WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW NOW

Prognosis

Modern therapy means that in most cases breast cancer can be effectively treated with a combination of different types of treatment that may involve surgery, drugs (like chemotherapy, hormone pills, biologic therapy) and radiation. Your health care team will work together to come up with the best treatment plan for your specific circumstance. Not all breast cancers are the same; therefore, your treatment plan will be unique to you and your situation. 

Biopsy Pathology

The biopsy you had will provide information about your specific cancer and some of its characteristics to help develop your treatment plan. It does not provide all of the information about the size or stage (how far it may have spread away from the lump itself), and sometimes the information changes when the final surgery is performed. 

Common Terminology

Dx is a common medical abbreviation for diagnosis.

Carcinoma refers to cancer that forms in the skin or tissue lining of organs. 

Histologic subtype refers to the type of tissue that the cancer originated from. In breast cancer, you will hear of three common subtypes: invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC), invasive lobular carcinoma (ILC) or invasive mammary carcinoma (IMC). The word “invasive” only means that the cancerous cells have moved out of the duct or lobule into the breast tissue; it does not mean it has moved elsewhere in the body. The term “ductal” or “lobular” tells us which part of the milk duct the cancerous cells have come from. Sometimes, if the cell of origin is not clear, it is called “mammary carcinoma” or “NOS” (not otherwise specified). There are less common types, such as metaplastic, but these do not tend to affect the type of surgery you will have.
 
Cores refer to the pieces of tissue that were removed during biopsy by a needle and the size of the needle that was used.
 
Grading refers to how aggressive the cancerous cells look under the microscope (does not refer to where it has spread in the body). There are 3 grades (1-3), with 1 being the least aggressive and 3 being the most aggressive.
 
Lymphovascular invasion refers to whether or not the cancerous cells have entered the blood or lymphatic tissues in the tumour

Lymph nodes are located under the armpit and are responsible for filtering the lymphatic system (fluid and cells). Cancer cells that have left the breast often get caught in the lymph nodes, so you will receive either a sentinel lymph node biospy (SLNB) or a axillary lymph node dissection (ALND) to assess the level of involvement. See Surgery for more information.
 
ER estrogen receptor and PR progesterone receptor tells whether or not the tumour is affected by hormones in your system, such as those produced by your ovaries or those that you may take (such as the birth control pill). 
 
Her-2 neu is a special receptor that some breast cancers have. If it is positive, a biologic treatment targeted to this receptor can be given (i.e. Herceptin).

Metastasis refers to the spreading of cancer cells past the primary site of the breast. This often occurs in the bones, lungs, liver and brain. When this happens, the breast cancer is classified as Stage IV or Metastatic. To learn more about this stage, see the Metastatic pathway. 
 
Non-invasive breast cancer, also referred to as ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), is stage 0 breast cancer. This means the cancer cells have not spread throughout the breast tissue. Refer to the DCIS page for more information.

Outpatient surgery refers to surgeries that do not require overnight admission to a hospital. Most breast cancer surgeries are performed as outpatient procedures.