Tumor Size in Stage III

Me too...tumor right at 2 cm...but in 8 nodes!!! I had mastectomy, then chemo then rads.

very small tumor (1.8) but 10 fully encased larger.2.cm+ lymph nodes....lumpectomy...TAC..rads..arimidex

Pats, I'm an ILC'er, so by definition our cancers are not necessarily massed in the same way as IDC, but mine was small enough that my (fantastic) breast surgeon could do a lumpectomy, AND I had 6 of 16 positive nodes (and she was surprised).  It's funny - you hardly ever see two stories on here that are exactly the same in terms of the dx.  Also I think rads at the end is pretty normal; whatever surgery is needed is supposed to "get it" and then rads are a way to kill any cells that no one can "see" to remove.  Thinking good thoughts for you.  Leigh

AgentMo, welcome to the club no one wants to join. As a new member, you are limited to 5 posts a day until you reach a total of 50 (I think) posts. You can, however, click on a member name then select to send a private message. You can do this as often as you like.

There is a stage 3 thread you should check out. The ladies there can help you with any questions you may have. My thoughts are with you and I am sending gentle (((HUGS))))) to you.

How about this..2 cm tumor 31 positive nodes,and had a mammo 1 yr prior.I still get freeked out.

I started off at Stage 3 but I had chemo before surgery and my 5 cm tumor, which had not spread to lymph nodes, shrank to about 1/2 it's original size.  They recategorized me as Stage 2 once my tumor was removed.

I just finished radiation last week and now am on Arimidex for 5 years.  Can't believe my 10 months as a cancer patient is finally over!

chrishat -

During my neoadjuvant chemo I was put on taxol first and the scans showed reduction.  Not huge but the tumor reduced and the nodes shrank.  But on the AC I regained back the size that I lost on the tumor.  The nodes didn't increase so we thought they were doing good with those.  At surgery the BS found the 14 involved nodes with the extracapsular extension.

So I was categorized as no response to the AC/T chemo.  Yep.  It's a bummer.  But rads are done.  On carboplatin and will move on to Aromasin after that.

good luck libaryjenn! it's good that you can measure the chemo response so you know if it's working. i wish i would have had my surgery before my chemo, but i really had no idea that there was a possibility that i wouldn't respond. i guess the neoadjuvant chemo is prescribed to increase the chances of a 'favorable surgical outcome', and i get that, esp with women who are having lumpectomies....but i was really clear from the getgo that i wanted a bilateral mast. the literature shows no measurable difference in survival between neo-and adjuvant chemo, but it seems to me that those stats look at ALL women across the board, and not individuals. i suppose i'm angry/disappointed with my (ex) oncologist.....wish i had known there was even a remote possibility i was wasting my time with AC ...i probably would have said, i'm having a bilateral for sure anyway, let's get the cancer out FIRST.....and hadn't spent those 2.5 months giving my cancer a chance to spread. anyway, water under the bridge......i just finished radiation this week, feel great, on arimidex. best, best of luck to you. did you do the brca testing?

I had only a 1.4cm with 4 positive nodes.  Of course, nothing showed up on a mammogram or ultrasound.  It took an MRI.  Ended up choosing a bi-lateral mastectomy with reconstruction.  Now I am down to my last chemo treatment in couple weeks.  Yeah!  But wait, there's more!  Radiation to follow.  I cross my fingers and pray that all goes well.  You ladies are always an inspiration. 

I wish they had done neoadjuvant on me, although they had no idea about the level of node involvement. Also, I had a mammo with ultrasound 6 months before being diagnosed IIIc. How much does that suck!

Hi,

I had a 2.5cm tumour and 22 nodes involved, with a clear mammogram 6 months previously

I had a 5cm tumor and 14 positive nodes.  Suck doesn't even describe how I feel about that!

I had a 3.5 cm tumor and 13/18 positive nodes that pushed me to a IIIC. Prior to the thickening, which I found two weeks after a clean annual GYN appointment, I had clear mammograms. No family history. MRI and US barely saw the area of concern and I was told to come back in six months. Even got a letter from the hospital stating I did not have cancer - go figure. I demanded to have a biopsy which then showed the cancer. Very disappointed that I did everything I was supposed to do and docs were not more aggressive when it came to my dense breast tissue. I feel if I had known about dense tissue a few years ago I would have been more aggressive with my doctor to push for additional testing. Now here I am, stage IIIC.