radiation on lymph nodes

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Moxiegirl
Moxiegirl Member Posts: 1
edited March 2017 in Radiation Therapy - Before, During, and After

Hi there - I had lumpectomy surgery for DCIS about a month ago during which they removed the sentinel lymph node.  I am about to start radiation therapy for 6.5 weeks.   Yesterday I found out that they are also going to radiate the lymph nodes under my arm and that this was normal procedure.    Has anyone else gone thru lymph node radiation even if the sentinel node was negative?  I am a little concerned about more side effects caused by the radiation on the nodes.   thoughts/comments would be appreciated.  thanks!

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  • Falconer
    Falconer Member Posts: 1,192
    edited March 2017
    Moxie- I am sorry that you are here with us; however this site is a wealth of experience and information.
    I had a micro metastasis (8mm) in one of three sentinel nodes. In addition I had microdermal invasion. And although the IDC was 1cm the DCIS was 5cm; all three of those things added up to rads.
    If you show your stats at the bottom of your post it will help members see where you're at. Node negative (which micromets qualifies for) is only one reason not to have rads. It depends on the other aspects of your diagnosis.

    Hope this helps.
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  • Emily2008
    Emily2008 Member Posts: 605
    edited March 2017

    This week I will finish 30 rad treatments, 25 of which included the lymph nodes under my arm that were negative for cancer. My rad onc said in a very small number of cases some women may get lymphadema from radiating the area, but the way things are so precise, it's unlikely. So far, so good for me. I have some tenderness under my arm and of course my skin is pink, but it really hasn't been that bad. The rads are so that if there are any microscopic cancer cells hanging out in the area, they'll get blasted. While negative sentinel nodes are great, they're not a guarantee that there's no cancer in the area.

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