Invasive Lobular Carcinoma, UNC Cancer Center Chapel Hill, NC

There is a great head about ILC on here somewhere. Very informative. I do not have any experience with that facility but I was told treatment of ILC and IDC is exactly the same. It is detection that is different because ILC is more branchlike and not so much like a defined tumor like IDC. I used the term 'branchlike'. My BS used the term "Indians in the forest' while looking from above. Not so PC.

I have just finished up radiation at UNC's Cancer Center. As my profile says, I was diagnosed in November with 7cm IDC in the left breast then they found a smaller tumor of IDC in the right breast. I had neoadjuvant chemo that shrunk the 7cm tumor to 2mm and completely wiped out the tumor in the right breast. Then, I had the lumpectomy in both breasts, which went fairly smoothly, as an outpatient procedure. My hubby thinks they did a good job on the surgery, he still wants to look at 'em every chance he gets! After I healed from surgery, it was on to radiation 5 days a week for 6 weeks. The plan now is for me to take Xeloda for 6 months to finish mopping up any nasty cells that are left behind.

I feel that I received excellent care at UNC. I could have gone to Duke but since I live in Chapel Hill, UNC seemed like the best place for me.

My MO is Dr. Carey Anders, BS is Dr. Kathleen McGuire, and RO is Dr. Zagar. The staff has been very good, although it can get backed up in the clinic some days so the waiting may be more than you planned (but that happens everywhere, I expect). The folks in the infusion center are very nice, really everyone there has been so kind to me I can't say enough good things about all of them! They also have a patient and family resource center in the hospital that will help you and your family cope with the situation. They have been very generous, giving me some gift cards for gas and groceries and even giving me a free wig to cover my bald head.

The important thing, no matter where you go, is to always speak up for yourself. You are your own best advocate!

Good Luck with your treatment. Please PM me if you want to discuss things privately.

Dr. Charles Perou, PhD at UNC Chapel Hill recently contributed to the ILC paper called:
"Collective Wisdom: Lobular Carcinoma of the Breast"
http://meetinglibrary.asco.org/content/100002-176
I'd connect with him (www.med.unc.edu/genetics/people/faculty/perou) and ask for an ILC oncologist referral, if you haven't found one yet.