Positive nodes after neoadjuvent chemo

Kellirlane

Hi! Long story short: diagnosed December 2017- stage 2b idc, Er/pr positive, her2 negative. MRI, ct, ultrasound all showed only one positive node (biopsy) 8 dd ac/t. Surgery was May 23- dmx/immediate diep recon. My pathology showed up yesterday with 5 nodes positive after chemo. I’m devastated. I don’t meet with my oncologist until next Thursday, but I would love to hear from other women that also had positive nodes after chemo.

GraceB1

I too still had positive nodes after chemo. It is common in er+ tumors for the chemo not to get all of the cancer. Doctors don't tell patients this and MRIs don't generally show the extent of positive nodes. They don't tell us that either (only showed a third of mine). The good news is that radiation is very good at mopping up stray cancer cells. I too was upset but my doctors were not. It was an common thing for them. Hang in there, this does not make your prognoses any worse.