Results of tests

It is Monday and I just got the call from the doctor with the results of the tests that they were performing during the weekend. He said there is good news and bad news. Good news is that the sentinal node is still benign and lymph nodes are free of cancer. That is fantastic. The bad news is that the margins around the tumor are still cancerous and so I have to go back in for another surgery to remove the remaining cancer that was left there. I have attached what I found.

After lumpectomy, all the tissue removed from the breast is examined carefully to see if cancer cells are present in the margins — the normal tissue surrounding the tumor. If cancer cells are found in the margins extending out to the edge of the breast tissue that was removed, your surgeon will perform additional surgery (called re-excision) to remove the remaining cancer.
Re-excision lumpectomy, or simply re-excision, means surgically re-opening the lumpectomy site to try to remove a larger margin of cancer-free tissue. When cancer cells are found close to the edge of the lumpectomy margin, re-excision is necessary to ensure that all the cancer is gone. You may hear your surgeon refer to re-excision as "clearing the margins."


He says that reopening the same incision is the best but it will not heal as nicely because it has been done twice. He is also speaking to the radiologist to see if they should do another ultrasound to see how much more they need to remove. I will keep you posted when the next surgery will be but he wants it soon. I have to say that I am not thrilled about this but I feel confident that my doctor is excellent and will do what is needed to get this all taken care of.