Who makes the final call?

Hi,Iwarstler

I was also staging me from II.a - as said in 2009 - to III.a because of 7 infected armpit nodes.

We shoudn't badger us with this matter, because both are considered early stage.

Best wishes and take care!

Technically, I am one node into Stage IIIa (more than three),  but my charts say IIB.  I would actually have been a IIA had I not had that fourth lymph node.  But technically, I am a IIIa and I believe you are as well. I would be much happier being the stage one I was before surgery. Had I had chemo first and it wiped out all the cancer in the mystery nodes (meaning one node lit up on a pet scan that appeared beninn in a CAT scan and no nodes in ultrasound and one node with thickening tested negative at initial biopsy) and breast, I would have always been a stage I when in fact I was always a stage IIIa.  Interesting.....and irritating at the same time. How I long to be a true stage I but it is what it is.  I will just be fine regardless and so will you!

I think a lot of us have had what stage we're diagnosed at change during the process of evaluation and initial treatment.  There was a similar thread not too long ago.  

I just felt awful when I found out I was stage III and not stage II.  I had to keep telling myself that my prognosis has nothing to do with that label.  What's going on in my body - my cancer - is the same whether someone calls it stage III or makes up a new name for it altogether.  What's going to happen to me as an individual doesn't change based on those words.  Of course this wouldn't be true if there were a difference in the treatment I was offered, but there wasn't.  

And I would be doing all the same things to try to prevent recurrence.  And personally, I never look at recurrence rates.  I figure anything between 5% and 95%, I'd be doing the same thing, trying hard as heck to reduce my risk, living my life as best I can without those assumptions I never even realized were there until this smacked me in the face.   

I hope this is helpful.  I'm having a hard time putting it into words.  

Kathleen you brought up a very interesting point.  I didn't have tx until after my surgery, so who would have known what stage I might have been had I done tx first (which ironicaly my GS who TOTALLY freaked me out suggested)!  SOOOO confusing!!

Sharon

i'm with you ladies.  I was initially diagnosed as IIb, but after the MRI, I think I got re-staged to IIIa, but nobody told me.  (The tumor was waaaay bigger on the MRI.)  A doctor let it slip in March and I freaked out.  Held myself for about seven minutes, but she kept saying, "well, because you are Stage III..."  until I started to cry.  She felt SO bad.  She thought that I knew.  I try to ignore the recurrence rates.  They are based on women who went through treatment ten years ago, when protocols were different.  Plus, that doesn't take into account any lifestyle, diet, complementary treatments, or compliance with all treatment.  I'm determined to be one of the Stage III ladies who is giving people hope in thirty years.  But hopefully, we will have a cure by then!

Lee Ann,

 This website is pretty good at explaining staging breast cancer.  Hope this helps.

Click here: How is breast cancer staged?

Barb

So that seems to confirm what my mo says and not what the doc reading the ct says, as my positive lymph node is "near the breast" With this info I could be stage 3A if my axilla nodes are negative, which they appear to be but we know that can change once I have surgery and get path results back. Oh the things I obscess about. But this infor does make it seem as if I am not stage 4!Why didn't I just listen to my mo? Oh, and my mo actually does look at all of the scans, in fact, he seems to be obsessive about that! Another thanks to Barb, it makes me feel better, even if it really doesn't change the outcome.