Hi all just going through the threads at random and came across a post by someone who said that their nodes that were tested were from the breast? I cannot find the thread again, must be tired! I thought all nodes were tested from the armpit?
hello Vee
on my first dx all my axillary nodes were removed but when I had lumpectomy for second dx, they found a lymph node in remaining breast tissue (had mx first time around and recurrence after mx) and tested that.
hope this makes sense - could be that they found a lymph node close to problematic area of breast and checked it out
that was me. i have a drawing from the consultant when he was talking about the sential node and it is just above my lump, which is just above the nipple.
he said it was very small and is the first defence within the breast. if it is clear then it means the nodes under my armpits are clear. it would be checked whilst i was on the table.
well thats what i thought he said.There was obvioulsy a lot to take in at the time. seeing the nurse on friday and will really grill her about it.
perhaps if the tumor is under your nipple then the node that is guarding that area is in a different place.
really glad that my hosital offer this proceedure though. apparantly it is not universal.
Thanks OAL and Daisyleaf…I typed a reply for you Daisy and have lost the thing in cyberspace. I thought all sentinel nodes were in the armpit? My lump was at the 8 o’clock position and the nodes under the arm were tested
I think I’m getting paranoid about this whole business and comparing everybody’s treatment to mine. Just keep worrying that they’ve missed something. Sorry that you’ve had a double diagnosis Daisyleaf, hope you are on the up now.
.
did you have the proceedure where they inject a die in before the operation?? this is the one that finds the little nodes that are the first defence before nodes under your armpits( i think)
Hi, I know its hard not to compare your own treatment and everything to everyone elses, but you have to keep remembering that this is your story and its a one-off! Sorry i wasn’t talking about a sentinel node - I was dx’d before they looked for them, first time around!
All I can suggest, really, is to ring your bcn and either ask or set up a meeting to talk it all through with them - they have access to all your notes and i know mine have been fab at doing this for me.
take care, hope all goes well
mon xx
Have lost another post!!! Think the gremlins are out tonight. Yes OAL I had the dye procedure and a couple of nodes removed for testing, both clear. Obviously the dye must have gone to the nodes in the armpit first. I’m tired and it’s too easy at this time of night to start to worry about things and your mind can go all over the place! As Daisy says, we’re all different. Night all.
I am a cup cancer so no primary cancer was found only enlarged lymph nodes the only way they thought it was breast was because the tumour in the nodes resembled breast.
Hi V, I had the dye injected too, and had two lymph nodes removed from under the armpit (these were the sentinel lymph nodes) as your doc said, they are bigger than the others and the first ones that grab any bad cells to protect the rest of your body. If those are clear then that is really good news, it means it hasn’t spread through the lymphatic system and therefor hasn’t spread anywhere else. I don’t know if you had a lump removed previous to this or what if any surgery you have had. I had a small lump removed, which was a naughty one, and then a negative result with the lymph nodes. I am having chemo and rads just to be on the safe side as my lump was a particularly aggressive kind. So the chemo is not a cure for me, in my case it is called adjuvant therapy, which just means its preventative.
Good luck sweetie
lizzy
Sorry sweetie, forgot to mention, lump was at a 9 oclock position and they injected the dye into my nipple and it then spreads and finds the closest sentinels to the lump site… so yours must have been under your armpit too. xxx
Morning all I must clarify on my messages last night, when I was very tired. Please excuse me!. I am post op. and I saw the post by OAL regarding nodes in the breast being tested when she has her op. My mind went into overdrive because I thought that there could be nodes in my breast that haven’t been tested. The nodes in the axilla were negative and my margins were clear. I thought I had got my mind round the fact that I’m in the clear but when I read something that contradicts my treatment I end up worrying again! I must be nuts!! For instance when I read of others having the same procedure as myself with the same results as myself and yet having different treatment I start to wonder why. Radiotherapy was talked about before my op but then I was told I didn’t need it. I was happy at first because I wouldn’t have to go through having rads. but sometimes I think “why haven’t I had it just as an insurance, if you see what I mean” I am going back to work tonight so perhaps not having as much time on my hands will help my situation.
Hi
I’ve got a bit of history with a few symptoms in my one breast - the 1st time I had a mammogram it showed up 2 white spots and Consultant thought they were lymph nodes but said I would probably be recalled but never was tho at the end of appointment she had her concerns about Paget’s - no biopsy on eczema (1st symptom)
Anyway mammogram reading said 1 was a lymph node other was benign lump.
Anyway several different sypmptoms later (including pain, returning eczema, indentation - all in same breast) I’ve never had any further investigation so although I haven’t got total peace of mind it would appear that all’s well
Not sure if there’s any relevance think I’ve always thought the breast didn’t have actual lymph nodes and maybe it’ll help to know they can be there without being a problem - I hope!
Always feel a fraud when I read about what others go thru but it isn’t nice when there’s still a niggle which is why I pop back on here now and then.
Good Luck to all
Sandra
I know what you mean Sandra about feeling guilty when others are going through far, far worse treatment. Generally I am perfectly OK but sometimes these little doubts and worries creep in. Human nature I suppose. Thanks to all xxx