Sentinel Node Biopsy

CTMOM1234

duckyb - That stinks, sorry that you might have lymphedema but I'm sure you are very glad that the nodes were all negative! Hindsight is always 20/20, had my bs just done the snb at the time of my lumpectomy I wouldn't have had to go back under general 14 days later (darn surprise 1.75 mm of idc). But having the comfort of a negative snb result is worth it all in my opinion and I'm glad he didn't jump into giving me the snb until it was absolutely necessary!

Emaline

Okay that is what I was trying to understand whether it was random or cancer related.  Thank you!

traceygayle

I just had my sentinal node biopsy on May 3 and the good news is they found a way to freeze while doing it...so really only one of the 5 needles hurts and thats only for a minute,sorta like a blackfly

bite...So relax, its not nearly as bad as it sounds or apparently used to be...good luck!.

I'm in Winnipeg...hopefully they have improved where you are! 

cycle-path

"My surgeon said if he gets clear positive in my nodes, he will take them all in that area. I'm assuming that is the axillary? With surgery looming on Friday, I'm still back and forth on if I agree with this practice or not. I talked with our physical therapist director at where I work, and she said she doesn't agree with this practice anymore and that it does more harm then good."

Emaline, the PT is correct. Recent studies show that there's no benefit to removing all the nodes.

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/737513 

As others have said, the more nodes removed, the greater the risk of Lymphedema.

It's still considered prudent in most cases to remove sentinel nodes and test them in order to determine if the cancer is invasive. And in that case, generally chemotherapy is recommended. However, as the article above points out, removal of nodes containing cancer is no longer considered a necessary protocol. 

julianna51

Beesie - Thank you for explaining the SNB for me.   I met with my BC today and he did say that he was going to do a SNB.   I understand the necessity but told him I was worried about lymphedema since I've lived with it in my legs most of my adult life and that I wondered if I would be more succeptable to it....I hope not!   He said the intent was to "cherry pick" the nodes and not take many.   So, I'm hoping that holds true!!!   As much as it is breaking my heart to go through with this I am so ready to get it done, find out the final results and move on!

Emaline

Just wanted to add my experience.  The doctor came in and numbed my breast up with lidocaine first.  It stung a little bit when the injection first started but then it was fine.  Just a quick sting. He then did the shots of the nuclear material.  He said he would not use the dye unless the nuclear material did not spread.  We then had some time before pre-op so my husband and I took a walk.  I remember someone posting that they were told this helps get things into the nodes quicker.

As soon as my husband came in, he said my nodes were clear. Best news.  My doctor said he took 5 nodes, he was surprised that so many lit up. He also said they were lower down then he expected to find but everything looked great.  

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Beesie

Emaline, I'm glad it went well for you.  Just a precautionary note.  Usually when the nodes are sent to pathology while the patient is in surgery, all they have time to do is a very quick check. This will catch any obvious amounts of cancer but it's not a complete check.  After the surgery is done, the nodes, as well as all the removed breast tissue, are more thoroughly analysed.  So while it's great news to hear after surgery that your nodes were clear, the final word will come from your post-surgery pathology report.  In most cases there is no change - and hopefully your final results will confirm that your nodes are clear - but there have been some women on the board who have been completely shocked when the pathology report shows something different because they weren't told that the first result is preliminary only.  

There are a few hospitals that are using a new procedure that is able to do the complete check of the nodes while the patient is in surgery but this is not yet a commonplace practice so it's probably better to assume that the final word will come from the post-surgery pathology report.

Emaline

You are right Beesie.  We knew we had two final hurdles to over come, the SNB and final path.  We should have the final path by the end of this week.   My doctor did warn us of that.  He did say he would be very surprised but it could happen.

Cat123

I will be honest with you....it was painful but for only seconds.  It goes by very quickly and there is no residual pain.

julianna51

I had a SNB just before my BMX on Tuesday.   I didn't feel that it was very bad at all.   A little bit of pain but not much.

Birchbeer6

My BS did my test during my mastectomy,

mommyrnx2

For anyone getting SNB, I would ask your doctor how the procedure goes at your hospital.  I was soooooo scared of this because of some of the things I read and some of the experiences other women had.  For me, they injected me with 2 needles (I had bilateral so 2 on each side).  They were no where near my nipple or the lump!  thank goodness!  They injected them to outer quadrant of my breast, first injection didn't even feel, second, felt like a little swish of salt water, enough to say maybe "ow" but not painful, defintely biopsies were more uncomfortable for me.  The second side was the same.  Hope that helps. P.S. I had my surgery at Mercy Hospital in Baltimore, MD.....THEY WERE ALL GREAT!

Chrys23

I just found out my BS does it while you are alseep (both the nuclear tracer AND the dye). Whew, thank goodness!!!!!

mommyrnx2

Chrys23: That's nice! Now you won't have to worry at all!