Anyone out there with more than 10 nodes positive?

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TammytrustsGod
TammytrustsGod Member Posts: 4
edited June 2014 in Stage III Breast Cancer

Hi,

I had 12 of 17 nodes positive.  Just wondering how someone is doing with this stage of cancer?  I had a radical on the right and simple on the left side.  I started chemo on July 1st.  Just wanted to chat with someone who is a stage IIIC or used to be.  Or maybe someone who is triple negative to see what treatments you recieved and how you are doing.

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  • Pure
    Pure Member Posts: 1,796
    edited July 2010

    Hi there,

    I am one! I am 1 year out and doing great.  Check out our five year survivals thread. There is a ton of stage 3c girls 5,7 and 8 years out!.

     Hang in there!!!

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  • Annie62
    Annie62 Member Posts: 1,081
    edited July 2010

    Hi Tammy, I'm another one with more than 10 pos nodes. I second Pure's recommendation to read that 5 yr out thread. You'll find many more of us.

     I wish you the best,

    Annie

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  • hammer2
    hammer2 Member Posts: 28
    edited July 2010

    Hi, I am also a year out and everything is going well except for the fatigue factor. I had a mastectomy,chemo and radiation. I am now on Arimidex. We always seem to be worrying about what comes next. I for one am just going to deal with one day at a time and enjoy it.

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  • amlg1
    amlg1 Member Posts: 596
    edited July 2010

    Hi,Another one here,31 positive nodes.I did the same as you are doing,trying to find girls with so many positive nodes.It did freak me out .I am a little more than a year out.I  have 2 more herceptin.I did a/c DD x 4 then taxol and herceptin DD x4 then 33 rads.Treatment was not terrible at all for me.We are here for you!

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  • yellowfarmhouse
    yellowfarmhouse Member Posts: 279
    edited July 2010

    HI.

    I had 4/9 nodes... I've heard that it can also be the percentage of nodes... so I guess kind of similiar... I'm 5.5 years out. 

    Wendy

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  • yellowfarmhouse
    yellowfarmhouse Member Posts: 279
    edited July 2010

    HI.

    I had 4/9 nodes... I've heard that it can also be the percentage of nodes... so I guess kind of similiar... I'm 5.5 years out. 

    Wendy

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  • majo104548
    majo104548 Member Posts: 4
    edited July 2010

    hi there. got 12/18. having recurrence now. doing my chemo again. still surviving for almost 4 yrs. now.it is still God's will that am sttill alive. I hope we can all pass these trials in our lives. keep on praying coz God is still our only Healer aside from his instruments our loving doctors

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  • LindaLou53
    LindaLou53 Member Posts: 929
    edited July 2010

    Hi Tammy,

    Lots of nodes here too, 23/23.....will be 5 years out in November. It is of course a big worry having positive nodes but there are so many long time survivors that we have good reason to hope for many years to come!

    As a two-time BC survivor I believe hitting the cancer hard with the best technology at the time is the thing to do.  Then leave it in God's hands and live your life for what you love.

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  • Frankie_
    Frankie_ Member Posts: 422
    edited July 2010

    Hi Tammy. I had 8/8+ and will be nearing my first year soon.

    Sherri -was does extracapsular extension mean? I have never heard that term before.

    Frankie

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  • mathteacher
    mathteacher Member Posts: 243
    edited July 2010

    My friend is a farmer who had 10 nodes positive out of 12 fifteen years ago. She only had a bilateral mastectomy because she couldn't take the time off from the farm for chemo. She used some unconventional therapies. She's thriving. Maybe because of her lifestyle. Who knows?

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  • Mom3
    Mom3 Member Posts: 170
    edited July 2010

    15 of 18 nodes positive for me. I am 2 1/2 years out. Feeling fantastic. Tired at times but that's about it. I am not triple negative. I had radical mastectomy, radiation, oopherectomy, herceptin and I'm currently on Arimidex and Aredia infusions. I became an exercise freak after treatment and ran my first half marathon in Feb. I'm planning my 2nd one in September. It's normal to worry but hang in there. Faith and trust in God is what keeps me going!!

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  • Frankie_
    Frankie_ Member Posts: 422
    edited July 2010
    Yellowfarmhouse-What does percentage of nodes mean? I have never heard this before and I had 8/8+ nodes removed. Glad to hear your 5.5 years out!!! Smile
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  • lkc
    lkc Member Posts: 1,203
    edited July 2010

    Hi Tammy, I am " out" over 5 yrs from a stage IIIC 12 nodes pos.

    doing great and thank God everyday.

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  • AnacortesGirl
    AnacortesGirl Member Posts: 1,758
    edited July 2010

    Isn't it nice to know you not alone?  I'm another IIIc.  Also had the modified radical on the left and simple on the right.  Also grade 3.  Not triple neg but have pleomorphic lobular.  And the extracapsular extension like Sherri.  Matter of fact I plan to be like Sherri and 5 years from now be able to say that I'm almost 6 years out.  She's one of my heros!!  I'm two weeks away from being done with my rads (33) and am doing some extra chemo (low dose carboplatin).  Looking forward to that last chemo on Oct 6th and then it will just be Aromasin everyday.

    Edited to add that I also do Zometa.  We have a lot to throw at this!!

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  • pupfoster1
    pupfoster1 Member Posts: 1,484
    edited July 2010

    Hi Tammy and a late welcome,

    I'm another over 10 gal---13/15 with extracapular extension.  I did 4 dose dense rounds of A/C, 4 of Taxol, then 6 weeks of radiation 5 days a week.  The A/C was the hardest but I only had about 4 "bad" days each cycle then would start feeling better.  It sucked losing my hair, but it's now coming back in and I get tons of compliments on it---saying it looks chic (I were it in a kind of fauxhawk) and I look younger, so I'll take those compliments.  It's scary yes about all those nodes, but your docs will give you the best treatment possible, and you CAN make it through.  We'll be here to help!

    Take care,

    Sharon

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  • sugarplum
    sugarplum Member Posts: 318
    edited July 2010

    I had 10 out of 20 positive nodes with extranodal extension and skin involvement - still here, over 4 years later with achy joints from Arimidex and hot flashes waking me up all night long - but it STILL beats the alternative! I love threads like this where all of us IIICs come out of the woodwork - keep it up, ladies!

     Julie

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  • rachel21mel
    rachel21mel Member Posts: 51
    edited July 2010

    Also, a stage 3C gal here. I had 16/20 positive nodes. It is very scary. I am a year out and still in treatment with protocol E5103 with Avastin. I've done ACT, rads, Avastin x 16 treatments, Zoladex injections, and tamox. I feel like the treatment is neverending right now, but I know that it will get better eventually. I will probably start Zometa in the fall. I'm doing okay aside from the fact that I have some kidney problems from the Avastin and I am constantly terrified at the thought of the cancer returning. That's what the Xanax are for, though. ;)

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  • gillyone
    gillyone Member Posts: 1,727
    edited July 2010

    Tammy - I am also stage IIIc (9/15 nodes) and TN. Lumpectomy, DD AC/T then rads. Done with treatment. Just over a year out and all is well.

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  • yellowfarmhouse
    yellowfarmhouse Member Posts: 279
    edited July 2010

    HI. My surgeon told me that it depends how they count them.  He said he took out all the nodes-- I guess they are in a mass of fatty tissue and it depends how the pathologist counts them. I was told that if they counted all the smaller nodes that the numbers would be different.   I guess I should really ask a pathologist.  Two of the positive nodes were 1.5 cm each and two of them were in the axillary area-- in any case, I was told it wasn't a good thing to have but I figure that they are long gone and we've had chemo and rads and stuff so we just keep on a going!!!  Best wishes to all here. I'm now at 5.5 year mark and deciding whether to continue on Arimidex.

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  • janda
    janda Member Posts: 19
    edited January 2011

    It seems like we are in a small group with this status:-) Hopefully some of us will survive this:-)

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  • gardenbird
    gardenbird Member Posts: 31
    edited January 2011

    Hi Tammy,

    I had 23 or so positive nodes.  I was diagnosed in February 2007.  I am doing great.  I had lumpectomy, 35 rads (with booster) and TAC x 6.  Tamoxifen for 2.5 years and now Arimidex.  Achy bones and osteopenia has got worse, but now on biphosponates as well.  When I first heard 23+ nodes, my mind closed down and I just couldn't comprehend it, the stats seemed dire.  However, coming to this board really helped and if I can give you any comfort with my survival that would be great.  I think the new regimes with hormonals has really changed the statistics.  Just go through the treatment as best you can and there is every hope that you too will be a long-term survivor. All the very best x

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  • faithfulheart
    faithfulheart Member Posts: 544
    edited January 2011

    Hi tammy,

    one more lllcer to add to your list, I had exactly 10 pos nodes out of 17, it is a shocker no doubt.

    I remmember asking my BS am I going to die, her reply was, no your going to live! You have an up hill battle for sure she said, but, this is treatable and you will live!  I did have a bmx, chemo

    a/c-taxolx12, ooph rads , and now I am on tamoxifen for three years then a swicth over to maby femara.Your name says it all , tammytrustsGod!, Thats it my friend, trust God, he will give you the strength you need to get through this, I promise, I believe in the power of prayer! I am so glad

    you found this site, it is a true blessing. I just started posting, and its been so helpful.

    It's been a year and three months since my dx. I feel good, and I am Moving Forward, and you will too!

    God bless you sister, we are here

    Faithfulheart

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  • CaroHi
    CaroHi Member Posts: 9
    edited January 2011

    Hi Tammy,  I was diagnosed this June with what appeared to be a small lump and turned out to be a Grade 3 cancer (11 nodes out of 21). I was 4 month pregnant at that time so they could not do any testing to see if it had spread anywhere else. I was started on AC and then delivered my baby, she is a perfectly healthy and happy baby!  I then started on Taxol+Herceptin and finished T last Monday and will continue Herceptin for a year and also start Tamoxifen.  I was in the hospital yesterday for an MRI (the first test I ever had, except for a mammogram that did not even showed the lump!) and my oncologist will give me the results tomorrow!  I will meet with the radiation doctor tomorrow also to plan next steps. I also found I am BCRA + so a lot going on in the last couple of months and still a lot to go...I am happy I found this forum, It might make things easier sharing with people that are going through the same scary things.   

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  • TammyLou
    TammyLou Member Posts: 740
    edited January 2011

    Yup.

    IIIc with regional lymph node involvement...fixed, matted nodes fixated to my chest wall.  Inoperable Jan 2005.

    ER/PR neg....HER2+++

    4 Rounds Taxotere. 4 Rounds FEC. 52 weeks Herceptin.  Radiated in 6 fields with 2 sets of boosts. 

    So far, so good.

    tl

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  • clariceak
    clariceak Member Posts: 752
    edited January 2011

    9 lymph nodes plus an extra special inoperable mammary node.  I'm a year out and doing fine.

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  • elmcity69
    elmcity69 Member Posts: 998
    edited January 2011

    hello girls, i'm an overachiever too, as i joke....15 out of 19.

    it's so good to be on these boards - no one pulls the "funeral face", as i call it, when the stage 3 phrase pops up.

    we are still walking this beautiful earth!! celebrate!

    xo

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  • allalone
    allalone Member Posts: 448
    edited January 2011

    Yup, count me in - what a club to belong to!!!  Did you all have an axillary dissection? Can someone explain to me why the number of nodes tested are different in each case? eg someone had 8 nodes tested, another had 34.  I have no idea how many lymph nodes we have in our armpits - I just assumed they removed the whole lot once more than 10 positive nodes were found.

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  • janda
    janda Member Posts: 19
    edited January 2011

    Any other TN with Stage 3c?

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  • littletower
    littletower Member Posts: 333
    edited January 2011

    Checking in with 18 our of 28 positive...(wouldn't that really be one HUGE negative)? Allalone,  I've also wondered why the number of nodes is different. My BS said that everyone has a different number of nodes and that he yanked all of mine on that side, but is it possible that they also only take the nodes that look bad? I'm sure there's someone out there with an answer. Ladies?

    And ugh, the "funeral face". Know it too well. Hate it!

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  • lago
    lago Member Posts: 17,186
    edited January 2011

    Here's the answer to the number of nodes question:

    During a "standard" axillary lymph node dissection, the surgeon removes an irregular pad of fatty tissue in the armpit that contains the lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are embedded in this fat, and can often feel just like the fat. Often the surgeon can't count all the lymph nodes at the time of surgery. For this reason, you probably won't know how many nodes were removed and how many of those were "positive" (involved in the cancer) until the pathologist analyzes the tissue.

    How many lymph nodes are removed depends just as much on your normal anatomy as it does on the surgeon's and pathologist's skill. Every woman has a different number of lymph nodes under her arm-some may only have five nodes and others may have over thirty. 

    source:  http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/lymph_node_removal/number_removed.jsp

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