Questions for the Doctors

It has been said “air” can make cancer spread. How sure are you when you talk to a patient that this is not true to reduce his\her anxiety? What makes cancer spread?

Normal cells in the body reproduce to replace worn out or damaged cells. They stay put and stop reproducing once that has been completed. Cancer cells lose the ability to stay put. Cancer cells may enter the lymph vessels and spread out along these vessels to reach lymph nodes allowing them to move to other parts of the body. Cancer cells may also enter blood vessels and spread through the bloodstream to other parts of the body. Air does not cause cancer cells to spread or grow.

What is a pre-cancer cell? What is the treatment?

Non invasive cancers stay within the milk ducts or milk lobules in the breast. They do not grow into or invade normal tissue within or beyond the breast. These are sometimes called “in-situ” or pre-cancers. There are some other “precancerous” changes in breast tissue called “atypical” changes. These changes make breast cancer a little more likely.

The treatment for in situ cancer is removal of the area involved with lumpectomy or mastectomy. Some patients will also require radiation therapy and tamoxifen. Atypical cells do not need treatment, but some patients take tamoxifen to prevent breast cancer.

Are patients given some kind of a pain reliever when they are getting a needle biopsy?

For a simple fine needle aspiration in the office a long thin needle is often used and taken in and out in much the same fashion as an injection. To place an injection of anesthetic would often times be more painful and could possible alter the results in this kind of procedure.

For a more involved core biopsy (using a thicker hollow needle), or a needle biopsy on the stereotactic table using the mammogram machine, the breast is anesthetized with lidocaine.