High lymph node involvement - very worried :(

how lucky your mum has a daughter who loves her so much, the problem is you are lacking information.....how big was the tumour pre chemo? Was the tumour removed solid ir honeycomby (indicating chemo had attacked it) what kind of tumour is it? This is the scary stage where no one has explained the pathology report and what it means to you......

The doctors are being cautious in re scanning her lungs it doesnt mean something us wrong, I had a scan a few months ago for bone mets but it was nothing.

Can you call the doctor to ask about the report? Cancer is so scary and incomplete info the worst........ Hope you get some answers soon

there are conflicting opinions on the significance of on lymph nodes to be honest, the fact your Mum had one without cancer is good. If your Oncologist is not taking the time to explain things properly can you get a second opinion? Also the measurement makes more sense now as it means the area affected by the tiny tumours ot one separate tumour, but i am no medic, so I strongly recommend you get a second opinion, maybe one with a special interest in micropapillary bc

Chemo rarely kills all cancer, no matter what type of cancer, so this in itself is not unusual

my best friends mom had an identical diagnoses to your mom 15 years ago, she's still here today.

I've had three bone scans and two mri scans since feb to check various things, they are super cautious. Everytime I have one I'm at near breaking point as I worry about changes to my body so I get your concerns.

Stay strong for your mom and remember this is about her and she will be scared and looking to you to be strong and to reassure her. My mom has been very tramatised by my ordel to the point where I can't tell her things as she panics and all it does it make me worry - when you go through this you need solid support and unwavering positivity from all around you. Sorry to be straight talking but it's so fearful facing this that you've got to be controlled, calm and positive for your mom and scream and cry to your friends behind her back. My husband had been this Rock and it's stopped me from going over the edge!

I had all 21 nodes positive. That was over 11 years ago. It is not the end of the world to have a high number of positive nodes. I remember one lady saying she had 50! As far as the doc, I wouldn't let him out of the room without answering all of your questions and concerns.

{{{hugs}}}

I did 4 DD A/C neoadjuvant (before surgery) to get the IBC to form a 'lump' (IBC forms as a 'nest' or 'bands'). UMX 2 weeks after last A/C. 19 nodes were removed and all were positive. 3 weeks later, I started 12 weekly Taxol. 25 rads a week later.

What my Drs wanted, for me, was to get margins and shrink so surgery could get it out rather than trying to 'kill it all' before surgery. Then after surgery, 'hit' any thing that might still be there with 12 weekly Taxol as a 'back up' before rads.

So in my case - I did neoadjuvant, surgery with still positive, then adjuvant. It worked for me - still NED (No Evidence of Disease) as far as I know today.

Zafxxx, I did not really change my diet after BC. I had a good diet before, with plenty of vegetables, so I don't think diet had much to do with my cancer. I did switch to organic milk, since I do have a fair amount of dairy in my diet. I think a lot of people change their diet because it's something they have control over, in a situation where everything feels out of control. It's not necessarily the answer.

Let your mom figure out if she wants to change things, and don't try to push things or new ideas about diet on her. Help her find information, but support her choices.

I also had nodules on my lungs that were watched for several years, but whatever they were, they eventually went away on their own, so they were clearly not cancer. There's a heightened awareness to all kinds of things which people have been walking around with for years, so not everything on a scan means anything serious.