Axillary Lymph Node Dissection or Not?

Diagnosed with breast cancer Recently diagnosed with breast cancer
21

Also pretty severe nerve pain that I was not expecting. Wondering if you or anyone experienced that.

22

What is the pain like? I was sore around the site of the incision, I had the little pillow the hospital gave me under my arm for a few weeks, but numb everywhere else. The surgeon did tell me that there was a chance he could disturb my nerves, but I donā€™t think I experienced any obvious symptoms of that.

23

Just some sharp intermittent migrating pain; up and down with that, along with the numbness. Not as bad as initially when I wrote but still very limiting; hoping it will go away with time.

24

Hi Marie,
Iā€™m in week 3 doe ALDN recovery. Has been a slow recovery on my arm and armpit but slowly getting better.

I had 7 positive nodes out of 36 removed, some micro, some macro but all somewhat small. This in addition to the 3 sentinal nodes that were affected, thus requiring the surgery.

Now they want me to do chemo and I am trying to sort out that option. Did you get chemo? I forget; did you have lobular or ductal?

Thanks,
Kerry

25

Hi Kerry, mine was ductal. After surgery, I had chemo and radiation, followed by monthly Lucrin injections (since I was pre-menopausal) and then Letrozole plus Abemaciclib. I also had my first Zometa injection last October. Itā€™s definitely a lot to manage! Thereā€™s no way to know for sure if the chemo was effective, since I had surgery first, but Iā€™m told itā€™s all part of the preventive measures and to treat any micrometastases / cancer cells that may have been left behind and not detected by PET scan. I really hope that something worked, chemo or the drugs and I want to make sure I have no regrets.

So far, the side effects are manageable, and my quality of life hasnā€™t been drastically affected. As long as it stays like this, Iā€™ll continue being a good soldier and taking my pills! :slight_smile:

Good luck with whatever you choose, and donā€™t look back.

26

Hi Marie,
Thanks for replying to me. The chemo is supposed to be effective against ductal but not lobular (or less so for lobular). The more I dig in the more anxious I am becoming. Have another opinion scheduled for Tuesday and infusion scheduled for Friday. I donā€™t know. Thanks for your feedback. Iā€™m also dreading the Letrozole, etc. so itā€™s good to hear itā€™s not impairing you life quality.