Hello everyone. I had 7 chemo sessions and I am due to have lumpectomy in 2 weeks more or less . The thing is that the breast cancer nurse called and told me that they discussed about my case and the want to do it in two stages , so I will have two surgeries one to take part of the tumour and check the margins and the other to take out the limph nodes and if it’s neccesary more tissue. I never read about this procedure so I would like to know why this is going to do like that. If anyone has had this before , I 'd appreciate your comments.
Hi Hopes-
I had 2 surgeries before chemo and rads. The first one was a Wide Local Excision with 8 sample nodes removed. Margins of the tumour were clear, so I didn’t need to have further surgery on the actual breast. Pathology showed 3/8 lymph nodes positive for cancer. Unfortunately I got a haematoma and infection in the surgical scar so waited about a month to go back for total axillary resection - just as well I did, because another node was found positive. I would guess from the fact you had neo-adjuvant chemo that your tumour was quite large, and perhaps the surgeon plans on taking out as little tissue as possible, think it is called breast preserving surgery, or something like that. If he doesn’t get “clean margins”, that is why he thinks it may be necessary to go back in. I don’t understand why, if they are sure the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, why he is not doing total axillary resection at the same time as the lumpectomy. Perhaps he is going to do a sentinel node biopsy at the same time as the lumpectomy, and if the cancer has spread, then you will go back for total resection.
I do think either the surgeon or the bc nurse could have explained this a little clearer to you.
Hope all goes well.
Liz.
Hi Liz,
Thank you very much for your reply. I have an appointment with the surgeon on Friday , so I will have a clearer idea about this procedure.
As you said, you had two surgeries but yours make sense because they were trying to take out as less limph nodes as possible .
I’d definetely ask about the limph nodes. How long did it take you to recover from the second surgery. Could you move your arm inmediately? Did you have drains?
Hope everything is fine now . Happy and Healthy New Year.
Hopes
Hello Hopes,
I also had 7 x chemo and then WLE. At this op the surgeon took a sentinel node biopsy to see if any cells had spread to the lymphs. I then had an appointment and he then said that there were cells in the lymphs but that he had obtained a clear margin around the site and so I had to have a 2nd op to do the lymphs.
Actually I felt much better after the 2nd op.
I was told that if it wasn’t in the lymphs, then there wasn’t any need for the second op; but that he didn’t know this without the results of the biopsy taken at the op.
Good luck girl
LOL
Lambkin
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