Hello
I have read many posts recently where the subject of lymph node removal has been discussed. I would welcome other comments from other women who can add to this thread to help women reach a decision on what to do for the best.
I know from the conversation I had prior to my surgery that lymph node sampling during an operation is possible (I believe it is called a frozen section) and wondered for the women who are deciding what to do for the best whether that would be an option.
I know from requesting and reading my pathology report four lymph nodes were removed and none contained cancer.
Usually the largest lymph nodes are the ones that cause the greatest concern so would an option be to agree for say, up to six lymph nodes to be sampled and if they are non-cancerous there is no need to remove any more?
There may be different situations where this advice is not for the best and it would be helpful if those situations could also be included.
I know there is the risk of lymphoedema due to having lymph nodes removed and included in the side effects of my treatment was 'small risk of lymphoedema'.
The reason I'm posting this as I'm sure there must be some situations where there is no need to remove lots (say more than 10) lymph nodes if say four lymph nodes are sampled and they are all negative.
Perhaps a question to ask is how many lymph nodes can you sample during surgery and perhaps consent prior to surgery that if they are all negative then they are the only ones removed but if they are cancerous then you agree to the surgeon removing the ones they are concerned about.
I am by no means medically qualified hence why I would welcome information we all have being posted here from our conversations with our surgeons and consultant oncologists. What I wouldn't wish is for some women agreeing to have say 18 lymph nodes removed and they are all non-cancerous but due to the procedure the woman then has lymphoedema. In those situations sampling via frozen section may have been helpful.
