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LCIS - Lobular Carcinoma In Situ
Questions about lobular carcinoma in situ.
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AskedPublicly Submitted Question
1/5/2011Hi Lilly, Thank you for your response to my post of 1/4 re: LCIS next step. I can now get mentally prepared for the prospect of a surgical biopsy. I'm just curious, if it's not cancer and there is no lump, how will the surgeon know what to sample? I thought LCIS indicated abnormal cells in a lobe. Will the surgeon remove a lobe? In the stereotactic biopsy, the sample was 2 x 2.5 x .5 cm which seems like a lot to me. The mammogram showed "less than 10" microcalcifications in the upper inner anterior quadrant of the left breast. Will they be looking for and removing any microcalcifications that are still there? Thank you for your help. I have been doing a lot of reading, but putting together the pieces is challenging. I feel if I can understand, I can cope. Many, many thanks.
RepliedJHU's Breast Center Reply
1/5/2011on the day of the surgery you will be taken to breast imaging/mammography where one more mammogram will be done. when you had a core biopsy a tiny clip was placed as a marker. the radiologist will now insert a thin wire to mark that clip, like a bullseye. the surgeon uses the wire as his/her guide and removes the clip, wire and surrounding tissue around the clip. Before the specimen goes over to pathology it is to be xrayed in breast imaging (like a mini mammogram of it) to ensure that an adequate sample was obtained and it includes the clip and tissue of suspicion that originally flagged the problem. About 20% of the time with the presence of LCIS, cancer will be found.

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