Pathology results not what I expected

Hello Fungir05,

 I am sorry to hear that and understand how you feel. But think of it this way, the surgery has to be done to stop the cancer spreading further more. You will probably get chemotherapy too depending on your oncotype score. I know some of the laboratory and hospital are slow at doing this and ideally we want things to progress quicker but we just don’t know about the factors affecting those. However, things are moving and going in the right direction for you. I am hoping things will improve for you. Wish you all the best 

Thanks Winxs. I waited 6 weeks after my initial diagnosis to get my mastectomy.. I waited 4 weeks for the sentinel node results. Now I have to wait  again up to two months for my axillary node operation (remove all the nodes from under my arm) and results. This uncertainty without any present treatment is so stressful.  

Gosh,  that's a long time and must be so stressfuĺl for you:(  Did they give a reason for the delay? Xxx

Hi Fungir05

I had my biopsy on the 14th March results 23rd told triple neg grade 3 priority had lumpectomy and 4 lymph nodes removed on the 22nd April. Seeing surgeon again 11th may for results from surgery , then hopefully an oncologist everything seems to take ages here in Shropshire . Good luck with your treatment x

The waiting is awful isn’t it. Gives you time to think up so many scenarios, but the truth is you don’t really know much at this stage, and it’s quite possible that it won’t be anywhere near your worst fears.  

I was in your position a couple of months ago. I was sent for a CT scan to check for spread before the axillary clearance (luckily nothing was found) and then to my enormous surprise non of the lymph nodes taken had cancer in them. That qualified me for Oncotype testing which came back with a low score, so now I’m waiting to start radiotherapy.

Good luck, and try not to panic. 

Hi,

This must be so stressful for you waiting around.  It's torturous as like others have said, we have time to imagine the worst scenarios.  If it's any reassurance I was shown to have breast cancer in all 22 lymph nodes on my MRI (I had chemo before surgery) and then the staging CT scan came back showing it had not spread anywhere else in my body.  So it is possible to have high lymph node involvement and no spread.  Also, when I was worried waiting and thinking things could be getting worse it was explained to me that timescales of a few weeks weren't a long enough time for things to change much in terms of the cancers development.  Best of luck with the upcoming surgery.

Just said because I had my operation on a Friday but I think Easter and junior doctor strike  prob also delayed the processing of my results. 

Hi Fungir05, mine was delayed due to the Christmas holidays. 

Oh dear. Waiting for axillary node operation snd woke up in a pool of water today ! I’ve developed a seroma one month after my mastectomy. Feeling really down. 

Oh bless you sorry to hear that , it’s such a worrying time waiting for results and trying to remain upbeat and positive . Sending you a big hug x