KatyJoy, I had a lumpectomy then chemo, then mastectomy.
There were still foci in the breast tissue after the lumpectomy and pre chemo.
I asked the Oncologist if the chemo would remove the evidence of cancer or would it just die and we could see the dead cells there?
He said usually they would see dead cells, and that if there was a lump, chemo would rarely reduce it to nothing, so we would be able to see something.
In my pathology post chemo and mastectomy, I did still have tiny lumps in the tissue, but the Ki67 had dropped from 17% to 5% -and the pathology report said no evidence of treatment in the lymph nodes that were removed, so they were classed as clear.
It wasn't enough for anyone to consider a change in stage but was enough to send me for radiation.
Unless you find evidence of cancer in the lymph nodes, I doubt the stage will change, and though the lump could shrink, the Oncologist and surgeon will also take into consideration pre chemo pathology in deciding a stage.
As Primek says though, the stage doesn't absolutely determine the outcome, in my case my chance of recurrence is at 21% which means 79% against recurrence.
I have no idea which side of the graph I sit on so I will believe I am in the 79% that will be fine and go ahead with my life on that premise.
