Swollen armpit lymph node during chemo??
Hi everyone,
The first evidence I had BC was a 2.5 cm benign-looking (under ultrasound), swollen lymph node I found under my arm.
Fast-track to today, when I'm in the middle of neoadjuvant chemo before going in for surgery. My swollen lymph node has reduced in size considerably but I can still feel it.
So my question is - knowing that this lymph node was found to be positive (FNA biopsy before treatment), does the fact that I can still feel it implies that it is still positive? What are the chances that it may still be felt but have no more cancer by the time I go into surgery? Has anyone experienced this?
Thanks!!!
Marcia
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ER+ (30%)/PR-/HER-2+, stage 3
Diagnosed on 02/18/09 at 38 with a huge 12x10 cm tumor, after a 6 month delay. Told I was too young and had no risk factors. Found swollen node during breastfeeding.
March-August 09: neo-adjuvant chemo, part of a trial at Stanford (4 DD A/C, 4 Taxotere with daily Tykerb), loading dose of Herceptin
08/12/09 - bye bye boobies (bilateral mastectomy)
08/24/09 - path report shows 100 % success in breast tissue (no cancer there, yay!), 98 % success in lymphatic invasion, and even though 11/13 nodes were still positive, > 95 % of the tumor in them was killed. Hoping for the best!
September-October 09: rads with daily Xeloda
02/25/10 - Cholecystectomy
05/27/10 - Bone scan clear
06/14/10 - CT scan clear, ovarian cyst found
07/27/10 - Done with Herceptin!
02/15/11 - MVA-BN HER-2 vaccine trial
03/15/11 - First CA 15-3: 12.7 and normal, yay!
10/01/11 - Bone scan and CT scan clear, fatty liver found
now on Tamoxifen and Aspirin
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