Cancer cells in Lymphnodes

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Isabella4
Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
edited June 2014 in Life After Breast Cancer
Cancer cells in Lymphnodes
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  • Isabella4
    Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
    edited August 2009

    Anyone read Dr Kattloves Cancer Blog ?

    I have read it on and off for a couple of years now.

    Tonight I see he says the whole way we think about how to treat cells in lymphnodes has to change.New Dutch research says chemo needs to be standard for  'a few' positive nodes, left 'un-chemo'd' will put us at risk of a 50% more chance of recurrance.

    Isabella.

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  • pabbie
    pabbie Member Posts: 370
    edited August 2009

    Hi-I just read it. I had 2 diseased lymph nodes out of 19. I had radiation & now I'm on tamoxifen. Hopefully this has helped a little to bring the 50% recurrence rate down. I chose not to have chemo because my oncotype score was 20 and I had chemo 11 years ago for colo-rectal cancer in which I never fully recovered from the long-term fatigue and the chemopause problems.

    This study makes me somewhat question my decision w/ the chemo. But fortunately these studies will help other woman decide what is the best treatment for there BC.

    Take care.

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  • idaho
    idaho Member Posts: 1,187
    edited August 2009

    I haven't heard of hardly any women that have had diseased lymph nodes and have NOT had chemo... I think that is standard care.   Tami

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  • barbe1958
    barbe1958 Member Posts: 19,757
    edited August 2009

    I had micromets in two nodes and the onc says they treat that like no involvement. No chemo for me. She said I have lost the "window" to do it in as I saw her 8 months after my surgery!

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  • London-Virginia
    London-Virginia Member Posts: 851
    edited August 2009

    There is a divide between oncs who don't count micromets in the nodes as node positive, and those that think exactly the opposite!

    Ther have been a few posts about this over the last week as the dutch study is at odds with ASCO.  I don't know what to think really - I am starting chemo next week anyway, but also my surgeon wants to strip the axilla which I am really not keen to do.

    Is anything ever straightforward weith this blasted disease?   (oh why did I say that................!!)

    best wishes to all

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  • Isabella4
    Isabella4 Member Posts: 2,166
    edited September 2009

    Virginia.        I had a complete axilla clearance. I now have the problem that, whenever I do too much with my 'bad' side arm the lymph fluid collects under my arm like half a grapefruit, it takes a couple of days to go down.

    Doing too much means cleaning half a dozen windows, or painting for a couple of hours. I just dive in, forget, then suffer the swelling under the arm. I don't LOOK ill so everyone just expects me to do these things as normal, and there I am walking around with my right arm unable to hang correctly down my side for the swelling !

    In answer to your question....NO... nothing is straightforward at all !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!    Oh, and my onc says my one micromet is 'NO problem, its of no consequence at all'   aaaarrrgghhh.

    Isabella

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  • London-Virginia
    London-Virginia Member Posts: 851
    edited September 2009

    Thanks for your comments - I will share a thing with you (which you may already have found anyway) - I actually saw this a while back but at the time had not enough contextuaql knowledge to see how very useful it all is:

    www.cancerfacts.com

    IT is subsidised by the Lance Armstrong Foundation.  The great thing is, you put in your personal info (the usual - grade etc tc) and it gives you prognosis, recurrence blah blah but on v. up to date info, and then lists about 10 links to studies and trials which would be directly attributable to your dx, most of them being pretty up to date stuff. The info is either bar charts or pictograms and so easy to follow, and lastly, is more upbeat than adjuvantonline.

    The info I have derived from this to help me consider the node pos thing, has  cleared my mind quite a bit and I hope that by sharing this, whatever someone's concerns, this might help.

    warmest regards to all -

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