Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 9/10/2008

Question
QUESTION: my aunt had a mastectomy a few days back as she had ductal carcinoma her path report says that the size of tumour was 2*1*1 cm with the tumor touching the posterior margin the six lymph nodes removed were free of cancer the oncologist has advised radiation and chemo she is 62 .Is it necessary for her to have radiation and chemo?

ANSWER: Yes definitely! Since her pathology report clearly states that her tumor touches the posterior (back) margin of what was removed it is quite probable that cancer cells were left behind in the depth of her surgical wound and there is a need to take care of those. These are the ways to do that! Good luck!


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QUESTION: can you also please tell me the approx no of sessions of radiations and chemo she will need ?and what will happen once the sessions are over completely i.e what precautions should we take to ensure that the cancer dosent come back in that area or even if it comes back how can it be detected much earlier...
THANKS IN ADVANCE..........

ANSWER: There is unfortunately no way of guaranteeing that it will not come back. We can only make it less probable. Also it is possible for it to come back in many different ways so there is no general rule for early detection in this situation.


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QUESTION: Q1 how many sessions of chemo and radiation she might need

Q2 also can you explain a bit more about the ways in which it can come back

Answer
I answered Q1 in my second response last time! Since there are many different possible schemes and I do not know which one of them her dr. will choose it is unfortunately impossible for me to answer that. Only her dr. can do that.
Q2. Oh it can come back in so many different ways. 1. locally. 3. In (the local) lymph nodes. 3.In other more distant organs. 1. to 3. then have a multitude of subgroups. To go through all that can fill up a chapter in a novel.