Lillie Shockney is starting to understand

kira66715

Binney had told me about this, and I wanted to share it--I completely believe the the input of the smart, informed, caring and amazing women on this board have made an impact.

http://www.hopkinsbreastcenter.org/services/ask_expert/viewquestions.asp?id=999807472

12/13/2010

Question:

I will be having breast surgery with axillary node dissection (there has already been a needle biopsy and PET scan that confirm several positive nodes). Lumpectomy may still be an option, but I wonder if mastectomy (which I am leaning towards anyway) will take more pressure off the damaged lymph system, possibly lessening my risk of lymphedema. Do you know if there is any data on this?

Answer

I have not read any studies that imply doing a bigger breast surgery (ie, mast) will reduce risk of lymphedema when comparing it to lumpectomy. the issue really is the armpit where the nodes reside. hopefully a gentle dissection will be done. (you want a surgeon who treats your axillary area like it has a handgranade with the pin already pulled.

Now, it doesn't say that Lillie answered this question--but someone at Johns Hopkins did, and overall,  a pretty good answer. Wish my surgeon had gotten this advice. We heard this again and again at the NLN--that gentle handling of the axilla in surgery--ironically harder to do during SNB where they're hunting for the "hot" node and there's lots of retraction, versus ALND where there's less retraction, is key. 

Happy Hoidays to all!

Kira