negative nodes ending up with Mets - numbers?

Have any of you seen the following web site?  It's interesting to see what happens when you make changes even with the size of the tumor.  This is one of my favorite sites.

http://cancer.lifemath.net/breastcancer/therapy/index.php

Renee, that's an interesting calculator. It only stages me as IIa, but my onc staged me at IIIa. I wonder why the difference?

Nancy - it is tumor size. If I change my tumor size to 5cm, but leave everything else the same, it stages me at IIb too. I thought anything over 5cm with node involvement put you into Stage 3...? Or any size lump with more than 3 nodes was Stage 3 also.

Jan we have the same dx and the same location..I did the cancermath chart and just by putting where my tumor was close to the chest wall even though no nodes were involved it put me at stag 3!....If I leave the info out about the chestwall it puts me at stage 1!........Not sure which to believe now......

I am Stage IIIb but came out a stage II on the calculator.  Has anyone here been anything else?  I know with the way it is set up it does not include multi focal girls like me.

The adjuvant therapy selected may be expected to extend that expectancy by 0.7 years, or 247 days.

WHAT??? Really?

How can that be right? I just put in Tamoxifen because that is what my oncologist is recommending. I am going to ask her if taking Tamoxifen for 5 years really only adds this much benefit!

JanMarch, you chose a relatively aggressive surgical option for your stage, so that tells me you want to be pro-active, and the fact that you are on this thread tells me that you may be concerned that you haven't done enough. 

The best place to address those concerns is with your surgeon and/or your oncologist if you have one, and if you don't, maybe a second opinion type consultation with one would help ease your fears.  Every potential treatment has risks as well as benefits, and in your situation, the risks may well outweigh any potential benefit, but no one on this board can make that decision for you.  You have to make it in conjunction with your doctors.

I don't think Allie was trying to denegrate your fears, I think that she was trying to reassure you. 

A year ago, if I coughed, my first thought was always "Is it mets?" The fact that wind was blowing pollen into my throat was way down on my list of possible causes.  At this point, I'm pretty confident that the tickle in my throat on a high pollen day is not a big deal.  Time helps, and it will help you too.  In the meantime, if you need more detailed answers, ask the doctors who can provide them.  I hope they can give you the confidence you need to really enjoy the rest of your (hopefully very long) life.

Alright...I went to the calculator put in my info..it was bang on T3,N0,Mx0 - Stage 2B.

28% chance of dying from BC in 15 years....Why do these calculators NOT take in the fact of one who did Herceptin or rads?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi jan,  I have the same dx as you...I too did the radical thing.....I had bilat masts with innediate TRAM recons.......I did not do chemo and have been second guessing my doctors decision ever since.......I just talked to Kim, my onc nurse, and she was so helpful...I too am having a bad sad day and it is hard when you have those days and then get to thinking about recurrence and our chances of survival...I call these days my really bad morbid days, cause I feel really bad and all I do is think morbid thoughts.......I PM'd you, jan..............

Lexis, so sorry...You are way too young to have to be dealing with this crap!.......

Can I just this much.....CANCER SUCKS AND I HATE IT!......

LOL!.. Back to Herceptin 101..I go!

Docs don't scan internal nodes as they are under the breast bone and not accessible. They are hard to biopsy for that reason, too. I had a bunch scooped out with my breast that had micromets. I want to know what they're going to do about it as my tumour was at 6 o'clock VERY low on my breast against the chest wall, which is probably why it was missed on yearly mammos until my nipple started bleeding, which, apparently, had nothing to do with my tumour. Go figure. There are intra mammary nodes as well, very confusing. I'm pretty sure with how low my tumour was (bra line) that mine drained into my chest nodes and not through my armpit nodes.

I finally see an onc tomorrow for the FIRST time. I hope she is up on her info and I know I can't dump all these questions on her....can I? 

Lexi, you should use the conditional outcome program and type in that you are two years out (and also look at your stats for cancer, not overall risk of death).  When i put in my stats as if newly diagnosed, I get a 20% chance of dying of cancer.  But now that I am almost 5 years out, the chart says I have an 8% chance of dying of breast cancer.  Woo-hoo!  The farther you've come, the farther you've come.

I just did the calculator and something is off.  I had no node involvement and a 2.6 cm tumor.  Stage IIa, the calculator calls me Stage IIb.  Also, how do you deal with the histological question, it was invasive ductal, but described as having tubular and cribiform patterns, and mentions schirrious--so which one do I choose? Very different outcomes depending on which I choose. It was actually two tumors near each other and the pathologist measured them as one, based on ultrasound, both were smaller than 2cm, so onc said think of yourself as Stage1.  I'm confused

Oh my tumor was positioned around 11:30 Upper/Outer , Right breast...so what does that mean?

Nancy..it stages me at IIa and I'm a II.  You're right though.  with 4+ nodes you should be at least a III,

Sounds like the site has a few glitches.

What's with the map.  I'm too tired to read all about it.  Okay, I'll save it for later.

Barbe.....Glad you're finally seeing an onco.