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About node dissection.
Mine was the lower axilla and they took 15 in that area. Five were found to have cancer, three of them quite overtaken with it. I was GLAD to have them out, and they were not even noticeable as enlarged by feeling on the outside of my skin.
These nodes are embedded in a little "fat pad" of tissue and they remove this. There is a main nerve running through that area and if the surgeon just takes a few more minutes and does not just cut that nerve, you can still have full feeling on the back of your arm. The nerve will be upset and bruised, but will heal. This way we are at less risk of having a small wound (or even mosquito bite) become infected, which can increase the possiblity of lymphedema.
The drain was in for a week and was easy to manage. I shopped, drove myself around and only had very much pain for the first few days. Just had to wear loose shirts that buttoned in the front.
My scar under my arm is hardly noticeable and I had an easy time getting back my normal range of motion. I use my right arm just as before, even though they caution us about heavy lifting or over use. I can't constantly "baby" myself and hope to get anything done!
I did have a lumpectomy only, which also was pretty easy to heal. Given the choice again, I would have these nodes removed, even though I had aggressive chemo afterwards. I am HER2 +++, hormone neg, high grade tumor.
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