All about Lobular Carcinoma in Situ and Lobular Breast Cancer
What is Lobular Carcinoma in Situ?
To understand Lobular Breast Cancer in Situ, we must first understand the structure of the breasts. The human breast is made up of lobules and ducts that are joined together by connective tissues. It is these lobules where milk is made and stored. The duct is where the milk passes through to go to the nipples during breast feeding.
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ or LCIS refers to a condition where the cells of the lobules at the end of the ducts of the breasts undergo changes. LCIS is often linked to an increased risk of developing breast cancer.
How is Lobular Carcinoma in Situ diagnosed?
Lobular Carcinoma in Situ is often diagnosed by chance. It is usually accidentally found when a tissue extracted from a breast biopsy or breast surgery is checked under a microscope in a laboratory.
If you have Lobular Carcinoma in Situ does it mean you will develop breast cancer?
Though Lobular Carcinoma in Situ or LCIS is often linked to breast cancer, most individuals diagnosed with this condition usually do not develop breast cancer. This is why following diagnosis of LCIS, doctors often do not advise any forms of treatment as it would not be necessary to do so. What having LCIS means with regards to breast cancer is that you have a greater chance of getting the disease compared to individuals without LCIS.
What should you do if you are diagnosed with LCIS?
What you must do when you are diagnosed with LCIS is to undergo regular check ups of your breasts every 6 to 12 months. It is also advisable that you undergo mammograms every 1 to 2 years.
Some doctors will suggest a form of hormone therapy. This is done to reduce the chance of developing breast cancer in the future. The effectiveness of using hormone therapies in LCIS is currently undergoing medical trials and research.
If you want, you can undergo bilateral mastectomy to further reduce your risk of having breast cancer. This is advisable for people who are feeling great anxiety towards getting breast cancer and want to be sure that they avoid the disease. This is also advisable for those who have a strong family breast cancer. Undergoing bilateral mastectomy is not commonly advised though for LCIS and patients with the said condition rarely go through the process.
The best thing for those with LCIS to do is to attend regular follow-up appointments and continue to be aware and updated of issues concerning breast cancer.
What is lobular cancer?
Lobular breast cancer is a type of breast cancer that starts in the lobes or lobules. Of all types of breast cancer, lobular carcinoma is the type most often found in both breast. LCIS is one of the two types of Stage 0 breast cancer. The other type of Stage 0 breast cancer is ductal carcinoma in situ or DCIS.
In Stage 0 breast cancer, the cancer has not yet spread beyond the breasts’ ductal system. Stage 0 breast cancer constitutes fifteen to twenty percent of breast cancers detected by clinical examinations. LCIS is indicative of a high risk breast cancer while in DCIS the cancer cells have not yet spread into the fatty tissues of the breasts or to any other parts of the body and are confined only to the milk ducts of the breasts, hence the name.
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