Stage II w/Lymph Node Involvement
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Wow - you sure have been through the ringer! Glad to hear you're at the exciting part now. Yes, I've heard from many people who have the exchange that it's so nice to feel the softness of the implants.
I'll be having double mast. at beginning of May. Original plan was lumpectomy, but MRI found another mass near the chest wall in same breast. So that calls for mastectomy. I've decided to go for prophlactic on left as well. I just have this gut feeling that something is amiss with the ol' DNA.
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Mouse,
Good luck w/your surgery! I had a dbl mx. Glad I did...they ended up finding 3 tumors total. I was affected on the right side but did the left prophalacticly.(is that a word?) lol I had expanders and rads which caused failure so out came the implants and ended up doing a DIEP flap. What is the date of your surgery?
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Wow, this is a hot thread! I'm glad to find it and the survival stories that I've read on here.
I was diagnosed a few months ago, I'm 32 yrs old. I found out today that 2/6 nodes that she took out in the sentinel node biopsy were positive. I wonder how many would have been positive if she had taken out more?
She told me the cancer in the nodes was "very small" and was contained within the node still.
I'm scared.
I hoped the mastectomy would be it and it would be done and over with. Now I'm worried I'm gonna chase this cancer to my grave.
She is sending me for a bone scan and abdominal ultrasound. Does anyone know how likely it is to have spread to my organs based on my DX?
With the results of the above tests I will see a chemo. oncologist to decide if I need to have more nodes taken out or whether chemo. can take care of it. Any recommendations from others? Should I push to have more nodes taken at the risk of lymphedema or will chemo. really kill any other cancer left behind?
Thanks for any advice, Erin
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Erin, I was 32 at dx too (33 now) and had 4 positive lymph nodes - all very small and contained within the nodes as well. I was also grade 2 and ER+. Everyone is different but my bone and CT scans were clear. I think there's a good chance yours will be as well. The waiting is by far the hardest part. Hang in there! PM me if you want. XOXO
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Hello!
My mum is 48 and she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008. (ER+ / PR+ / HER2-). Three of her lymph nodes were taken out, but only one of them were positive (the sentinel lymph node). The others were clear. What does it mean exactly? Her tumor was 2-2,5 cm. Can somebody help me with staging it?
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Thanks Lauren, I'm glad to hear your good news.
I see you had 19 nodes taken out. Was that a full axillary dissection then? Have you suffered any lymphedema?
And did you move on to chemo. right after your surgery? And hormone therapy?
I'd like to hear more about what your doing because it sounds like you are a few months ahead of me with regards to treatment.
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Yes, I had a full axillary dissection. I have a very mild case of lymphadema and I hope to keep it mild!!! I just went to a specialist last week and she measured me at 4% which she said is minor, even for the "non-dominant hand". The only noticeable issue I have had so far is some swelling in my ring finger. For now I'm just wearing a sleeve and glove while I work out or if I see some swelling... and also for flying.
I had my surgery 6/5 and then started chemo 7/1 so just about a month. I started the Tamoxifin in November, around the same time I started radiation.
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Lauren,
Looks like you did not start treatment for 5 months after your diagnosis. Is this common?
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Reread Lauren's sig, Sgilbert... she FINISHED chemo five months after diagnosis. Looks like she had surgery a month after diagnosis and started chemo two months after that (which is pretty common). I had originally been diagnosed with DCIS and had surgery 3 weeks after diagnosis (and then a second excision two weeks after that)... then did chemo... then a Uni MX (chemo started about two months after diagnosis as well). I had the MX after because my ONC wanted me to start chemo already! Also, it wasn't til I had surgery that they knew I needed chemo (due to HER2 positive status, which was not detectable from the biopsy). The MX was recommended because after two excisions I still had one close margin (as it turned out, though, my breast tissue was clear of all cancer... ah well... at least I didn't have to have rads).
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Great poem, I will be starting radiation in a couple weeks. You guys are encouraging.
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I have to say I'm going to miss my wig too! How funny!!!! I'm still rockin a GI Jane-ish hairstyle right now. I live in Alabama so the summer is HOT and HUMID. I may be taking off the wig and unveiling the new and improved Tabatha. lol
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Yep, Lilah is right, I started treatment less than 2 months after my diagnosis. I finished chemo 5 months after and then moved on to rads.
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I have a question about survival statistics.
I read somewhere that for those of us with Stage 2 and lymph node involvment, the 5yr survival rate is 92%. Does anyone know if this includes chemo and radiation or is this based on surgery only?
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Hello lil_wilde,
I would have to check but I am pretty sure my survival rate included Tamoxifen.
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I'm so glad to find this discussion board. Getting ready to be done with chemo and get radiation and suddenly find myself obsessed with survival rate statistics. Everyone's positive outlook is so helpful. I have not been able to find specific survival rates for stage 2. I plan on discussing this with my onc after my last chemo (Monday, Yeiiiii) but does anyone know where I can look? I need some good news.
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Don't get too caught up in percentages. You have to remember that each of us have a different story. I have yet to find someone w/my exact case. But, with that said, yes, our survival rates are in the 80's and 90's....really good outcome!! It all depends on your markers ie her2 status, grade etc.
As for the lymph nodes, I only had 6 taken out (2 w/larger tumors) The job of the lymph nodes is too catch the little bugger before it gets to rest of the body. I, like, some of you thought that they didn't take out enough of my lymph nodes but the doctors assure me that this is just the way God made me..::)
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I asked my BS why some women only have a few and others many lymph nodes removed and my BS explained it like this: when they do the SNB one node lights up... the sentinel or FIRST node that is reached by the fluids coming out of your breast. If it shows the presence of cancer in a prelimary test (which is done while you are under in most cases) they remove all remaining nodes around the one that lit up. It's a small cluster of lymphatic tissue (and as far as I understand it individual nodes are not discernible to the naked eye, just the area of lymph tissue). So it is what it is -- there is a cluster of nodes there and some women only have a few... others have many. They remove the whole cluster. Later the lab examines the tissue, counts the nodes, looks for cancer in each one. So that is why there is a difference.
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Lilah - I also have IDC, Stage 11a, Grade 3, 2/16 nodes ER-/PR-, HER2+ Do you know if our chances of getting lymphedema are greater than Warrior517 who only had 6 nodes removed. I am currently getting RADs, so I know my chances are even greater because of it. I worry about getting lymphedema....I know there is no cure for it. I am right handed and to get it on my right arm would be hard to deal with. Ohhh.... the things we worry about once you are stricken with BC:(
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CinCan, a friend of mine got lymphedema (started a year after her surgery!) and DID beat it so please worry about something else. She had a lot of PT and I'm not sure what else but is fine now. I panicked the first time I got a cat scratch on that side (my dominant arm) but have since endured many cuts and a couple of burns and no real trouble with swelling. Do you have a sleeve? I make sure to put mine on for plane trips, yard work, etc.
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Mare-Willi - I don't have a sleeve. Do you have to get fitted for one? My Onc said he will send me for some physical therapy once my blood counts are up and I am not so fatigued. I am 7 weeks post chemo, started feeling stronger....then started Rads and it zapped all my energy again. I've had 13 out of 33 sessions....wondering how I'll feel by the end.
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Hello CinCan,
I have mild lymphedema and it started 2-3 months after the mastectomy and axillary lymoh nodes dissection (I had 14 nodes removed) were performed. Since then, I have started working out and lifting weights and I hardly get lymphedema now. Lifting weights has actually been good!
When I started having lymphedema, I bought a sleeve at the hospital store (they only had 3 sizes : S, M, L) and the store salesperson measured my arm to find out which size I was. It cost 75 dollars. I have NEVER worn it ...
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LOL Marion re: that sleeve you never wore -- well hey if you go on an airplane you can wear it, right?
CinCan -- I attended a seminar about breast reconstruction at Sloan Kettering in NY (about a month before my MX last Dec) and they said if you have 1 or 2 nodes removed you are very unlikely to get LE... up to 9 you are still doing okay... more than 9 is more cause for concern. That said, they totally have no idea why some get it and some don't... so the best you can do is avoid things that they recommend avoiding (like BP or blood work from that side, really heavy lifting) and use antibiotic creme if you get a cut on that arm. I have not had any LE symptoms so far (and my nodes were removed about 11 months ago)... I also have not gotten a sleeve but think I ought to have one (like for flying). As it is, I had a very uninformative BS last year (since changed) and I flew on an airplane two weeks after my SNB and he said it would be fine and never mentioned anything about a sleeve! As it happens, it WAS fine. I think those who advised not obsessing were right.
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Hi Marion - How many pounds are you lifting? I want to buy some dumb bells but not sure about the amount of pounds I should lift without aggravating my arm. My arms have gotten so flabby that I really need to work on them. As for exercising, I walk an hour on my treadmill only about 4 times a week as I'm fighting with fatigue and joint/bone pain.
I'm trying not to worry or obsessing....just being cautious and careful.
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Hello CinCan,
I have no strength so I am not sure I can give good advice regarding dumbells... But here is what I do:
I take a class at the gym called Bodyworks and I lift 5 pounds dumbells when doing the movements. I sometimes switch to 2.5 pounds if my arm gets tired.
This week, a trainer at that gym who knows about "my condition" made me lift 15 pounds on each side and that was really hard! I struggled, especially on the side where I had the mastectomy, axillary node dissection and have mild lymphedema. But even with that weight, my arm never got swollen.
So 5 pounds is good, but 15 is too much ! But you may want to start with 2.5. I hope this helps!
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Thanks Marion - I am going to start with 2.5 and work my way up to 5 pounds.
TO ALL THE MOTHERS OUT THERE.... WISH YOU ALL A VERY HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY!
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This is my first post. I was diagnosed on April 13 and feel like I have been holding on to a runaway horse ever since. I had a lumpectomy and SNB on April 22. I was so ecstatic that the SNB was negative after surgery! Then the path report came back positive (micromet). I am scheduled for a full lymph node dissection this Thursday, May 13. Oncotype testing should be back in a couple weeks. I am madly trying to sort through WAY too much information. My tumor was exactly 2cm and the sentinel node was positive with micromet cells.I know in the past this would automatically mean chemo, but I am being told that is not necessarily the case now. It depends on the Oncotype testing? I had been told that I would need 6 weeks of radiation. Now that I may need chemo, I guess that changes? Won't I have a better survival chance if I do chemo? Then I was reading posts that someone in a similar situation (false negative initial SNB) did NOT do a complete lymph node dissection as they needed chemo anyway and that would take care of the spread. By not doing the dissection they had a better shot at avoiding lymphedema. SO much information, SO many decisions. I'm still trying to get clear on my situation. Here is what I was told: Stage 2a T1 N1. SNB positive by IHC micromet. Sure could use some help sorting through this. Glad to have found all of you.
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Designer Mom -- if you had Oncotype testing that means you were ER+ and/or PR+... and they do the test to determine whether you would benefit from chemo (or whether the damage it does would outweigh the healing). Often with ER/PR positive cancers they treat with a pill form of chemo (which does not do as much damage) plus radiation. Grade of the cancer is also a factor in whether Chemo is strongly effective (I believe I've read that a Grade 3 cancer -- which is an aggressive cancer -- is more responsive to chemo than a grade 1). Do you know if you are HER2+? That would also be a factor in whether or not you get chemo.
If you DO end up having chemo, that comes before the radiation. Most women it's surgery (whether lumpectomy or mastectomy), then chemo, then radiation (if you have all three). I had two lumpectomies...then chemo... then a unilateral MX (because there was still one margin that wasn't clear after second lumpectomy... but my ONC wanted me to start chemo after the second lumpectomy because she felt I had waited long enough... surgery delays the start of chemo). I did not have radiation because I had the MX and there was no cancer left in the breast when they tested it after removal.
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Thanks for the reply Lilah. I am still trying to wrap my head around "what I am" pathology-wise. As I did not know whether I was HER2 positive or negative, I just called my doctor. Her assistant said that if they sent it for Oncotype testing, I must have been HER2 negative. Then she confirmed that. SO! Now I know I am lla, Estrogen receptor positive, HER2 negative with micromet in SNB. I am scheduled for level 1 and 2 lymph node dissection this Thursday and she thought the Oncotype would be back then too. So I guess I am still on the fence as far as treatment until I get more information. I'm sure I will be back here with lots more questions.
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Good luck with the surgery! Sorry about the micromets.... but I do think that it's entirely possible that you'll get a pill form of chemo (there are a few but all to treat ER+ women) plus radiation. Anyway that's my hope for you! That pill form does not cause hair loss, as far as I know. But no matter what, you are getting treatment! Yay! And it does sound like it was caught early... which is great.
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Hi Ladies, My diagnosis is below. I had a lumpectomy and had I treatment of FEC chemo. My second was to be yesterday, but I had an allergic reaction to the Epriubricin so my oncologist is looking at a different drug regimen. I was to have FEC - D followed by radiation, Also herceptin and tamoxifin is in the future. I was curious as to what Chemo treatment is being suggested for you ladies, since I do not know what he will come up with
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