Stage 4, regional reaccurance

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Mariah9515
Mariah9515 Member Posts: 1
edited March 2017 in Stage IV/Metastatic Breast Cancer ONLY

hello. I'm confused and wondering if someone can give me advice. 15 years ago I was diagnosed with stage 1 breast cancer. I had a lumpectomy and radiation. Now, 15 years later, I have been diagnosed with stage 4 regional reaccurance. My pet scan results came out clear. The cancer has not spread past my nearby lymphnodes, so I am not mets. I keep asking my doctor why I am a stage 4 if i am not mets? My doctor keeps telling me that I will be fine, but it's hard to believe when I am labeled stage 4. Currently going through 8 cycles of chemo to shrink my tumor and hopefully receive a mesectomy.

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2017

    Hi Mariah-

    We're sorry you find yourself headed down this road again, we know how hard it can be to hear those words again. You might try posting and/or reading through our Just Diagnosed with Recurrence or Mets forum, lots of great info there, and members who can shed some light or offer advice on the staging question: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/106.

    We hope this helps!

    The Mods

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  • Moderators
    Moderators Member Posts: 25,912
    edited March 2017

    Bumping for Mariah -- can anyone help shed some light?

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  • bevin
    bevin Member Posts: 1,902
    edited March 2017

    HI, I hate to barge in here as its stage 4 thread ... I know someone will be along soon who has familiarity with this to give you input and guidance.  In the interim,  Is it possible to call your doctors office and ask for clarification? Perhaps if not the doctor,  the nurse practitioner.  I feel like sometimes we (as patients) are afraid to ask doctors questions as we don't want to 'bother" them. But their job is to help you understand and explain things to you in a way that makes sense. The work for you and you pay their pay check. So... don't be afraid to call and ask clarifying questions.  Good luck. Wishing you the best.

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  • cive
    cive Member Posts: 709
    edited March 2017

    You are correct in assuming that if you have no metastases  as indicated by your PET scan, you would not be stage IV.  You will need to get a definitive answer from your Dr as to why s/he thinks you are stage IV without metastases.  The only thing that I can think of is that the lymph node problem includes more than sentinel/axillary nodes. 

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