Axillary lymph node clearance 4 weeks after double mastectomy

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Hi everyone, 

I had a double mastectomy on April 17th. I had my follow-up appointment yesterday and, sadly, they found cancer in the 3 lymph nodes that were removed during the surgery. So I’ll need to go back in for an axillary lymph node clearance next week, followed by chemotherapy and radiotherapy.

It feels like such a setback, especially since my CT scan, MRI, and ultrasounds didn’t show any lymph node involvement. Has anyone else experienced something similar?

I had 6 tumours in my right breast, ranging from 3mm to 51mm, Grade 1 and 2, ER positive (ER+).


Sending strength to everyone here Yellow heart

Julie 

  • Hello, I’m sorry to read that you have been told something that you wasn’t expecting. Lymph node involvement doesn’t always show on a scan unfortunately, and occasionally someone writes a post that is similar to yours.
    Ive had an axillary clearance myself, although mine was done at the same time as my mastectomy. I had chemo before surgery. Like you, I had radiotherapy afterwards. 
    I hope that you are slowly beginning to recover from your double mastectomy, and are able to get comfy. X

  • I had the exact same situation with scans- then 4 nodes post surgery were positive and it was upgraded to a 3. I had clearance and no further modes were positive. I am 3 years, 4 months clear now…nRelaxedt that I’m counting Relaxed️. Good luck. The surgery for clearance is harder than the lumpectomy and you really need to do the stretches to keep your mobility but it’s fine now aside from a slightly numb armpit. 

  • Hello, that is so reassuring to hear that you ve been through something similar.  Thank you for sharing. Did you have chemo after? How was the recovery after the clearance?  
    I’m paranoid now that something else was missed on my cat scan - 

  • Thank you so much for sharing - how was the recovery after your surgery? 
    i feel like I’m finally sort of back ‘to normal’ and now I have to have the clearance surgery in 2 days - it’s for the best but still in shock as I didn’t expect it at all. Julie x 

  • Hi, looking back (I had surgery in June 2021). it was ok. I’d had chemo previously, and because I was lucky that my white blood cell count was in the normal range, I was able to have surgery exactly two weeks later. I did develop a large seroma which needed aspirating three times, but my radiotherapy wasn’t delayed. You will need to do the exercises that they give you following surgery as you need to get your arms into a raised position when lying on the bed for radiotherapy. I got one or two shocks after my pathology results, it is horrid. But it was all dealt with by the professionals swiftly. X 

  • Hi, yes I had chemo (won’t pretend it’s not horrid, but it’s doable), radiotherapy and then hormone therapy (7 years left) and two years of abemaciclib. I should have been on olaparib but they didn’t do a mutation test until a year later even thought I’d asked. It has now turned out I’m brca2 so I missed the window for that and now have to have a double mastectomy anyway. I had my ovaries removed a few months ago.  It’s all such a hoot this cancer malarkey. But, seriously, the diagnosis time is the worst and I was an absolute wreck the first 6’months with the shock but life feels fairly normal now and it does all go by quicker than you think. You’ll be on the othrt side of it all by Xmas. The CT scans are very accurate now and pick up very small lesions so trust that all is ok if it was clear. X