I have so many positive nodes

Could you push the date earlier? esp. the chemo date?

It is hard to believe but I actually forgot the details as it has been nearly 2 years since my bilateral mastectomy with recon. What I recall was that the oncologist waited until my mastectomy scar was really healed then started chemo...

Why dont you ask the oncologists office what kind of scans will be needed .. the doc or the nurse should be able to get that moving at least in case you have not been through the whole scan maze.. bone scan, petscan etc.. that way when you finally have the appt with the oncologist you will have all the info ready. ( has mastec august 31 and it was not until end of sept I started my chemo)

Good luck !

Hi Amig1,

I know it is scary having positive nodes, but like JudyO and others have said, it does not always mean you have an agressive cancer.  I had my first BC diagnosis in 2000 with a Stage 2A Invasive Ductal in the right breast and micro mets to 2 sentinel nodes. I had lumpectomy, chemo and rads and tamoxifen.  I was followed by my BS and Onc every 3-6 months for 5 years and had a mammogram every 6 mos to 1 year for that same period.  In Oct 2005 they found a mass in my left breast on palpation but it was never picked up by mammogram or ultrasound.  Turns out it was a 5.1cm Invasive Lobular cancer that my docs say was probably present in 2000 when I was being treated for the ductal cancer. I had bilateral mastectomy on Dec 5, 2005 with total axillary dissection on the left side.  23 nodes removed and all 23 were positive.  That was another reason my docs thought the tumor has been slowly growing over many years. I was of course, extremely upset by my nodal count, but now that I am 9 years out from the first cancer and 3.5 years out from the second,  I continue to feel lucky and hopeful that this ILC is indeed slow growing.

I would tell your onc that you would like to move up the start of chemo if it really bothers you, but most likely another week or two won't make a difference. The fact that your PET scan before surgery was clear is very good. Stay positive and know that there are lots of us ILC ladies who are still around and feeling good many years after having lots of positive nodes!

Ladies....thanks for posting.  Gives me hope in dealing with ILC and positive notes.  I would rather read the good posts than the bad ones LOL!!!

Well, some pleomorphic tumors appear to be more aggressive, but that's no reason to conclude that all of them are, One thing I've learned in the last nine months is that it's hard to generalize about bc and its treatment. Chemo tends to be most effective on aggressive, fast-growing tumors, but in some cases it may work on slow growing ones. There's a lot we don't know about bc.

Seabee,

I'm in Dallas, Texas, and I'm looking for a second opinion from an onc in the area.  I like my onc, but I want to get another opinion before I go forward and forward would be chemo in 3 weeks.  My current onc is aggressive and pretty much in the box, even though she's very good and her rep is stellar.  PM me if you're onc is good, which I feel he/she is, and if you wouldn't mind referring.

Take good care,

Sammy