Positive margins after neoadjuvant chemo and mastectomy

LoverofJesus

I am looking for stories of ones that had chemo before surgery and then a mastectomy.

Did any of you have positive margins. I had a pretty large area, Which has shrunk a lot. But now after reading I am anxious about positive margins even after surgery. Why can’t this be easier? I was happy to be getting surgery in November. Now I’m scared

ThreeTree

LOJ - After neoadjuvant chemo that shrunk my tumor some, and a mastectomy, I had one very small positive margin. The surgeon said he would have had to have taken my ribs or most of one side of my whole chest to get it all (took some pectoral muscle as it was), but that radiation should take care of it. I had the radiation and whether it took care of it or not, I figure I'll never know, but I am about 3 years out from diagnosis at this point and so far, so good, and I knock on wood every day that it all stays that way. I had a very similar diagnosis to yours, except that it was IDC.

If you haven't even had the surgery yet, I wouldn't worry so much about a positive margin. I don't know that it happens all that often. In my case, they knew that the cancer had attached to my chest wall, so that was a factor. Not all larger tumors have done that by the time of surgery.

Best of luck to you, LOJ!

LoverofJesus

threetree thank you for responding. I don’t think it happens very often. They said from the MRI that mine is not attached to the chest wall. Or from all the scans it doesn’t appear that way. So I’m praying that this is the case and they get completely clean margins. I am also due for expanders put in during that same surgery.

I hope I have others respond!