??the end of lymph node biopsy and lymphedema approaching???

[Caroline UK]

Lani, thanks so much for posting this. Very interesting. I had to read it a few times, but I think I understand most of it now. I wondered, though, if you or anyone else might be able to make something clearer for me:

If this is saying that metastatic disease is organ-specific, and doesn't spread to other organs easily, why does it matter how many lymph nodes are found to contain cancer cells? My understanding is that anything over 4 lymph nodes is considered a higher risk for recurrence later. I had assumed that this was because it meant that the cancer was a particularly fast-growing or aggressive type. Is this saying that it doesn't spread from the lymph nodes? I.e. that for example, breast cancer cells may have metastasised to the liver, or brain, or bones, and may grow there, but won't spread to other organs?


Hope my question makes sense to someone!