Care with Humankindness for Lobular Carcinoma on the Central Coast
One in 10 cases of breast cancer begins in the sacs, or lobules, that make milk in the breast. This type of breast cancer, called lobular carcinoma, is the second most common form of breast cancer. Compared to other types of breast cancer, lobular carcinoma is more often found in both breasts.
If you have been diagnosed with lobular carcinoma, your trusted Dignity Health Central Coast doctor will be with you every step of the way, from diagnosing symptoms to identifying the most effective treatment options.
Find a Doctor today to discover how you can receive care with humankindness for lobular carcinoma on the Central Coast of California.
Detecting Lobular Carcinoma Symptoms at Dignity Health Central Coast
Symptoms of lobular carcinoma are thickening or hardening of your breast, discharge from the nipple, a change in size, shape, or contour of the breast, or skin changes on your breast or nipple.
Lobular carcinoma can’t be seen with mammography. If you have a region that you or your doctor suspects has cancer cells, a biopsy can provide vital information to make a diagnosis.
If your doctor diagnoses you with invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC), it means your cancer has spread beyond its initial starting point and out to other breast tissues, lymph nodes, or areas in the body beyond the breast. About one in 10 women with breast cancer have this type. It is the second most common type of breast cancer.
Noninvasive lobular carcinoma, also called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), is an uncommon precancerous finding.
Risk Factors of Lobular Cancer
Because men rarely develop breast cancer, being a woman increases your risk. Other factors for invasive breast cancer include increased age, abnormal genes, a family history of breast cancer, and dense breasts.
Caucasian women are more likely to develop breast cancer as are women who have had chest radiation therapy before. You also have an increased risk if you started menstruating at a young age (earlier than age 12) or experienced menopause at a later age (later than age 55).
Lobular Carcinoma Treatment
Your Dignity Health Central Coast doctor practices with a philosophy of care, dignity, and respect, and will help determine the right treatment to help you heal. Invasive breast cancer can be treated with lumpectomy, which removes only the tumor and some surrounding tissue from the breast, and mastectomy, which removes all the breast tissue. Radiation therapy generally follows lumpectomy.
Additional treatment options may include chemotherapy, which prevents cancer cells from growing, and hormone therapy, which lowers the body’s amount of estrogen.
Speak with a doctor at Dignity Health Central Coast today to learn more about invasive lobular carcinoma treatments on the Central Coast of California.
Dignity Health’s trusted doctors provide personalized treatment for breast cancer, including lobular carcinoma, on California’s Central Coast.