Are these really "clear" margins?

kec1972 · January 2019

Hi All, just got my path report back from my lumpectomy. On 3 sides the margins were pretty good(4mm), but on the 4th side the margin was only 1mm...BS says this is OK and still considered a clear margin, but I'm nervous! Should I ask for a re-excision?

Thoughts or experiences?

Moderators · January 2019

Hi kec1972,

You might be interested in this research news article from the main Breastcancer.org site:

New Guidelines Say Lumpectomy Margins Can Be Small as Long as Tumor Has No Ink on It

We hope this helps!

--The Mods

gb2115 · January 2019

One of mine was I think 0.9, but it was on the chest wall and she said she got as close as possible.

kec1972 · January 2019

gb, thank you for your reply. I decided that instead of making myself sick with worry, I would call my BS’s nurse and check with her. She checked with the doc and it was the same situation as yours; he got as close to the skin as possible. That made me feel better.

wallycat · January 2019

Mine was also close to the chest wall (and less than traditional margins) and I remember freaking out, thinking 2mm was the standard, but my surgeon said there are always "circumstances" and to stop freaking out.

kec1972 · January 2019

apparently mine was right close up on my skin and he got as much as he could

gb2115 · January 2019

Glad you got a reasonable explanation!!! Now you can rest easy!!

AliceBastable · January 2019

And if the pathology comes back with too close of a margin, they can do a re-excision to get more. I had one, it was lightweight anesthesia, with no pain afterwards, just a minor inconvenience.

Are these really "clear" margins?

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