My Sister Just Found Out

My oldest sister just found out yesterday she has Stage 1 breast cancer. She met with a dr. today for a consult and he is recommending surgery in two weeks. He said while he's in there they will inject dye to see if it's spread to her lymph nodes. Does anyone know if this is standard procedure?

Thanks,

Terri 

hi terri

 to answer your question  yes i had this done when i went for surgery. The dye was injected ans then i had a scan to watch where the dye was going it took about one hour prior to surgery. I was stage 3 with 3 nodes pos.i wish you sister the best

kathy

Thank you for the quick response. I'm sorry you were Stage 3. Are you cancer-free now?

Terri

Hello Terri,

I was diagnosed with Stage 1 but grade 3 breast cancer with HER-2 factor positive.  I also had similar procedure done, it is called sentinel node biopsy to trace whether the cancer has spread in the nearest lymphnodes.  My diagnosis came out to be initially negative and only two  lymphnodes were removed even though they were not infected.  However, later on in another ultra sound a third node was discovered (close to the ones removed) with cancer cells in it.  Somehow it was not detected with sentinel node biopsy.  I was told it was an exceptional situation.

The procedure of sentinel node biopsy is done on the same day of surgery.  It took about an hour and a half. 

I am now undergoing chemo and waiting to have another surgery after my last (6of6) chemo  next week,  to be followed by radiation.

Best wishes for your sister.  Just know that so many sisters are out there like yours.  Keep the spirit up.

God bless us all!

Rina