Lymph-Vascular Invasion

lalalara

Hello.  I'm new to these boards.  I'm 30 years old and was diagnosed in late September with Stage 1c, ER+, PR+, HE- and no node involvement.  (My mom was diagnosed at 35 and died at 40 when I was 7 years old.)  However, the surgeon said the lumpectomy/biopsy showed that there was lymph vascular invasion.  Does that mean the cancer is starting to travel to my lymph nodes?  The surgeon wants to treat my BC aggressively because of my age.

I'm meeting with an oncologist tomorrow for the first time.  I was hoping for some insight as to what lymph-vascular invasion meant. 

She

Lara, lymphovascular invasion means that there was a blood and/or lymphatic supply to your tumor.  While it does mean the cells can travel, your nodes were clear and that is fantastic news.  I had lymphovascular invasion 14+ years ago.

Please take someone with you tomorrow, to take notes (or take a recorder).  You will have a lot of information to process and it's much easier if you have something to refer back to while you process.

I'm sorry you've had to join us, but you've come to a great place, full of warm, compassionate women and plenty of valuable information.

All the best, She

scrapmom40

Here is a short description that I found on the internet.

Lymphovascular Invasion

Breast cancers have a blood supply like normal tissue and organs. Tumors also have lymphatic channels running through them, which serve as a circulatory system in the body for tissue fluid and proteins separate from the blood circulation. If cancer cells under the microscope appear to invade into the blood vessels or lymphatic channels of the tumor, the possibility that cancer cells have spread to the lymph nodes or other areas in the body increases. This is called lymphovascular invasion or LVI.

I also had LVI when I was diagnosed back in 2008.  Because of the LVI, I had 4 rounds of AC chemo.  I did not have lymph node involvement.  I had a SNB with 3 nodes removed.  All three nodes were clear. 

Good Luck!

lalalara

She - my boyfriend will be coming with me to this appointment.  It's actually his first appointment with me after being diagnosed.  His job isn't flexible with days off. 

Karen - thank you.  Your diagnosis looks very similar to mine.  May I ask how old you are?  I'm worried about the aggressiveness of the treatment the surgeon recommended, which I'm sure is because of my age.  WHen he said chemo, I assumed he meant months of chemo and radiation, but you just had four rounds because of LVI?