Breast Cancer and swollen lymph nodes in neck

Tiggaroo
Tiggaroo Member Posts: 2 Member
edited August 2023 in Breast Cancer #1

I’m new here. I had an abnormal mammogram on March 31st. After Ultrasound and Biopsy I just found out this week (FOUR MONTHS LATER!) that it’s Cancer. I’m having a lumpectomy on August 11th and the plan is radiation afterwards, but I guess the treatment really depends upon what they find.

I have been complaining to the doctor for over a year about having swollen lymph nodes in my neck, the base of my scalp, and near my shoulder. My complaints have been dismissed. I can’t get a straight answer from the doctors as to whether or not these swollen lymph nodes are related to the Cancer.

Has anyone else experienced this or know if there is a connection?

Comments

  • BeeRob
    BeeRob Member Posts: 9 Member
    #2

    I'm SO sorry you waited 4 months to get those results!!!

    I can only speak to my own experience. I just had a lumpectomy on July 26th and during that surgery they also did sentinal lymph node biopsies to check to see if the cancer had spread to the lymph nodes under my armpit. Unfortunately, it had spread into 1 of the 2 lymph nodes they took, and so I believe my treatment will now require chemotherapy, rather than just radiation.

    Do your doctors plan to do any kind of biopsies on your swollen nodes during your surgery?

  • Tiggaroo
    Tiggaroo Member Posts: 2 Member
    #3

    One armpit lymph node looked suspicious on the ultrasound so they are going to look at it when they do the lumpectomy. I don’t know if they will take it or not. Thus far they are denying that my swollen lymph nodes in my neck are from cancer. Possibly because they don’t want to admit that my former doctor was negligent in ignoring my complaints about them. That’s why I’m looking for some honest answers.

  • kta333
    kta333 Member Posts: 1 *
    #4
    https://csn.cancer.org/discussion/326844/breast-cancer-and-swollen-lymph-nodes-in-neck

    What side of your body are the lymph nodes enlarged on? Is it the same side of your body as your breast cancer? Enlarged lymph nodes in your neck can be associated with breast cancer, though they are more often a sign of other types of cancer. The lymph nodes on the left and right tend to be associated with different cancers. They are all draining different areas. We discovered that my grandmother had lung cancer when a lymph node in her neck became enlarged. It has spread from a difficult to see tongue and throat cancer — she complained about sore throats that wouldn’t go away for two years to her doctor. If your current doctor is ignoring you or not running appropriate tests (especially after you’ve already been diagnosed with breast cancer), go to someone else. Hopefully, it’s nothing, but you should definitely get it checked out.

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