lumpectomy today. Questions.

gooseberry

I had a lumpectomy and node dissection or whatever its called today (june 30). They tested 2 nodes and they were clean! Will find out it the margins are clean in a week.

So my question is with her2+ is that as good a news as I think it is? I know I still need chemo and all of that to make sure there are no cells left that cannot be seen and I have come to accept that but does this affect prognosis? I read the smallest ones not in the nodes are the ones most likely to come back. Is that old research? So I want to be happy but I am cautious. This her2 thing adds much more stress for me. Thanks for any information.

I am triple positive by the way, her2, PR and ER all positive.

ElaineTherese

Gooseberry, the fact that your two nodes are clean is indeed good news! Congrats! As far as chemo and all that....chemo is systemic treatment, designed to destroy the cancer cells floating around in your bloodstream and/or lymphatic system. Herceptin is an important adjuvant treatment because your cancer cells have been programmed to replicate and replicate and replicate. Whatever cells are floating around, you want them to be 1) destroyed and 2) discouraged from replicating. Since you are triple positive, it is also recommended that you take a pill which sucks the estrogen out of your body, either Tamoxifen or an Aromatase Inhibitor (AI). Such a drug will hopefully deny cancer cells of the estrogen that helped them thrive.

So far, though, good news!