The producer and actor revealed to People magazine that she was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and treated with a bilateral mastectomy. She’s recovering smoothly and her prognosis is good, she says, because she caught the disease early. But had she not sought a second opinion, the story could have ended differently. MORE: 9 Things That Impact Your Risk Of Breast Cancer Her doctors had been monitoring her due to an underlying condition called lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS), abnormal cells within the milk-producing glands of the breast, or lobules, a known precursor to cancer. Two biopsies recently revealed she may have been at an increased risk of full-blown cancer, but she said she was initially relieved her pathology report showed no development of the disease. That relief was short-lived. “A friend who had had breast cancer suggested I get a second opinion on my pathology and my gut told me that was the thing to do,” she told People. “A different pathologist found invasive lobular carcinoma. His diagnosis of cancer was confirmed by yet another pathologist. I share this to educate others that a second opinion is critical to your health… Early diagnosis is key.” Indeed, says Harold J. Burstein, MD, PhD, a medical oncologist specializing in breast cancer at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, there are some things in medicine that are black and white, and some things that are a little murkier. “Whenever there’s a gray zone, it’s not a bad idea to get a second opinion,” he says. “When you have choices in medicine and in treatment, it can be difficult to know what’s the right choice.” MORE: If Breast Cancer Knocked You Down, Could You Get Back Up? While he was not involved in Wilson’s care, Burstein says treatment for invasive lobular carcinoma, or ILC, does typically involve surgery, followed by radiation to sterilize the breast and sometimes hormonal treatments to help make sure the cancer doesn’t return. ILC starts in those same milk-producing lobules affected by LCIS and threatens to spread—that’s why it’s called invasive. Rather than cause a noticeable lump, ILC usually thickens breast tissue, growing more like the web of mold in blue cheese, Burstein says. This can make lobular cancer trickier to diagnose with a mammogram, but only about 15% of all breast cancers are lobular, he says. For anyone who has ever felt like getting a second opinion would be somehow cheating on your doctor, Burstein swears you won’t be hurting any feelings. “Most doctors won’t be bothered by that at all.” Compared to the cost of treatment, a consultation with a specialist is relatively inexpensive, he says, and with so many world-class pathologists across the U.S., it’s worth gettiing a second pathology opinion before paying for another diagnostic test. MORE: Did Angelina Jolie Make The Right Choice? “A second opinion may not be necessary in every situation; however, it may make the patient more confident in regards to their treatment,” agrees Cynara Coomer, MD, chief of breast surgery at Staten Island University Hospital in New York. “I think it’s important that patients feel very comfortable with the team of physicians that will be taking care of them.”
