[Lolly]

Hi Rhonda; I had a left mastectomy at primary diagnosis in '99. Long story short, I had recurrence confirmed by biopsy to left lymph nodes in 2001 and began Herceptin/Navelbine, was pronounced NED in August 2001 and have been on Herceptin since, occasionally having to add Navelbine back in for these stubborn nodes.

BUT, after the 2001 recurrence was confirmed by biopsy to left supraclavicular node and while waiting for treatment to start 2 weeks later, my right axilla and the lower left quadrant of my right breast became tender and swollen and we could feel enlarged nodes. We (me, onc and husband) decided not to do another biopsy feeling if treatment didn't resolve things then we'd look further. I started treatment, everything resolved within a few months, and as I said, I was pronounced NED. The following year, in April, I elected to have a right mastectomy to relieve my worry of recurrence to the right breast. My surgeon did a complete pathology on the breast and an enlarged axilla lymph node, and no cancer was found. However, he used the lymph node for "show and tell" at a conference to demonstrate what he termed "Reactive Nodes", lymph nodes that enlarge and "react" to the slightest provacation. In my case, Herceptin plays a part in this process, as my immune system is constantly reacting to the presence of Herceptin in my system.

The latest chapter in this story is that earlier this year, when I had my third recurrence, the right axilla lymph nodes were again enlarged, tender, etc. We decided we needed a fine needle biopsy this time, and lo and behold, it came back positive for Her2 cancer.

I guess the bottom line is, the only sure way to know what's going on with suspicious areas is a biopsy if possible, after going through appropriate scans to confirm if there's a suspicious area. I posted a link to the new CURE magazine issue which has an interesting article about recent studies involving a new type of MRI imaging for the breast that's very good at picking up abnormalities.

<3 Lolly

<3 Lolly