How to define "node involvement"

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jkath
jkath Member Posts: 9
edited June 2014 in Stage I Breast Cancer

Hello.  I'm wondering what constitutes node involvement. My mother had micrometastases--sentinal node biopsy  initially came out clean, but after further lab analysis, revealed 3 microscopic cells. She then had axillery node dissecton and the 7 nodes were cancer free. So is her case positive for nodes?  Any insight is appreciated.

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  • Marion
    Marion Member Posts: 207
    edited November 2010

    I had micrometastasis (0.8 mm) in one sentinel node, then had axillary node dissection (12 nodes were cancer-free) and I'm considered node positive.

    My oncologist said that a few years ago I would have been considered node negative because they would not have been able to detect the micrometastasis.

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  • jkath
    jkath Member Posts: 9
    edited November 2010

    Thanks, Marion.  I might add that she had a very small focus of metastatic ductal carcinoma measuring less than 0.1 mm in maximum diameter. Sounds like we can call her cancer node negative, but I've never had full clarity on the matter.

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