ILC or IBC

zohra

Hello ,

My mother stage is IIIB. Her biopsy report shows she is ILC. But I saw here (discussion board )she can me IBC. I am still not sure is she ILC or IBC. How I know is she IBC or ILC?

Thanks

Anonymous

You should look at your biopsy report or ask her doctor.  Since the biopsy report says it is ILC (Invasive Lobular Carcinoma) then that is most likely what it is.  What makes you think she has Inflammatory Breast Cancer? 

zohra

Thanks for reply . Well they said stage IIIb is Inflammatory Breast Cancer...

Anonymous

Noooo. There are many types that can be stage 3b.  But IBC is always staged at 3b because it is in the skin of the breast.  A stage of 3b does not mean IBC.

Here is a great link on this site that explains how stage is determined:

Staging

Anonymous

Okay, I looked at that link and I can see where it would be confusing.  IBC is never less than 3b because of where this type of cancer is, in the skin of the breast.  It will never be staged less say like stage 1 or stage 2.

Your biopsy report says that it is ILC stage 3b which means one or all of the following:

• the cancer may be any size and has spread to the chest wall and/or skin of the breast AND
• may have spread to axillary lymph nodes, which are clumped together or sticking to other structures, or cancer may have spread to lymph nodes near the breastbone

They really should move that paragraph about IBC somewhere else.  That's probably scared the heck out of several people.  It is only IBC if the cancer is evident in the skin and is presenting the clinical signs of IBC.

A stage of 3b has nothing to do with IBC other than that is where IBC starts as far as the staging scale.