close margins, but if I have margins

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annwill64
annwill64 Member Posts: 16
edited September 2017 in Surgery - Before, During, and After

Hello, I just had a lumpectomy on Aug. 25th right breast Invasive ductal carcinoma, maximum tumor .15cm, Margins negative closest resection margin, 0.9 cm. DCIS spanning 5.6cm, Margins negative with multiple foci present<.1cm from lateral margin, each with a linear extent of <0.1 cm. with right axillary sentinel lymph node, 5 benign lymph nodes.

So because I fall short of the 2cm clear margins, my dr. and the tumor board recommendation is re-excision before I start radiation and the pill for 5 years. I am having a hard time agreeing to the re-escision. I am healing so well, Had a mammogram on Sept. 5th that showed no new mass or calcifications. I just want to get on with the treatment and my life. Looking for input or your experience. I have been doing a lot of reading and some belief is that any margins is good, and 2 years ago, I do believe it was a smaller requirement on the margins. Thanks in advance.

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  • NotVeryBrave
    NotVeryBrave Member Posts: 1,287
    edited September 2017

    It seems like it varies a lot. I was under the impression that any clear margin was good. And you'll be getting both radiation and anti-hormonals.

    I would maybe get a second opinion. Sometimes that helps to make sense of it all.


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  • debiann
    debiann Member Posts: 1,200
    edited September 2017

    I had a close margin, don't remember how close. My MO asked " does your surgeon want to do another lx or is she good with letting the rads take care of anything leftover?" So, apparently, the size of the margin is kind of arbitrary.

    The surgeon did want another lx, however I went in a completely different direction and had an mx so that I could skip rads.

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  • KatjaNL
    KatjaNL Member Posts: 18
    edited September 2017

    Hi there, I'm also with lots of questions on the margins... had lumpectomy on 31st of August and on Friday the surgeon told me that the margin was still positive at two points and as I have ILC, it's most probably mastectomy... I don't want to lose my breast and looking for more positive stories and information on Lumpectomy vs Mastectomy and different practice of curing the positive margins...

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  • NotVeryBrave
    NotVeryBrave Member Posts: 1,287
    edited September 2017

    A positive margin is different than close margins. I think that with a positive margin they are going to want to take more tissue with a re-excision. Depending on how you feel about that and how much breast tissue you have to begin with ... sometimes a mastectomy is the better option.


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  • Linwentz
    Linwentz Member Posts: 133
    edited September 2017

    Hi there! I had an lx at the end of July. I have DCIS--grade 3. Like KatieNL, the margins were positive at 2 points. I just had my re-excision surgery yesterday. The delay was due to both my surgeon's and my vacations.

    I had healed nicely & was a bit bummed to stir things up again. I, too just wanted to get on with my life. But the procedure went very smoothly. I wasn't nearly as anxious this time... I knew what to expect & my recovery had been relatively painless the first time (I went on a Viking River Cruise in Europe one week after my initial surgery!) I feel even better this time (I did however take a Tylenol with codiene and used ice packs the first day)

    IMO, the lx was short lived. It took me a while to figure out that my goal was/is pretty simple...I want(ed) to get rid of the cancer & keep my breast. My first reaction was to just "cut it off" but the more I processed the situation I realized I could be over reacting and an lx could be a very successful way for me to achieve my deepest desires. So, here we are. I have given it my best try. And if the re-excision is unsuccessful in achieving clear margins...well then I will get the ultimate clear margins with a mastectomy.

    I know your situation is a bit different from mine annwill. It sounds like you only have one unclear margin. But because your cancer is invasive, I wonder if the rads would be as effective intreating it as another lx. A second opinion might help you with your decision. Hugs and best wishes to you on this ardorous journey.

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  • KatjaNL
    KatjaNL Member Posts: 18
    edited September 2017

    Hi, Linwentz, thanks for your encouraging story. Keeping fingers crossed for the negative margins this time! Mine second surgery is not scheduled yet... Both my onco-surgeon and PS believe it's a wise decision to give Lx a second try. Very much believe in the success this time! Nice to read that your second surgery went smooth! I also recovered quickly from my first one. Let's trust that second time would be successful!

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  • KatjaNL
    KatjaNL Member Posts: 18
    edited September 2017

    annwill64 , I was wondering if you got any additional information on the margin requirement outside of this forum? I have read that requirements differ even from hospital to hospital.... I have no information on my specific case either, which makes it a bit frustrating.

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