S/Node Positive in Final Path Report

Hi, Carol.

My mom got lymphedema when she had her MRM in 1991. It was much more difficult then convincing people that it was a real problem. She tells everyone now to be aware of it, to follow the rules to a T and to not let it go.  That, by far, was the worst thing out of her entire year-long treatment. 

Ah, Group Death   I'm not a fan.  Good luck with your appeal.  Everyone deserves the treatment they want and need.  My rads are through Swedish Cancer Institute w/NW Hospital. All of my tx have been at NW & I've been very happy with my care.  There are so many things going on, that knowing you've got the right medical care can make the difference between a good day and a crap day. We're so lucky here in the PNW to have access to such good medical facilities.  I hope it all works out the way you want it to.

Not looking forward to even little bits of snow. I had my fill last year.  The other drivers are all nuts.

take care.

Melissa,

What were the sizes of your ITCs?  Curious, because my Onco was an 11, too, but because of the size of my ITCs (.42mm and .67mm), my onc is pushing me to have the chemo.  My surgeon said skip it--but this is the 2nd onc I've seen and even though the first one said it was up to me, but he'd recommend doing it, the second one was even more aggressive about recommending the chemo.  Such an inexact science!!!

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i am glad i found this post. i  meet with the doc on the 10th. had a lumpectomy on the 27th and the snb. clear margins on the tumor it was 1.5 cm. one of my nodes has some cells on it. going to have to make decsicion, i am already scheduled for surgery on the 21st to take out some more nodes. starting to question whether i want to do this or not. Has any regreted not going back for more nodes?I love this board and the people!

i will find out more on monday, it is nerve racking. I want to be aggessive as possible, my husband wants to be conservative, to an extent. I am 42 and i wasn't ready for this fight, but i am ready now and the my gloved are on and i am going 10 rounds to beat this thing!!!

Vettegal/Carol,

FYI, after my SNB shows micromets, I did go back for an anxially node re-excision, but the surgeon only took the next "level" of nodes--not the whole shootin' match.  Not sure what the next level means, but it was 4 more nodes (so I had 7 removed altogether).  All the nodes from that next level were clear, so we didn't go in and get any more.

I still had an awful problem with seroma buildup from both node surgeries.  In fact, at just shy of 8 weeks since my last surgery, I still have some fluid, but I'm not doing anything about it--just waiting for my body to wake up and smell the hummus.  I will say, the scar from the re-excision was huge (3in+!) and still bothers me--what with scar tissue and redness and pulling.

I think the node surgery was a harder recovery than the 3 lumpectomies (although the scar on that is UGLY!!!  But that's not the fault of the surgery--that's the surgeon's bad).  I am, however, happy I did it--the peace of mind knowing that the cancer stopped at the sentinel node is just what I need.

Still waiting for my appointment on Monday afternoon to figure out my chemo cocktail and schedule.  Hopefully my dh will get a better picture of what we're in for at the appointment--so far he appears to be in denial...

Oh, and I agree with Carol--get a notebook.  I have one and it's SO helpful to have everything organized in one place.

Later gang.

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