Anyone advised to have chemo to treat lymph nodes rather than have them removed through surgery.

Hi JLO1​ - so sorry to see you joining us here in our select little club.

Our Lymph Nodes are the 'soldiers' of infection .... if you get an infection  - they send out signals to try & fight the infection - and hopefully, they win.   

Has your GP ever run their fingers over the back of your ears, and down both sides of your throat?  They are checking to see if your lymph nodes in the area are 'inflamed' ... as this is an indication of an infection (or possibly worse. ) They can actually 'feel the lump' ie the swollen glands that may indicate a problem!  We have these lymph nodes all over the body - there are hundreds of them!   Most major organs have them all around them.  The Sentinel Node test is to check on the Lymph Nodes that 'drain from' your breast to them.

So, when your biopsy is showing that even one lymph node as being 'positive to cancer', it means that more treatment is likely necessary (that surgery alone may not address.) 

With even 'just one' lymph node showing positive to cancer ..... this means that your cancer may have travelled 'outside' of the 'safe area' ... and may need more aggressive treatment to try & stop it travelling further. 

This could include both chemo and/or Radiation and/or hormone suppressing medication.

Please ask your Surgeon, Breast Cancer Nurse and/or Oncologist to fully explain the meaning of this biopsy result .... or ring our helpline on 1800 500 258 for a 'one on one' chat to help explain this.  

Take care and all the best xx