Finished Chemo and have residual tumor and multiple micromets

Hi ann,

I'm so sorry that you are dealing with this - nobody should have to but especially a 28 year old. I don't know if I can answer your questions or not, I do know that, yes, you can have multiple micro mets, and such small amounts (they are less than 200 cells) are unlikely to show up on any imaging) 

I have a couple questions, did you have chemo first and then surgery? Did they do an AND(an auxilliry node dissection)?

I'm asking because I had chemo first, which shrunk a 9 cm tumor down to 4 cm, and reduced the number of positive nodes, but I still had macro mets and micromets in some nodes. That did not and does not make me feel hopeless at all, it was a reason to do radiation - to get any stray cells that may have been left & when they did my RADS, they did the breast, armpit and the supraclavical area (since that's the next place the cancer should go from the armpit). I'm not sure how micro mets are viewed in comparison - I do know that there is less there to treat and therefore treatments are more likely to be effective - but also those nodes with micro mets were removed from your body - so that is a very good thing. I know that treatment just seems to go on and on, but you are not at square one, not at all. You have done a LOT to make sure that that cancer has been killed or removed from your body, the treatments now will be to make sure that any little cells that are left will be killed off as well. 

Many, many hugs, ann. More people will be along soon to add to what I've said. Please stick around here, it's a great place for support and info and you can cry, whine, laugh, complain, whatever - everybody here gets it. 

Ann, first {{Hugs}} to you. 

I had disease in 7 nodes, the largest was 8 mm AFTER chemotherapy.  I'm currently 5 years out - today is 5 years for me since diagnosis.  

There is hope even with spread to nodes.  

Ann, I am so sorry you are having to deal with this at such a young age it is brutal.  I am just coming up 3 years from diagnosis and was in a very similar position after diagnosis, neo-adjuvant chemo and mastectomy in 2011.  Not quite as young 43, but with a 2 children of 1 and 3.  At diagnosis I was told one node but after my mastectomy, the pathology was 9 out of 18 nodes positive for either micromets or a single cell.  I was totally devastated and just crumbled after remaining strong for all the months before.  Counselling, yoga, self help reading, changing my diet all helped get me back to a better place but ultimately one comment from my onc really focused my thoughts.  When I asked her about managing the fear, she said you have gone through all this because you want to live so you need to find a way to do that and enjoy each day. It certainly didn't happen overnight but gradually over the next few months my mind stopped tormenting itself and thought about it less & less. The tougher place you are in physically (i.e.post ops) definitely affects the mental but once you feel well and can get busy doing things you love it gets easier.  You are still very much in the 'thick of it' as my breast care nurse said, it does take time but you will get there.  Just take one day at a time.

In terms of positive nodes vs. micromets the answer is I don't know.  I think my immediate instinct was to google but then I decided it would not change anything and statistics are just that.  Try and focus on getting well and healthy which you do have control over.  The other thing my nurse used to say is 'be kind to yourself' which only now nearly 3 years later to I really understand what she meant.  Take care.

Hi ann273,  I just want to say that I'm so sorry you are facing this disease at your age.  My youngest daughter is 27 and I can't imagine her going thru what you have been thru.  The one good thing about being stage III is that your your treatment team will throw everything but the kitchen sink into your treatment. I know you are feeling really bad right now and that you can barely function.  We all can relate to this.  Just take each day at a time and take heart that you have a treatement plan.  Knowing that your team has a plan for you will give you some feeling of control in all of this.

Oceana