nancygraced's Cancer Blog
November 4, 2007
So now you have an surgeon, a radiation oncologist and an oncologist for chemo. The surgeon recommends a lumpectomy and a sentinel node biopsy. We did the biopsy thing once and now we have to do it again?
You were terrified on the day of surgery. You brought a good friend, who also happens to be an ocology nurse, to keep you company. More to keep you from running out the door and not looking back. You gave them blood and urine and they tested your heart. You’re good to go for surgery!
The anesthesiologist is your best friend. He’s handsome for one. He’s going to make sure you don’t know they are cutting into your breast and removing me plus 2 millimeters of tissue all around me….just to be sure. Even when they get clean edges around me (and they do) you still don’t know if I’ve traveled away from your breast. That’s where the sentinel node job comes in.
Before surgery, on overfriendly doctor (if he tweaks your breast one more time, I’ll slap him for you) pumps radioactive dye into me and marks your sentinel node…that’s the first one I would travel to once I start moving out of your breast tissue and wandering around your body. You’ll want to know if I’ve been there and set up house in one or more of your lymph nodes (I haven’t)and the doctors need to make money. Have you started to worry about how much this is going to cost you, yet???
Thanks for your support - 
