Node positives with mets...please respond

Options
wrsmith2x
wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
edited June 2014 in Just Diagnosed With a Recurrence or Metastasis

I am curious to know if all persons who have been diagnosed with mets (no matter where) were node positive at the time of diagnosis, no matter when mets were found.  Let me hear from you.  Thanks.

· Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Comments

  • 3katz
    3katz Member Posts: 1,264
    edited April 2010

    My original dx was Stage III with 19/28 nodes positive.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • chainsawz
    chainsawz Member Posts: 3,473
    edited April 2010

    Initial dx of stage Iv in 2008.....mets to lungs and nodes were negative

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • konakat
    konakat Member Posts: 6,085
    edited April 2010

    You can end up being stage IV without positive nodes when first diagnosed.  I don't know how common it is but I have seen several women on the Stage IV board that had no positive nodes.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lovinmomma
    lovinmomma Member Posts: 1,879
    edited April 2010

    Stage 4 from the get go, mets to bones, 26 positive nodes

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • ibcmets
    ibcmets Member Posts: 4,286
    edited April 2010

    I was diagnosed with mets.  I did have positive nodes, they just did biopsy nodes to tell how many.  I had chemo, zometa & Femara only.

    Terri

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • justpayton1
    justpayton1 Member Posts: 786
    edited April 2010

    stage 3 at dx 2 of 13 nodes positive after chemo.

    Mets 4 months out of treatment.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Member Posts: 1,376
    edited April 2010

    original dx 12/04....had 5 out of 9 positive nodes...one met to spine Oct. 2010.  And it was found by accident.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Aussiegirl1966
    Aussiegirl1966 Member Posts: 19
    edited April 2010

    Stage 4 from the get go with 13 out of 21 positive nodes.... mets to two of my ribs.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Member_of_the_Club
    Member_of_the_Club Member Posts: 3,646
    edited April 2010

    Since you don't have positive nodes it sounds like you want reassurance that you will be fine.  Most likely you will, but women without nodes can also get mets.  The rational thing would be not to think about it because it is unlikely and because worrying won't change anything anyway.  If you find you can't stop worrying, you should get professional help.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • wrsmith2x
    wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
    edited April 2010
    I wasn't really asking for reassurance as no one can give that to me.  I am curious because when I peruse the boards I see more women with mets that had positive nodes than those with negative nodes.  It made me curious.  No one can tell me that I will be OK or not.  I know the odds.  I follow my faith that God will take care of me in His own way and if I get cancer again I will deal with it just as I dealt with it the first time.  I am not worried.....that is a waste of energy.  I am merely curious. Laughing
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • wrsmith2x
    wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
    edited April 2010
    Dear Member:  Thanks for your concern for my well-being.  I do worry about mets but it doesn't consume me enough to seek professional help.  I thought that I could come here and ask questions about things of which I am curious.  I have noticed that more folks with positive nodes seem to have mets than those with negative nodes so I was curious to get some feedback from my question.  If mets happen then I will deal with it just as I dealt with my breast cancer and until then I have faith that God's Will be done. Laughing
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited April 2010

    wrsmith...This is a discussion board and many women make wonderful friends here...when a question is asked..as yours was...people can decide whether or not they want to respond (as they have)...please don't be offended if people may take exception to your question...EVERYONE wants to hear that they are going to be fine..but some of us may not be...whether we have positive nodes or not...I have exactly the same stats as you...you are almost 3 years out...HOORAY....you should be feeling pretty good about that fact..I know I would be as I'm just one year out..I figure that every day that I feel great..and I do feel that way..now....is a gift and I'm putting my mind to just living....putting the mets thing away until if and when it happens...



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • wrsmith2x
    wrsmith2x Member Posts: 410
    edited April 2010

    WOW.......I guess I am confused.  I used this board many times while I was going through my cancer and even after I was done with treatment and this is the first time I have actually felt unwelcome.  I know that it is difficult, if not impossible, to show inflection and emotion in the written word.   First it SEEMS like I'm being told that I am irrational for considering that I might get mets and then it SEEMS like I'm being told that I SHOULD be feeling pretty good.   Please let me apologize if I have offended anyone here.  I will be more careful about how I word my responses and questions.  I hope everyone else does the same.

    BTW, I feel fantastic, I do think about getting mets (which I happen to think is very normal) but I don't dwell on it and I am very glad that I am almost three years out.  I do consider life a gift and live my days enjoying every moment I can.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Reneepals
    Reneepals Member Posts: 2,196
    edited April 2010

    I had no positive nodes. It also travels through the bloodstream.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KristyAnn
    KristyAnn Member Posts: 793
    edited April 2010

    I understand wrsmith2x- I read a lot and research a lot and just want information- not because Im overly fearful or anything bad, just part of my personality. keep asking the questions and staying on top of things!

    Kristy

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Titan
    Titan Member Posts: 2,956
    edited April 2010

    wrsmith..please, please don't take what I posted wrong...I would never, ever say anything on here to hurt anyone...we are all dealing with this beast....I too want to know about negative/positive nodes but I'm just never sure if BCO is the right place to ask these questions..that's all.....Being TN...as we are, we can go on the internet and find a lot of junk that can totaly freak you out...and we need to find a place that we can hear that TN is NOT a death sentence....we have people coming on here like Shirlann and some others that talk to us and are good for our souls....I was very excited to see that you are almost 3 years out and feeling great...we need that here...!!!!!



    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • stephanief
    stephanief Member Posts: 200
    edited May 2010

    I was node negative in 2008, had great response to chemo, shrunk my 7cm mass to 2 itty bitty pieces, had extensive rad to chest and arm pit. thought it was gone forever. after flying on april 14/10 noticed swelling on my affected arm, some mild shoulder pain as well, thought I was getting lymphedema. found out on May 25 that it was a recurrance, under my arm, and a mass on my adrenal gland. still reeling from the shock. trying to make sense of it all....... I have no idea how common this is. I suspect it is not that common, but I think I was ignoring the possiblity it could come back. Im not sure it was a great strategy, although it did allow me 2 worry free years.

     I gotta say, I liked those 2 years

    but I am changing my strategy, and working on moving beyond the fear of cancer killing me (it may, it may not) and just being in this world, right here, right now, cause thats ultimately all any of us has. living in fear just sucks

    I hope it never comes back for you

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • kellypa
    kellypa Member Posts: 31
    edited July 2010

    I was diagnosed with mets from the beginning and I was also node negative at that time, also,

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • KarmaKittie
    KarmaKittie Member Posts: 500
    edited July 2010

    My mom was node negative but had mets found immediately (about the next week) in her liver.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • karnie235
    karnie235 Member Posts: 1
    edited July 2010

    I was node positive 6/17 had tamoxafin and chemo, full right macectamy.

    3.5 years later now mets to pleura , had effusions, and they did the powder on the lung to try and stop recurrance of fluids. have had 2 scans one in May one in June, nodules are growing. Having hormone treatment, lets see how that goes. am now on Arimidex, and hormone implant.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • meadowlark
    meadowlark Member Posts: 9
    edited August 2010

    Hi all,

    I am new to this blog. Knowing that mamograms did little to find many of our cancers when they first developed, I am wondering what you have all learned about what follow up tests you feel confident about in screening for reoccurence. I am having a blood test to find markers, mamograms, and ultrasounds. What from your exeriences would you recomment and how were your reoccurences found?

    Thanks Meadowlark

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • mmm5
    mmm5 Member Posts: 1,470
    edited August 2010
    I actually have posed this question to my Onc in the past. 
    Approx. 2 percent of node negative women can have Mets upon presentation the assumption is that the cells traveled through the vascular system. On your pathology report you can see if you had Lymphvascular invasion upon dx. If not that is a good sign for stage 1 node neg dx, however even then you can have a stray cell that was microscopic enough not to catch the attention of the Pathologists. There are no guarantees. It took me a long time to realize this. Yes I hate that I had BC, Yes I am glad it was stage 1, but that does not delude me into thinking there is no chance of recurrence. There is approx. a 8-10 percent chance. I just had to find a way to make peace with all of that. It took a long time and I still struggle, thats why it is OK to come here and ask any question and let your fears out. If someone does not like that question they should ignore it.
    Your question is very valid and I believe you aired it on the appropriate thread. 
    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • LRM216
    LRM216 Member Posts: 2,115
    edited August 2010

    mmm5:

    Your post was excellent and I mirror your feelings and words.  There should be no censoring of what anyone wants to ask pertaining to their cancer stats or fears.  Who, but another victim of this beast of a disease do we have to ask or discuss our innermost fears or questions?  It is so much easier to just skip over a question that you may personally feel is unwarranted, then to hurt the party asking by making them feel uncomfortable for putting their feelings and fears into words.

    Linda 

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • lisaattheshore
    lisaattheshore Member Posts: 110
    edited September 2010

    Just to say that I read threads with titles like these to see if there is a sign or symptom that some one mentions.......just in case.  Someone said 2% of stage 1 node neg women end up with mets.....well my chance of having bc right now was 1.2%.  I saw somewhere that possibly 6.5% of those treated with taxetore never gow back ther hair.  Well, it looks like my chances of being a bald woman with mets are better than my chances of having cancer right now were to begin with. 

    So what better place to find out what happened and how it happened to our sistahs?  Any one of us might say something that saves some one elses life, or at least makes them more comfortble in their treatment. 

    I thank those who were/are willing to give the detail on how it was found and what was found.  I hope no one finds it or has it, but how to know what might be a problem otherwise?

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • Stel61
    Stel61 Member Posts: 1
    edited November 2010

    I have bone mets, spine, pelvis, shoulder - my nodes were clear.

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
  • anneacres
    anneacres Member Posts: 19
    edited November 2010

    I was first dx in April 1991 with Stage II node negative had lumpectomy-radiation-and CMF chemo.  Now 19 years later in April 2010 I had mets to liver-lungs-colon. I also had Tamoxifin for 5 years then tumor markers went up on year 10 then 3 years on armidex and the mets dx and then changed to 3  months of aromasin markers climbed and then falsodex injections didn't work either so Thurs the 18th I start on TAXOL weekly. I was told originally that the cells might circulate in your blood stream and that you are never really cured of BC.  which I now beleive.  Many blessings to all of you

    · Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Categories