Had MX yesterday have questions

timerdog

I had my UMX yesterday by a general surgeon in a small town located in Ontario. I had to drive about an hour to a hosptial to get the SNB dye injected. They took pictures and then we drove back to the hospital to get the surgery.

My surgeon removed ALL MY LYMPH NODES due to the fact they were enlarged and the radioactive dye was lightneing them up.I had no idea he was going to do that. I thought he was just going to remove SOME nodes then send them to get tested. IS this NORMAL?? I am not in a cancer center and was told even if I was that the same events would have taken place. I will not know for sure if cancer is in my nodes for about a week or so.

I have to admit that I feel alright despite having my boob removed. The surgeon spent about 4 hours doing the operation. Not sure if that is good or bad. I had two tumors the largest was 5.5 cm. 

My next question is, Do all BC patients get chest xrays?? Is this normal? My Dr. wants me to have one and of course all I can think about is "great now I have lung cancer".

I am still in the hopital for a few more days and they have a computer I can check.

Thanks

Trish 

NativeMainer

timerdog--as far as the SNB goes, there is a lot of variation from person to person.  In an SNB the doc takes all the nodes that the dye lights up, if a lot of yours lit up then all of them would have been taken no matter where you had surgery.  I'm sorry that happened to you, I'm more sorry that you weren't properly informed that this could happen.  And, yes, all bc patients get a chest x-ray. The x-ray is not looking for lung cancer but to see if the bc has already spread to the lungs or ribs.  Usually the chest x-ray is done before the surgery, as the info may have an impact on weather a mastectomy or lumpectomy is chosen.  It's also not unusual to check a chest x-ray after a long surgery to see if there is any pneumonia developing. What is unusual is for you to be in the hospital longer than overnight, you must have really good insurance!  

lago

Yes I did have a chest X-ray but it was before surgery.

Are you sure they took ALL your nodes? They may have only taken level I (about 10-15 nodes). My tumor was 5.5cm and they took level I nodes (10 nodes). They did not do a sentinel node dissection on this side. This is pretty standard for larger tumors because the chance of a micro-invasion is like 80%. They can't always see that micro-invasion at surgery. If your surgeon had just taken the sentinel and found out later that you did infact have a micro-invasion s/he would have wanted to go back and take the rest of the nodes out.

My BS did say that if he found something he would be taking more than the level I nodes out. He didn't and it ended up that none of my nodes were infected.

The other 4 nodes were from the sentinel node dissection on the other side. Usally it's just 1 or 2 but in my case 4 lit up. Many times these nodes are clumped together so it's hard to tell.

Hope that helps.

timerdog

That is what my surgeon mentioed is that because they were enlarged that they were clumping together. He also mentioned that he didn't see anything "odd" during the surgery. Lago are you alright now? I hope to God that my cancer has not gone into any major organs. I am so scared.

lago

I just had my BMX August 31st. Right now I am 2/3 way through chemo… 2 more to go. So far I'm OK.

If they were enlarged and clumping together then it makes sense they were removed. Mine weren't enlarged so that's why my BS didn't take out more than the level I.

My cancer was very agressive, fast growing, grade 3 and HER2+. As you can see I am a stage IIb, early stage. This means that the cancer has not spread to any organs. I did have scans before surgery and nothing seemed to light up.

We were all scared.  Waiting for the path report is hell. Next, I think they do scans on you before they do chemo if they haven't already. Don't assume you will have mets to major organs. Some of these large tumors are slow growers too. Sounds like you might be a stage IIIA, which is still considered early breast cancer. Of course you will need to wait for your path report.

Hang in there. As you know this waiting is the hardest part yet there is a lot of it. Think about it this way, you had the surgery. They have removed your tumors. They are no longer in your body growing and spreading. I know I was so relieved once my surgery was finally done.

negirly

I also had my nodes removed.  My BS takes all the nodes that are within certain anatomical  boundaries and the number will vary from patient to patient.  I think I had 19 in the section she took out. If you look at the signature lines on BCO members you will see a good range of nodes.

Karyn

timerdog

I need to stop panicing and worrying about the unknown.

Reading this board has helped in some ways and has scared me in others. I actually feel pretty good depite losing a breast. Hardly any pain and the nurses keep telling me to get back to bed! LOL

At least I will be home for xmas as I have made it known that as soon as these drains come out I'm outta here.

Merry Christmas all.

hrf

Your tx is very different from my experience in Toronto. I had chest x-ray, bone scan and CT scan before surgery so doctor knew more about stage. Also usually we go home the day after surgery (even with BMX) I was also told to NOT stay in bed but to walk around - not exercise - but walking and do regular things. It took a couple of weeks for drains to come out -- a CCAC nurse came every day to change dressings and removed drains as each one was able to come out. They taught me how to take care of the drains by myself. I was also trained in advance of what to do if nodes were removed. Whole process was not painful at all. I took some Tylenol for a few days - that's all I needed for pain. I also took Gabapentin to help with nerve damage during surgery.

I hope you go home by tomorrow.

lago

timerdog I felt pretty good after my BMX too. I never took a pain pill, used the pain pump, not even a tylenol.

Yes some of us do OK and aren't in that much pain at all.

Glad you will be home for Christmas. Enjoy!

misfit

timerdog - I'm so glad to hear that everything went well. I had a chest x-ray done a few days before my surgery, but I thought that was just standard for everyone. Afterwards I also had a ct scan, bone scan and MUGA (to check heart function if you are Her2+). I don't know if everyone gets the first two or just those with lymph node involvement. I believe those tests are all pretty common, and waiting for the results is very stressful. Panic and worry about the unknown is normal so don't be too hard on yourself if that's what you're feeling. It seemed like things got easier after that for me.

Merry Christmas to you and your daughter and best wishes for a speedy recovery.

lago

I think those scans are pretty standard. I had them too.