Wifes Surgery just finished but question about lymph nodes, PLEASE HELP !!

dthompson said:

Thanks Patti, she is doing

Thanks Patti, she is doing great today, still in some pain but her spirits are high, she is smiling and laughing and I arranged for her friend she hadn't seen in a few years to make a suprise visit this afternoon, I went walking around for a few hours to allow them some "girl time" . I have taken next week off from work and my mother who is a RN will be staying for two weeks or more if needed.

How sweet!  Are friends are great spirit lifters!

Patti1967 said:

How sweet!  Are friends are

How sweet!  Are friends are great spirit lifters!

Hi Dennis,

 You have gotten a lot of good suggestins, I am not sure I might repeat what otehr sisters have said:

• Please ask for copies of "pathology report" Surgery report", two separate documents which will help you and your wife to understand the situation and future treatment.Usually given at post-surgical check up visit.
• Recovery is a very important step and Drains are too. make sure that draind are taking care of and are not pooled before liquid is minimal (you will be given instructions and measuring cups. 
• Rage of motion can be a challenge since most of lymph nodes were taken out. Please ask your surgeoun for referral to Physical therapist, who will help her working on her arm. Usually 1 month after the surgery If healing goes well.
•  Based on your wife's pathology report her Medical oncologist will make recommendations on her next treatment plan. Please keep an open mind about additional Chemo. Every person medical case is unique, what works for some, is not relevant to others. If tumor Estrogen positive or Her2 positive there additional are treatments which follow Chemo and radiation, For those cases positive nodes are less concerning.

While your surgeoun is not approchable, she did a very good job determining during your wife's mastectomy mastectomy that additional lymph nodes needed to be removed, so everything was done at once durinng ongoing surgery.

I have had 21 nodes removed, 11 were positive. I had Chemo after my surgery.

Wishing easy healing for your wife and good pathology report

New Flower 

CypressCynthia said:

I can't really answer your

I can't really answer your question because, back in 1987, they did surgery first.  I had a large tumor and 4 + nodes and then underwent chemo, radiation and tamoxifen.  Just wanted to say that after 26 years, I am still here (although still fighting).  Hang in there!!!

I had radiation with a tissue expander and didn't experience any problems while undergoing the therapy. However, I have since had a multitude of problems due to the skin being radiated. For instance, I had an open wound for 7 months which included two debridements. Personally, had the doctor told me (and I did ask lots about long term effects) that rads would practically exclude a reasonably acceptable reconstruction, I never would have agreed to the radiation. But, I am in the minority with this notion.

FYI - It took a long time (months) for the feeling to come back all the way in my arm from the lymph nodes being removed!

Taking a pad and pen to appointments is a great idea. I took it a little further and got one of those spy pens from eBay for about $20 and just surreptitiously recorded my doctors! (I can't even read my own writing, it really is that bad!)

Hoping for a speedy recovery for your wife.

Hope this helps.

(((Hugs)))

I had chemo before surgery also. I did a lot of medical literature search and found that chemo before surgery does not influence node status. Meaning it was not expected for chemo to change or kill the cells in lymph nodes. However chemo significantly improves survival whether given before or after surgery. There seems to be a trend to give chemo prior to surgery nowadays. It may help to reconstruc breast better by shrinking the tumor in the breast.

I did not get radiation. i do not think your wife is going to get more chemo , however the last word will belong to the oncologist. If she was ER positive she will need hormonal treatment but that is nothing like chemo

dthompson said:

Burcu,
Thank you so much for

Burcu,

Thank you so much for your reply. That makes me feel better. My heart sank when the surgeon said they found two positive nodes during the SLN mapping and biopsy. I guess I was under the false hope that the chemo would kill everything and all we had left was to take the source out. Did you have any positive nodes after your surgery? Thanks for your reply. Happy Easter.

 

Dennis

I was lucky that my nodes were negative, that is how I avoided radiation therapy. Altough chemo do not change node status it does kill cancer cells that may have gone to other parts of the body.

dthompson said:

Hi Susan,
Thanks for the

Hi Susan,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I forgot to put what type of cancer she had. She was diagnosed with stage2 grade 3 IDC. Her 2 neg, partially estrogen receptive (50%). I'm so glad you are NED. I am still confused as to what exactly IBC is when compared to IDC. Thank again for your reply. God bless.

 

Dennis

Hi Dennis,

I, too, had a double mastectomy (DCIS stage 1) in January 2012, with reconstruction. During my initial healing, I was able to connect with someone who underwent the same surgery, which was so helpful.

I learned, by trial and error, a lot of tips and tricks to manage the discomfort and how to be comfortable as the days and weeks passed.

I've got a year under my belt and happy to share any info with you

Les2

dthompson said:

Hi Susan,
Thanks for the

Hi Susan,

Thanks for the reply. Sorry I forgot to put what type of cancer she had. She was diagnosed with stage2 grade 3 IDC. Her 2 neg, partially estrogen receptive (50%). I'm so glad you are NED. I am still confused as to what exactly IBC is when compared to IDC. Thank again for your reply. God bless.

 

Dennis

Hope all is still well:) Please keep us posted:)

Patti