Positive lymph nodes

lexislove

dogsaver..

Is that a Staffordshire Bull Terrier in your ouc? The white one? I had one for 13 years, he passed late June. I miss him. I love them!

P.S. To my "haters" who like to follow me and read my posts, heres a big middle finger in your face. FYI, I have no haters on this board..only another.

Ondagrow

I just got my pathology report back from my  June 30, 2010 lumpectomy...Found out my margins are not clear...Additionally,out of 13 lymph nodes 11 were positive...Medical oncologist wants me to start chemotherapy before another lumpectomy or mastectomy...I am 37 and I am going crazy... I am scheduled for a pet scan Tuesday...Lastly, I am triple positive...I am going crazy,uuuggghhh...

TriciaK

I'm triple pos too, just celebrated my fifth year out with three pos nodes:)

My friend had 22 pos nodes 23 years agon with triple neg and is doing great!!!!

Please remember we are not stats, you too can make it!!!!:)

Love

Tricia xx

KH1994

I am not sure if this board is still active, but I want to respond just in case.  I shared the same concerns when I was diagnosed with stage II breast cancer at the age of 34.  That was 18 years ago.  The tumor was so small that the doctor could not feel it; however, the cancer had already spread to two lymph nodes.  I thought my life was over.  For years I worried that every little lump, ache, or pain was recurrence.  Statistics do not tell you what may happen in your particular situation. Slowly, I got over my fear of recurrence.  It takes time.

lotusbloomsinmud

kh1994, thank you.  Found your note at 4 am and was able to go back to sleep.  Thanks to everyone here.  What a relief it is to have this forum and team effort.  My case was similar....stage 2a but had spread to 3 nodes and had extensive vasc invasion.  The doctors have made it clear they are concerned cause it was on the move early.  I am done with treatment and actually, my CFS is better.  Chemo seems to have helped with the viral and other issues.  Just sooo scared of recurrance.  My son is only 6.  The cancer was found when we were looking into another baby plan.  There is a wonderful thread of survivor stories in the stage 3 discussion boards.  I want to frame it on my wall.  I have to believe after being sick for 25 years with horrible cfs issues, the bad news could finally be over.  I am doing everything, diet, exercize etc to protect myself.  I love the quote: you can get busy living or busy dying.  All the best to everyone!!

bahamamom3

LizM - I kept scrolling back and forth, looking for some kind of post about the very same thing you posted here.  I had to double check yours to  make sure I had not written it myself.  I know exactly how you feel because I was diagnosed with stage 1 bc also, due to a tumor sized 7mm to 11 mm (depending on which mammogram or ultrasound, etc., you go by).  Now, although no one told me, I know that the stage 1 changed to stage 2 as soon as there was any node involvement.  It was only in my sentinel node, a 3.5 mm tumor.  Then they took out 17 more nodes, and none of them had any cancer.  I believe your cancer also was stage 2 (since you had one node involved), but I see that you also had grade 1, just as I did.  And I understand your trying to understand how your cancer was able to spread to a node, when others with much bigger tumors (3+ cm) and more aggressive grades (2 or 3) didn't spread at all.  That just doesn't seem to make any sense to me.  Not that I would wish any bad luck or worse diagnoses on anyone else, but it just doesn't make sense that a small, less aggressive tumor would spread and many larger, very aggressive tumors wouldn't spread.  I flat out asked my onc, and all she could tell me was that obviously something about my cancer was aggressive, causing it to spread.  I have even wondered if the 3.5 mm tumor in my sentinel node actually broke off the main tumor in my breast and travelled to the node by the time that I had the surgery.  My bs said that the only sure way to tell how big the tumor is, is the actual pathology report once they take out the tumor.  But it seems odd to me that the size of the tumor was supposed to be 11 mm, then it was only 7 mm when they did the pathology report after taking it out.  It looks like to me that this could be possible because if the needle from the biopsy broke off a 3.5 mm section of the 11 mm tumor, that would pretty much account for the size difference.  It is all very puzzling.  Like you, though, I had chemo, rads, and now I am on arimidex, so hopefully we have done all we can do to protect ourselves.  It was really good to see that someone else had the same question I did.  Good luck! 

evergreen9

I had a clean mammogram in Feb 2010, and a 3.5 cm lump 8 months later, with 8/15 nodes positive. Sometimes that knowledge drives me crazy. Other times I remember that there are so many factors involved in recurrence or Mets, and that it is beyond my control now. So I hope that my treatment was effective, and try to enjoy every day.

Zmeister3141

Horsegal: I too, had just a lumpectomy with clear margins (1.7 cm) and no radiation, no lymph nodes removed (my choice). I feel that all of this invasion causes more problems than just leaving things alone. I don't agree with "standard of care".