need some reassurance.....

nine_rugrats

hi, i had posted here while going thru treatments....but i forgot my name and password   Anyway, i finished herceptin july 09.  Yesterday i had a mamogram and then they called me in today for an u/s for an enlarged axilly lymph node.  I see my surgeon 3/24 and i dont know what he will do...the dr today said probably a biopsy.  (All this is on my left side)My shoulder on this side...the same side of my bc has been sore and the pain has been going down my arm.  Then i noticed last week a cord like thing in the arm pit.  I also had a cut on that hand that took forever to heal.  Do you think i shoud be worried.  i read that the likely hood of a reaccurance was low being stage 1 and doing herception. 

I am trying not to freak out....

Thanks, Tonya

Rubyluby

Hi Tonya,

If it's any reassurance at all, I've now realised that once you've had BC doctors will jump three feet high when you present with just about anything. I've had several experiences now that have taught me this. I'm on Herceptin at the moment and my left ankle swelled up huge - most likely because I was being a little over-enthusiastic with the aerobics - but in order to rule out either clot or metastasis my doctors insisted I have a DVT scan followed by a full CT scan followed by an ECHO scan. All took up a lot of time and all showed up nothing at all.

As a layperson, it sounds to me like you may just have a really bad infection. This is statistically more likely than recurrence in your case, remember! The cord does sound like infection and remember that cancer doesn't usually hurt - or not until it's pretty advanced.

Big hugs and best wishes and luck to you,

Lucy  

nine_rugrats

Thanks!!  Also, i am seeing my onc every 4 months.  I go see him wed. so it has been just at 4 months since i saw him.  Then all my blood work was fine and the tumor marker was normal.  I know i am obsessing about this. I tried to get out of the dr who read my u/s if cancer looked different than an infection on the u/s but he didnt really say one way or the other.  Is he only saying it is enlarged, but dont know why???  He had said it looked suspicious.