Has my breast cancer spread ?

Hi everyone I'm new in here.

 

i was diagnosed in January with grade 2 er+ Her2- breast cancer.  My surgery was delayed due to covid and was put on letrizole and zoladex.  It was an awful time mentally as I worried each day my cancer would spread .  In May I git sciatica in right side (had it a few years back) .  The pain went away but numbness right to my toes stayed.  My surgeon at the time said it was unlikely to be related to breast cancer and an X-ray was clear 

 

fast forward to today , I had a mastectomy and reconstruction early August , pathology showed lymph nodes clear .  I don't need chemotherapy but have elected to take radiotherapy as I want to make sure I e done all I can to prevent recurrence.  The geno test they carried out showed recurrence risk at 9 years as 6%
 

despite the encouraging position I find myself in , I am worried sick that it had already spread by the time of my mastectomy due to the delay and the fact I still have numbness in my right leg with the odd bit of pain 

 

would the pathology report show chances of spread via bloodstream?   


ive not been able to pluck up the courage to ask and it's impacting on me being able to feel encouraged with my results 
 

any advice welcome x 

 

Thankyou 

  • Hi 11Rolo Welcome to the forum

     

    I was diagnosed with BC over two years ago. I did ask about spread as I had to wait 5 months before I had my surgery. My lymph nodes were clear but there is always the chance some cells would have got into the blood stream however I was told the pathologist looks at the blood vessels in the tumour and determines whether cancer cells are present, if not then unlikely to have penetrated the blood vessels and entered the bloodstream.

    That gave me some confidence that my cancer was contained and completely removed.

    There is no harm in asking any questions you have to your breast team, that's what they are there for.

    Are you seeing someone about your sciatica? numbness is not uncommon and hopefully things will get better for you.

  • Good morning, thank you so much for taking the time to reply . Just by reading the post it had given me some reassurance.  I seem to be struck dumb at my appointments, I suppose trying to absorb what they say. Then of course my anxiety joins the dots with the bits I forgot to ask !

     

    i was speaking to my dr before my operation so now I have that behind me I will see if I can get an appointment to see if they can assist .

     

    Thanks again and have a lovely weekend x