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Should a woman keep her breast or should she remove her breast? This is an important, life changing question with no easy answer. The answer, however, is always the right answer. The attached video explains that whether you keep your breast or remove your breast, you are giving yourself the best treatment possible as both treatments are equally effective at treating breast cancer. Please watch the video for a more thorough discussion on the surgical treatment of breast cancer.

Giving Back to the Breast Cancer Community

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - April 3, 2014 - Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery, Breast Cancer Treatment, Knoxville Community

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Giving back to the breast cancer community is what a breast cancer expert ought to do.

Who, exactly, is an expert in breast cancer? An expert in breast cancer is a professional dedicated to the study or practice of breast cancer. An expert can be a researcher at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, a nurse in the hospital or one of the many physicians that focus their practice on breast cancer.

BRCA – The Breast Cancer Gene and Angelina Jolie

Posted by Dr. Aaron G. Margulies - December 11, 2013 - Breast Cancer Research, Breast Cancer Surgery

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The New York Times recently published a front page article about the Breast Cancer Gene and the dilemma many women have about testing for the Breast Cancer Gene. Angelina Jolie tested positive for a Breast Cancer Gene mutation and elected to have both of her breasts removed.