Waiting for the report after lumpectomy

Godblessedeveryone

Hi dear sisters, is there any possibility that after my mom had her lumpectomy, the result of the tumor, margins & lymph nodes are all positive/good result? And so my mom could skip the chemotherapy or radiotherapy? I really hope the result turn out something good. I don't want to see my mom suffer from chemo

ChiSandy

Anything’s possible--including those results you described. (BTW, you want those lymph nodes to be negative--which is a “positive" thing)! In my case I did hit the jackpot--Stage IA: intermediate grade, clean margins, negative nodes, a favorable hormonal/HER2 profile, smallish size, etc. If all those factors are present (especially if the tumor is less than a cm), it’s likely that chemo would be unnecessary. (If they’re unsure, there’s a test called Oncotype DX they can run on a small sample of the tumor to see if chemo would be likely to work). But with extremely rare exceptions, radiation is always done after a lumpectomy. I got through it okay, as did most of us here who had it. It’s less debilitating than chemo and is a shorter course of treatment. And though I didn’t get chemo, it is doable--lots of women (and a few men) here had it and recovered from it. (In fact, in my entire breast cancer support group, only one other woman besides me didn’t have chemo. All those women are doing just fine).

Kicks

'Positive lymph nodes' are not a 'good thing'. Positive nodes' means that there was cancer present. When it comes to BC - 'Negative' is good meaning no cancer found; 'Positive' is bad meaning cancer was found.

Only her Drs (Team) can suggest what would be the best TX plan. No one here is Medical Personnel and this do not have the knowledge (or access to her records) to know what her TX should be for long term NED (No Evidence of Disease) which is the best BC survivors can be.