Lymph nodes

Hi so sorry you have more surgery, I think you need a family meeting, explain what is happening and ask for their support. Write down appointments and see who can go with you. Ask them to make a rota for preparing lunches and dinners. Who can take care of phone calls keeping family informed. Can they help with household chores, shopping washing cleaning etc..Make sure you take them with you for appointments so they can make notes. They are feeling lost so keep them close. Your hospital might have a walk in Macmillan centre, they are very supportive or local groups in your area. Give your children the responsibility of looking after you. Take care x

Hi Louise67  Hope had great answers already,  so just to say that although it's impossible to do at this stage,  please don't think the worst! Surgeons identify which nodes the cancer is likely to travel to by injecting a blue eye,  radioactive liquid,  or both. They usually do that where the tumor is, unless it's multifocal and they inject by the nipple.

The'light up' is just what they call the area most bright under special cameras from the radioactive substance.  It's standard practice to do a CT scan at this point! I had 2, an MRI  and nuclear bone scan and all were clear,  and nothing was subsequently found in my other nodes,. I also could barely ear and lost 3kg that week! Take it one step at a time,  and if possible have someone with you for important appointments or ask you can write things down. X

Hi Louise67, it’s a scary thing when you are told there are cancerous cells in the lymph nodes and it sucks when you are told you need more surgery. I had 2 of my sentinel lymph node removed when I had my first op. I was told 1 of them was cancerous. I then had to have lymph node clearance. I was shocked to find that I had cancer in 9 out of the 12 nodes they removed. I knew I had grade 3 cancer (a fast spreading) but I certainly hadn’t been expecting that news as my ultrasound and physical examinations had been clear. Maybe the cancer was too small to show. I then had a staging CT PET scan before chemo to see if there was any further spread. Luckily all was clear. 
It can be difficult to tell family and it can be hard for them to take in too. Our children were 12 and 15 when we told them. We decided right from the start we would not hide anything and would keep them informed. They coped well and have been very positive throughout my whole journey.

I do hope your children are able to come to terms with your diagnosis. Perhaps they could speak to the wonderful people at Macmillan. They are able to help with lots of advice. I’m sure there are others on here to whose children/kids have found it difficult and they can hopefully offer advice on how they coped. 
Wishing you all the best for your journey.

Hugs from cuffcake x x x x x

Thank you for the support the waiting and unknowing are horrible x x

I naively thought they were clear as they said they looked ok on ultrasound. Feel a bit daft now. Thank you for your support x x 

Thank you, I hate what it’s doing to my body and how it makes me feel. The waiting is horrible x x 

I’d have hated to hear that on the phone. I found out in a face to face meeting with the surgeon. They took 4 nodes during my initial op, and 2 turned out to have cancer. It turned out to not be as bad as I’d feared, I was sent for a CT scan which was clear, then booked in for an axillary clearance (same op you’ll be having) and I’d tried to prepare myself to be told most of them had it. I had to wait a fortnight for the results, which felt like forever 

I was stunned to hear that they’d found 10 more in the tissue removed, all of which were clear.

That qualified me for Oncotype testing, which came back low enough to avoid chemo, so I’m now waiting for radiotherapy. 

Hopefully you’ll find it’s not as bad as it sounds as well. 

Hi, I’m just wondering how long you waited for the results as I had nodes out on 25th April and no news yet. They said could be 4-6 weeks but seems a long time 

Hi there I would chase them up it only took 10 days for mine good luck hope it's okxx

Hi

i eventually had  my op on the 6th July as there were complications on the initial date of 11th May, a reaction to the antibiotics they gave me.

I was due for results yesterday but consultants are striking so a 3 week wait instead of two. Luckily I have received a phone call from the surgeon to say results had come through on his computer, I was reminded that this was not official and had to go to MDT but he confirmed 14 further nodes had been removed and all clear. He spoke about a 2% risk and didn’t think I would need chemo, treatment would be radiotherapy to my boob from previous surgery and hormone blockers. Hugely grateful for not leaving me waiting any longer than necessary, giving me light at the end of the tunnel, yet understanding it has to be discussed and I’ve seem to have had every twist and turn possible.

The drain I hated with a passion and added to that I managed to get caught in the door handle the day before removal yanking it half out and now resulting in an infection. 

A question, do I ask about onco type testing and any further scans or would I be offered them? 

Feeling like that’s light at the end of the tunnel, it’s been a long time coming and fingers crossed for confirmation on the 27th x