Anyone wait for surgery after chemo?

EWS
EWS Member Posts: 11
edited June 2014 in Young With Breast Cancer

I am to start chemo Thursday (six rounds of CT with Herceptin).  I'll do Herceptin for a year.  My concern is that I've not had a sentinel node biopsy.  The surgeon and oncologist want to wait until after chemo to do both.  My concern is that if there is lymph node involvement, how do we know this chemo regiment is the right one?  I don't know the stage of my cancer b/c of this.  I just know I have two tumors (one 2 cm and one 7mm) in the same breast that are ductal/invasive.  I just feel antsy because it seems most everyone either A.) has surgery first and chemo second or B.) has a sentinel node biopsy prior to chemo and surgery.  I'd love your feedback!  Thanks!

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  • kadeeb
    kadeeb Member Posts: 305
    edited December 2010

    My surgery was after chemo but they did sentinel node surgery before either. It was my understanding that the results of the sentinel node surgery would help determine the type and number of chemo treatments I received. I have been told that this is standard protocol for a lot of the more active breast cancer centers.

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  • TreadSoftly
    TreadSoftly Member Posts: 192
    edited December 2010

    I had surgery after chemo too but had my sentinel lymph node surgery before either too. For the same reasons as kadeeb outlines, the amount of chemo depended on whether the nodes were involved or not...  I would talk to your med-onc and surgeon again...

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  • MoQi
    MoQi Member Posts: 4
    edited January 2011

    My surgery is scheduled to be on the 24th, after chemo. Did not have SNB because I have a palpable lymph node, so it has to be a lymph node dissection.

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  • chellie089
    chellie089 Member Posts: 4
    edited February 2011

    I chose to have my surgery after my chemo as well (IDC STAGE IIB), I did however have a pet scan that showed there were 3 lyph nodes involved.  I still continued on with my original decision, because as my Oncologist (my Hero) said," we will know for sure that this chemo treatment is killing this cancer" It was a very scary decision at the time and I had alot of sleepless nights until my mid-chemo check after the 4th treatment when it was found that my tumer had decreased in size by 1/2. At the time of my surgery they found no live cancer cells and none at all in my lymph system.  Although the hardest, it was the best decision I have ever made.  I now know that there is a 98.4% chance that I will never have BC again, I will definately take those odds!

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  • beetle25
    beetle25 Member Posts: 40
    edited February 2011

    I had surgery following chemo, there were no other tests and I did not have SNB until I was finished with chemo and they did the lumpectomey.  My onco stated the say thing that chellie089 said that by doing the chemo first he will know if it is going to work on my tumor. 

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  • IllinoisNancy
    IllinoisNancy Member Posts: 722
    edited February 2011

    I am having chemo before surgery.  My BS and Onc want to do it this way since my second occurance was visible on the skin.  I saw WAS because after the first AC treatment the cancer went away.  I am not having anything done with my nodes because my PET scan was clear and I already had a SNB in 2006 with my first BC which was clean.  They are calling mine a local recurrence even though it is on the skin.  I have read that makes it a Stage 3 but the docs aren't saying until after surgery on April 6th.  I don't qaulify as Young to talk on this site since I'm 54 but I'm young at heart:)

    Take care,

    Nancy

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  • thegood5
    thegood5 Member Posts: 478
    edited February 2011

    I also had chemo first and I am her2nu+.  Same thing as the others, the onc wanted to make sure that the chemo works on my cancer, lump in breast and also node in armpit, which showed up on a PET scan.  The herceptin worked immediatly and after the first round, my onc couldn't even feel my tumor anymore, which was 5 cm.  I am having a lumpectomy and the node removed on the 23rd and radiation following that.  I have no regrets having the chemo first, I feel like I got the worst out of the way, and this way there is no wondering if the chemo would work after the surgery.  Good luck with your decision and let us know how it goes!

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  • NannaBaby
    NannaBaby Member Posts: 510
    edited February 2011

    I had chemo before surgery (Cytoxan, Taxotere and Adriamycin).  No node dissection prior, only biopsy and imaging.  MRI showed enlarged nodes.  Chemo before surgery is better in my opinion.  That way, the response to chemo is know.  That is more valuable to know than the stage.  It sounds like you are at a low stage anyways, having such small masses.  You are still considered early cancer :) Which is curable!  Trust the experts, but also do your research.  They mostly give standard chemo regimes anyhow.  Yours is Cytoxan and a Taxane?  That is a standard for low stage cancer.  If it were an advanced cancer (3a - 4) They probably would have included Adriamycin.  But, it's very toxic to the cardiovascular system.

    My main opinion is that it's better to know your cancers response to chemo.  Imagine you had surgery first, then chemo.  How would they know the chemo is working on your cancer cells???

    Best of luck and stay strong!

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  • mindy032703
    mindy032703 Member Posts: 1
    edited March 2011

    Please help. I too am doing my chemo, 6 rounds of TAC, before my surgery then my radiation. Last time  I was ultrasound it started off 3 cm. now it is 1cm. I need to know how they determine if they do surgery first or radiation? And do I get silicone or saline? And will radiation hurt my implants? Also, have you heard of the sancuso patch for nausea? I have 2 more rounds left...I have tried EVERYTHING!

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