Stage III Invasive Lobular Carcinoma: Harvey's Patient Story
This breast cancer diagnosis at a glance
- Stage at diagnosis
- Stage III
- Subtype
- Invasive Lobular Carcinoma
- Biomarkers
- Genetic testing negative
- Sex
- Male
- Treatment
- surgery and chemotherapy
- Outcome
- Care Ongoing
Treatment course, step by step
- Summer 2022 breast/chest lump initially thought to be a lipoma
- early 2023 chest injury drew attention to the area
- June lesion broke through the skin above the nipple
- scans and biopsy confirmed grade 3 invasive lobular carcinoma
- right mastectomy
- pathology confirmed grade 3 Stage IIIC ILC
- port placement
- AC-T chemotherapy started 2 days later
- planned radiation in April, followed by tamoxifen and possibly abemaciclib; genetic testing negative.
What happened, in summary
Aileen tells the story of her husband Harvey, who was 59 when he was diagnosed with invasive lobular carcinoma of the breast. Harvey first noticed a lump in summer 2022 but thought it was probably another lipoma. In early 2023, he hit the right side of his chest while working on his truck, and the area hurt. He delayed care while their daughter was having health issues. In June, the lesion broke through the skin just above his nipple. His doctor immediately sent him for scans and biopsy, which confirmed grade 3 invasive lobular carcinoma. Harvey’s oncologist explained that his ILC would be treated the same way it would be treated in a woman. He had a right mastectomy, and pathology confirmed grade 3, Stage IIIC invasive lobular carcinoma. A port was placed, and 2 days later he began AC-T chemotherapy. As of March 2024, radiation was planned for April after chemotherapy, followed by tamoxifen and possibly abemaciclib. Harvey’s genetic testing was negative, although his family history included pancreatic cancer in his mother and ductal breast cancer in his sister. His story is important because male ILC is rare, and he and Aileen struggled to find other men with the same subtype.
Where this story comes from
This is a lay summary of an account first published by Lobular Breast Cancer Alliance. Read the original in full
How we source and attribute stories Accuracy and limitations
These are lay summaries of published cancer stories, for information only. No two cancers behave the same way, and nothing here predicts your own diagnosis or replaces advice from your oncology team. Read the full disclaimer