Lymph Node Involvement

berries

My BS made a comment to me when I asked him about my 4 positive LN. I was very anxious about this as he only took out 4 and they were all positive. I would have expected him to go further, but there was not a frozen section done as there was clinically no indication that my LN were involved at all. Sad news to receive after surgery that they were involved.

He said that it's not like lymph nodes "trap" cancer cells from spreading. Why then is everyone focused on how many nodes are involved? If only the sentinel nodes are positive, aren't the chances of spread the same as though sentential nodes AND axillary nodes are involved?

Also, he mentioned that the dye did not light up any other 'suspicious areas' -- not sure if he was trying to be comforting? My understanding is the dye does nothing but tell you where it might travel, but you can't necessary "see" the cancer cells. I think he knew the sentinel nodes were positive because they were hard.

Can someone explain this to me? Hope this all makes sense.

thank you x

berries

bump

Beesie

I can't answer any of your questions about whether other nodes should be taken given that all 4 sentinel nodes were positive, but I can confirm that your understanding of the SNB process and the role of the dye is correct. The dye maps out the flow from the breast into the nodes and identifies the nodes that are most likely to be the first that cancer cells will move into, should breast cancer cells enter the lymphatic system. The presence of dye (or lack of dye) provides no indication of whether or not the node will be positive for cancer

karen1956

My breast surgeon only took the first layer of lymph nodes (12) to minimize the risk of LE - 8 were positive. I had axillary dissection. I'm 13+ years post diagnosis and still NED!!! I know that I'm not answering your questions but want to give you hope!

cathy67

Hi karen1956,

Thank you! You also gave me hope!

I am also very very scared of bone scan.

cathy67

Hi vmb,

I had exactly same question as you, it was a shock when surgeon told me node positive, so I did not figure out anything that I wanted to ask there.

Then, I got this question.

Now, I understand why. Sentinel lymph node biopsy is a test not a dissection, and that test is to find the first node or nodes, remove and test. That is it. For me, only one node is removed, I searched then I know some other ladies also only have one.