Hi, I had perforator flap surgery on 2nd December and lymph node removal. I was told that 3 nodes were affected but ended up having 30 nodes removed as 11 were actually affected. I have had chemo prior to surgery so this came as a shock to me today when I saw the consultant for my results. Has anyone else had a similar experience? Trying to remain positive as they have confirmed that they have removed all the cancer.
Hi Donna
I can imagine what’s going through your mind - a lot of the thoughts I managed to suppress about cancer spread. My interpretation would be that 11 of your nodes had been affected but chemo sorted that out and surgery removed them to be absolutely sure. It’s still a shock to know things were a bit worse than you understood - but what difference would it have made?
I had mine done the other way round and was told immediately that all the cancer had been removed (19 of the 21 nodes were affected). All I can say is thank god for those nodes doing their job because there was no sign of any spread (I had a bone scan, CT scan and two MRIs). Maybe you could look at it that way - the nodes caught any rogue cells. If your consultant has told you that you are clear, why worry about something that may never happen and over which you have no control? Trust your team - you’re clear. And that is just the news you need to hear. There is an excellent article one of the nurses here posted last year. You may find some reassurance in there that these kind of worries are completely normal.
workingwithcancer.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/After-the-treatment-finishes-then-what.pdf
I hope it helps. Take good care of yourself xx