cancer still in armpit after chemo, surg & radiation..what now?

Chutney

am told that the cancer in my armpit after chemo, mod radical w/axillary node dissection, & 33 radiation is "normal" - see ya in 3 months.....take the Femara.  I don't know that this is "normal."  there isn't any research I can find re Femara use by advanced BC who haven't taken tamoxifen and I haven't....all the research I saw is early stage BC and after 5 years of tamoxifen.  wondering if there is any poiint to continuing side effects of Femara when it is normal after 1 year of "treatment" to have cancer in my armpit. 

Anyone else out there told that after all this they still had cancer?  What did you do? 

Anonymous

I dotn have the answers for you but stumbled across your thread so wanted to bump it up for you in hopes that others will see it and have some suggestions for you....

Im sorry this is happening for you...

swimangel72

Have you gone for a second opinion? Sounds like you need one!

dlb823

Chutney ~ I'm with swimangel on your needing a second opinion.  You sound kind of confused about your path from here on out, and that's not a good thing.  You need doctors who can communicate what they want you to do and why you're doing it so that you understand it and can question it when it doesn't make complete sense to you.  It doesn't sound like you have that situation now.  It's probably a good idea to have a second opinion at this point anyway, to review your treatment to date and be sure nothing has been overlooked.

Good luck, and please let us know what you find out!   Deanna

Chutney

dlb823 & swimangel,

I am not confused per se - I don't know what I don't know and what I know doesn't seem to get more of a response from my onc than "take Femara and see ya in 3 months" - that doesn't feel right to me either.  turns out the doc that read my CT scan post chemo, surgery, and radiation compared it to the diagnostic scan of 8/28/08 rather than the post-chemo scan of 3/9/09.  So....I requested (my onc didn't) an updated report that I hope to have in my hands tomorrow.  Then, I hope to know enough more to ask questions.  speaking of which along with 2nd opinions:

I don't understand how we - the "sick" women are supposed to be the ones who know how to ask what we need to know.  The docs have the info - why can't they just spill the beans?  if my prognosis isn't all that swell, i'd rather know that, deal with that, then la-dee-dah take femara for months dealing with SEs etc - only to learn that there wasn't any real point in doing that. 

debbyh

Chutney,

I am dealing with the same thing right now. Large lump in my armpit, mass in the shoulder muscle. The concern is that it is localized advanced breast cancer. I am having a PET scan on August 31st to see if it is cancer. If your doctor already knows that your lump is cancer, I cannot imagine that he'd say 'see you in three months...' You need to talk to another doctor and find out why it is not being removed. I would not take no for an answer. My oncologist told me, after being presented with my new lump "Well, I guess all I can say is that if it were in my armpit, I wouldn't worry about it." I looked square at him and said, "Well, if it was in your armpit, I wouldn't be worried about it." He said, "Well, we could watch it closely." I said, "Well, we could also biopsy it." The surgeon seems to be taking this a lot more seriously than the oncologist did. I don't get that. I simply don't get it.

Chutney

hi debby,

ah what a delight to find another woman who talks to her docs like I talk to my docs!  I have had another scan and am told the lump is not cancer by my radiation onc this time (didn't particularly trust my onc at this point).    I have just so had enough of the entire medical "system" that all I want now is to have nothing to do with it for a couple months.  i think my sanity depends on that. 

chutney

ktn

chutney- I also live in MN and feel I got great care with my breast surgeon and PS at the Piper Breast Center at Abbott. I can't say enough good things about them. I have my oncologist and had radiation nearer my home and have been happy with my care. This is a long road and we need to trust our Doctor's. Good luck and glad to hear your last scan was good!