Lymph node visibility in imaging
Hello,
I've been reading these forums for a few weeks and finding them very helpful - thank you to all that share their knowledge.
I'm trying to understand more about lymph nodes and imaging.
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Forum Discussion
Hi Moomincorn I was diagnosed with IDC er+ pr+ HER2- 2cm stage 2 grade 3 with 1 lymph node involved. My lymph nodes looked normal on my ultrasound, and my surgeon said they were very small when he removed the sentinel nodes. However, one did have cancer cells present, which he was a little surprised about, although he did say the size and shape of the lymph node doesn't always reflect what is going on, only pathology can say for sure. As the other nodes were clear, and I was having chemo, an auxiliary clearance wasn't recommended for me, they treated the area with radiation after chemo.
Good news your other scans are clear. My understanding is that these are to check to see if they can find any evidence of the cancer spreading beyond the lymph nodes.
Definitely contact your breast care nurse, mine have been wonderful, and helped me understand test results, various procedures and why I was having them.
I found it useful to have someone else with me for my appointments as it's a lot to take in, and can be overwhelming at times.
Hi Katie46 - thank you for sharing your experience. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one who has surprised their surgeon.
That makes sense that the scans are looking for spread.
My surgeon thinks that chemo won't be necessary for me and that's why they are planning surgery followed by radiation and hormone therapy.
Hopefully one day smart people can find a non-invasive way to detect lymph nodes that are involved.
Thanks again.