Having lymph nodes removed from underarm
I have recently been diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and have had the lump and one lymph node removed. The cancer around the lump had spread marginally but there was a considerable amount of...
Forum Discussion
Hi there Sheilasjs,
I am sorry you are faced with this. I also had early BC with only one lymph node enlarged on ultrasound. (November 2016) After biopsy,my surgeon recommended all lymph nodes to be removed as he thought it wasn't worth taking a chance and having to come back for further surgery or risk not catching microscopic cancer spreading further. The pathology report came back showing 17 nodes were removed and two were cancerous. (also had a lumpectomy at same time). I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. So far have not really had any problems with affected arm apart from a bit of cording which has been dealt with by a lymphedema physiotherapist. That was the right choice for me. I felt the risk of not having it done far outweighed the risk of surgery complications. Probably best to talk this over with your surgeon. Be careful with your research as you can be bombarded with too much information which sometimes not up to date. The BCNA can recommend appropriate sites for you.
Best wishes to you
Sue P
I am sorry you are faced with this. I also had early BC with only one lymph node enlarged on ultrasound. (November 2016) After biopsy,my surgeon recommended all lymph nodes to be removed as he thought it wasn't worth taking a chance and having to come back for further surgery or risk not catching microscopic cancer spreading further. The pathology report came back showing 17 nodes were removed and two were cancerous. (also had a lumpectomy at same time). I had chemotherapy and radiotherapy. So far have not really had any problems with affected arm apart from a bit of cording which has been dealt with by a lymphedema physiotherapist. That was the right choice for me. I felt the risk of not having it done far outweighed the risk of surgery complications. Probably best to talk this over with your surgeon. Be careful with your research as you can be bombarded with too much information which sometimes not up to date. The BCNA can recommend appropriate sites for you.
Best wishes to you
Sue P