CheatSheet — Stay Healthy & Avoid DCIS (“Stage Zero Breast Cancer”) Overdiagnosis & Overtreatment
Every year I give a personal update and I try to simplify information based on the latest research, technology, and common sense! Think of the image above like a CheatSheet. It’s a one-page summary of 16 years of insights, endless hours of research, hundreds of blog posts, nutrition studies/certification, and nonprofit advocacy! To access links, […]
DCIS — New BMJ Study Supports Active Monitoring
A new study published in the British Medical Journal (BMJ) July 2025, adds to growing evidence that many women with a DCIS diagnosis may want to consider an active monitoring approach.
Mammograms… Are Women Given Informed Consent?
I think we can all agree, when it comes to our health, we would prefer clear information on risks and benefits vs being oversold. But, when it comes to mammograms, most women do not even realize they have NOT been given informed consent. Many say they feel encouraged, pressured, and even coerced into scheduling a […]
Presidential Proclamation on Healthy Life Habits for Cancer Prevention
An official Presidential Proclamation declaring April 2024 as the inaugural National Cancer Prevention and Early Detection Month states: “Healthy life habits — like maintaining a healthy body weight and reducing exposure to tobacco smoke — can prevent certain cancers, so we are working to help all Americans get and stay healthy. Our National Strategy on Hunger, Nutrition, […]
Lumpectomy’s Little Secret: Women Uninformed about High Re-Excision Rates & Mastectomies for DCIS
Women are often told lumpectomy is an easy surgery. One and done. Yet… more often than not, this is NOT the case. In fact, studies report up to 70% of the time, a 2nd surgery is needed due to “positive margins” for DCIS. It happened to me in 2011. After a DCIS diagnosis in January […]
On a Mission to Help Women Avoid Harms of Mammography Screening — Donna Pinto Shares Her Story with Dr. Jenn Simmons — Breast Surgeon Turned Functional Medicine Doctor
Thanks to Dr. Jenn Simmons for inviting me on her podcast. My story is one story among tens of thousands of women harmed every year. Please watch this video and share with your women friends and family… You can also listen via podcast here. When we know better, we do better. #BeW I S E is a […]
DCIS is NOT Breast Cancer — An Online Support Group Leading a Paradigm Shift
A paradigm shift is defined as “an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way.”
DCIS – Is Not Breast Cancer! — an online support group created in 2020 — has quickly attracted over 1.5k women with approximately 25 new requests to join each week.
Awesome Interview!! Inspiration for DCIS 411 — Informed Choices and Healthy Living Over Fear Fear Fear!
Cynthia Toussant and I discuss how we KNEW IN OUR GUT something wasn’t right with the immediate rush to surgically remove DCIS!
Mis-Diagnosed with DCIS at Age 26 and 38 Weeks Pregnant: How Intuition, Non-stop Research and a 2nd Pathology Opinion Changed My Life
My gut and intuition told me to research my head off and to understand what’s going on. I learned very fast that just because you have a “low grade” “stage zero” breast cancer that doesn’t mean the treatment is less than any other INVASIVE breast cancer.
DCIS & Cryoablation? Guest Blog
My Croablation Journey by Christine B. I was diagnosed with DCIS stage 0 grade 2 June 2017. I was immediately turned over to a surgeon who strongly suggested a lumpectomy, radiation, and a hormone blocker. Better yet a mastectomy due to my small breasts. I had never heard of DCIS until I was diagnosed! So […]
The Value of Recording Physician Consultations
Recording consultations with physicians is extremely valuable, especially with regards to obtaining results of screening or diagnostic tests, biopsies, surgeries, or discussions about future cancer risks, or potential treatments. Recording the consultation enables: ability to glean important information missed or not comprehended due to information overload, shock, language or hearing issues, etc. ability to share […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 30 — NO “Survival” Benefit of Aggressive Treatments for DCIS — Women Not Informed
Did you know… Women diagnosed with DCIS, also known as “stage ZERO” breast cancer, are often rushed into extremely aggressive treatments (surgery, radiation and drugs) that actually have no survival benefit… yet this information is often not told to them. Instead women are given confusing “risk reduction” statistics with each of the “standard of care” […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 28 — Risks of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy! New Study Shows NO Benefit for DCIS
Did you know… Despite experts not recommending sentinel lymph node biopsies, between 17% and 40% of women with DCIS currently undergo this unnecessary procedure that comes with serious side effects. Risks of sentinel lymph node biopsies: Pain, wound infection, and lymphedema, a painful condition that can restrict a woman’s arm movements. Patient advocate Ann Fonfa, […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 27 — Grade “F” in DCIS Communication
Did you know… Some health-care providers get an “F” in communication. Celebrity chef Sandra Lee said her doctors told her DCIS was a “ticking time bomb.” In January, 2010, when I brought an article, Take Carcinoma Out of DCIS and Ease Off Treatment, to show a breast surgeon about my preference for “active surveillance” of […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 25 — Unbiased 2nd PATHOLOGY opinion is a MUST
Did you know… Aggressive treatments for DCIS are based on pathology — and 25% may be wrong. This happened to me. I had several opinions and 3 different pathology reports. My gut told me something was not right and I needed to keep investigating. Luckily I was referred to expert pathologist, Dr. Michael Lagios. He […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 24 — The Word “Cancer” is Scary & Misleading for DCIS
Did you know… Several breast cancer experts over the last 10+ years have questioned whether the word “carcinoma” should be removed from DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma in Situ). “Because of the noninvasive nature of DCIS, coupled with its favorable prognosis, strong consideration should be given to remove the anxiety-producing term “carcinoma” from the description of DCIS.” […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 23 — Double Mastectomies for DCIS?
Did you know… “Many women who have DCIS are choosing not to just to get a mastectomy, but to get a bilateral mastectomy and have both breasts removed.” – Otis Brawley, NPR “More women with ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) are choosing to add contralateral prophylactic mastectomy to their treatment, despite the paucity of evidence […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 22 — Screening Doesn’t Save Lives
Did you know… Professor Peter C Gøtzsche shared on Twitter today: “Pink month lies: “Early detection saves lives and breasts.” It doesn’t, and because of overdiagnosis you will reduce your risk of becoming a breast cancer patient by one-third if you ignore summons for mammography screening.” Be sure to watch this important video in its […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 13 — Autopsy Studies Find High % of DCIS
Did you know… A review of autopsy records showed that somewhere between 9% and 15% of women have undetected DCIS at death (Welch, 1997). This supports the idea that a proportion of DCIS occurrences will not progress into invasive cancer or become life-threatening. National Breast Cancer Coalition Conclusion: “Our systematic review in ten countries over […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 11 — It’s Ok to Opt Out of Mammograms
Did you know… It’s Ok to Opt Out of Mammograms. In this must-read article, science writer, Christie Aschwanden lists key points (see below) of some of the “little known” harms of screening. She encourages women to review a chart on “Benefits and Harms of Screening Mammography.” Key points from article: While 61 percent of women […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 8 — Overdiagnosis Devastates Lives
Did you know… Overdiagnosis of DCIS Devastates the Lives of Tens of Thousands of Healthy Women Every Year. In this country, the huge jump in D.C.I.S. diagnoses potentially transforms some 50,000 healthy people a year into “cancer survivors” and contributes to the larger sense that breast cancer is “everywhere,” happening to “everyone.” That, in turn, […]
31 Days of “Little Known” FACTS — For Breast Cancer Awareness Month — Day 1 — Mammograms
Did you know… One of the largest studies ever on mammograms indicated they do not reduce cancer deaths. Listen to this short video with Dr. Joann Elmore, an expert in mammography… “This study adds to an accumulation of data… Multiple large studies.” “We’re not seeing the benefit from mammography that we had hoped.” “The more […]
The Importance of Being Informed, Treated with Compassion, and Advocating for Active Surveillance — Nancy Riopel’s Enlightening DCIS Story
“Please, if you take one thing from my experience, consider the importance of being informed and being willing to advocate for the treatment options that you feel are best for you. I am not DCIS, I am not a ‘tumor’ and I am not just a ‘patient’. I am a mother, a daughter, a sister, […]
Thankful for PCORI & Patient-Centered Research
I recently had the opportunity to attend the annual meeting of PCORI — Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute. Three days of presentations and panel discussions all focused on one recurring theme: Patient voices, preferences, values, experiences, and outcomes matter. I felt like I was in patient advocate heaven. Suzannah Fox, former Chief Technology Officer of the […]
What is “Low-risk” DCIS & Why is The COMET Study Urgently Needed?
The COMET Study is the nation’s first prospective, randomized clinical trial aimed at resolving an ongoing debate about the best way to manage “low-risk” DCIS (Ductal Carcinoma In Situ), also known as “stage zero” breast cancer. “This is a trial whose time has come. Many of us have felt for two decades that this study […]
DCIS — Beyond “One-Size Fits-All”
Today, women newly diagnosed with DCIS have more support, options, and resources than ever before. Below are eight ways to help you create an “individualized” and empowered plan-of-action… #1. CONFIRM YOUR PATHOLOGY Dr. David J Dabbs, Prelude Dx Second Opinion Service Dr. Jean Simpson #2. ASK YOUR DOCTOR TO ORDER A BIOLOGICAL RISK ASSESSMENT TEST […]
Evaluating DCIS treatments — do you know your “survival” statistics?
“There is strong evidence that treatment of DCIS in most women has no clear effect on mortality reduction.” – Finding the balance between over- and under-treatment of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) “Risk of development of metastases and/or death in a patient diagnosed with pure DCIS is very low (<1%).” Ductal Carcinoma-In-Situ of the Breast […]
Aggressive Treatments for DCIS — or NOT? New Research Sheds Light
I hope every woman diagnosed with low-risk DCIS today knows they have a great opportunity that did not exist for me (and thousands others) in the past.
I feel an incredible sense of gratitude to all the forces and people that have made the COMET Study possible — to the physicians and cancer centers who are making it available — and to the women who will participate. Thank you!
DCIS Over-treatment Makes Mainstream News — 2015 Highlights
The media madness began in August 2015 following the publication of the most extensive study to date on DCIS in the prestigious medical Journal JAMA Oncology. The study of over 100,000 women concluded there was no “life-saving” benefit to “standard protocol” for DCIS (surgery, radiation and drugs). “The analysis reinforces a growing belief that current treatment […]
Why the “Standard of Care” Must Change
Despite clear evidence from the most extensive study to date on DCIS — that there is no benefit to surgery, radiation and drugs (“standard of care” treatment for DCIS) — and despite significant harms of these treatments — doctors will most likely not be making any protocol changes. During a KPBS interview, Dr Reema Batra, stated the “standard […]
Listen to My Phone Consultation with Dr. Michael Lagios
It was November 3, 2011 when I had a phone consultation with Dr. Michael D. Lagios, a nationally recognized breast pathologist and medical director of The Breast Cancer Consultation Service. As I wrote about in “Donna’s Journey,” the information I learned from Dr. Lagios gave me tremendous peace of mind (being that he downgraded the DCIS removed […]
The Blessings of DCIS
It’s been nearly four years since my journey with DCIS began. And while the beginning seemed to be a total nightmare — filled with extreme stress, overwhelm, confusion and fear — I now see the many blessings that this crazy DCIS has brought to my life… and to others. Here are just 3… 1.) DCIS fueled […]
Less Pink – More GREEN: An Intelligent and Urgent Makeover for “Breast Cancer Awareness Month”
by Donna B. Pinto Pinktober is in full swing. Many of us (including me) have eagerly written checks to show support “for the cure.” But what if all the highly successful pink “awareness” campaigns have been focusing time, money and research in the wrong direction? What if “early detection” and screening mammograms don’t really save lives, but actually harm lives? According to Overdiagnosed: Making People […]
48 and Feeling Great… Great… Grateful!
Today is my 48th Birthday! My 10 year old son Cody said to me, “there is no way you are 48. Maybe low – mid 30s!” Thanks Cody for reminding me that age is just a #. What’s most important is how we feel… and how we feel on the inside can’t help but shine […]
What Is Oncotype DX?
Oncotype DX is the first clinically validated commercial genomic assay for patients with DCIS. Oncotype DX reveals the underlying biology that can help guide DCIS treatment decisions by predicting the risk of any local recurrence of breast cancer (DCIS or invasive) and the risk of local invasive carcinoma and allowing for personalized treatment based on […]