283. She Invented Sensation-Preserving Mastectomy—Then Needed It Herself: The Truth About DCIS, Recurrence, and Surgery

What happens when a breast surgeon becomes a breast cancer patient—and then faces a second diagnosis years later?

In this deeply personal and illuminating episode of Breast Cancer Conversations, host Laura Carfang is joined by Dr. Anne Peled, a board-certified breast, reconstructive, and plastic surgeon who has treated thousands of patients—and also navigated her own early-stage breast cancer diagnosis, followed years later by a new primary DCIS diagnosis.

Together, Laura and Dr. Peled unpack what patients are rarely told about DCIS (stage zero breast cancer), the difference between recurrence and a second primary cancer, and how advances in surgery are transforming survivorship—including sensation-preserving mastectomy.

This conversation bridges clinical expertise and lived experience, offering clarity, compassion, and permission to choose the path that aligns with your body and values.

In this episode: 

• What DCIS really is—and why “stage zero” can be misleading
• Recurrence vs. second primary breast cancer: why biology matters
• Lumpectomy vs. mastectomy and why survival outcomes are often the same
• How guilt and self-blame show up after a second diagnosis
• Being diagnosed with breast cancer as a physician
• Navigating treatment when your colleagues are your caregivers
• The evolution of oncoplastic surgery and patient-centered care
• Why loss of breast sensation is under-discussed—but life-changing
• How sensation-preserving mastectomy works
• What questions to ask your surgeon about sensation, nerves, and recovery
• Making decisions based on your priorities—not fear or pressure

About today's guest

Dr. Anne Peled is a board-certified plastic, reconstructive, and breast surgeon in private practice in San Francisco and Co-Director of the Sutter Health California Pacific Medical Center Breast Cancer Center of Excellence. Trained at Amherst College, Harvard Medical School, and UCSF, Dr. Peled completed a unique fellowship combining breast oncologic surgery and reconstruction.

Her clinical and research work focuses on oncoplastic surgery, preserving and restoring sensation after mastectomy, improving patient outcomes, and breast cancer risk reduction. She is also a breast cancer survivor herself, bringing rare dual insight to patient care.