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Jean 04-13-2015 11:25 AM

can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
I had this discussion with Dr. Salmon 10 years ago.
We discussed the odds of spread of disease with node positive test results. I had little faith that node negative was a sure sign of safety. Our bodies are truly miracles at work.

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/292195.php?tw

Cathya 04-14-2015 06:50 AM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
Jean;

My cancer travelled up to my supraclavicular node vs under the arms. The tumour was spotted by my oncologist after three other doctors missed. If it have been just a little smaller he likely would have missed it. I also never have trusted negative nodes.

Cathy

caya 04-14-2015 09:55 AM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
Hi Jean,

I personally do not take anything for granted, especially having my BC discovered by my plastic surgeon doing a breast reduction, three months after a "clean" mammogram and ultrasound.

Being Node Negative is not "a sure sign of safety", nothing is safe, IMHO, with this crappy sneaky HER2 BC. However, being node negative does offer a higher degree of a better prognosis according to many studies, as I recall.

all the best
caya

tricia keegan 04-14-2015 03:35 PM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
As we know cancer can still travel through the blood stream rather than the nodes so we can never be certain.

Jean 04-17-2015 10:18 AM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
So True!!!!
Years ago many thought we were out of so much danger if node negative.

Jean

Carol Ann 04-17-2015 04:44 PM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
Yes, I thought that too until my second tumor came back HER2+++ and even at Stage 1 I learned I really needed to do the chemo and Herceptin. But it is a very common misconception, perpetuated by the "early detection is the key to survival" myth that just won't go away.

Maybe your cancer is gone, and you are really in remission forever. And maybe not.

I think the verbiage about early stage cancer being "curable" only adds to the confusion.

Unfortunately, this results in even less money being donated to metastatic research because the media is constantly pushing the early detection/get your mammogram messages. So well meaning people continue to donate to "Awareness" campaigns.

20-30% of early stage women will go on to develop metastatic disease. And no one really knows why. I saw a video of about 10 or so early stage women who went on and about how they "beat cancer" and now their lives would go on and they were fine. The happy, positive, pink message.

Statistically, though ... 2-3 of those women will recur and die. It was a golden opportunity to bring up that they all had a chance of recurrence/metastasis ... but they did not mention it.

A golden teaching "educable" moment lost.

And the beat goes on ...

Carol Ann

suzan w 04-17-2015 06:54 PM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
True true...I had invasive lobular...which does travel through the bloodstream...one sneaky cell at a time. And have been told many times that invasive lobular is never Her2+...Well...guess what???!!! Mine was. Take nothing for granted...

Carol Ann 04-17-2015 07:08 PM

Re: can be node negative and still have spread of bc
 
Suzan, the tumor in my right breast was lobular and HER2 equivocal ... and even though my nodes were negative, the onc I had at the time was still saying I needed chemo ... she never explained it very well ... I had to do alot of research on my own. In the end, it didn't matter after the HER2+++ tumor was found in the left "healthy" breast.

She also told me it had probably been growing for 9-10 YEARS. All while I was faithfully getting my mammogram every year. Even the ultrasound I had after my surgeon ordered it because of my leaky nipple didn't see it.

Carol Ann


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