Daughter had chemo for 6 months then had lumpectomy and had 7 positive nodes and the only thing that changed with chemo was the mitotic count to 1. I know that it reduces how they are multiplying. Hers went from 70% to 4%.
Just last week she had to go for mastectomy due to not clear margins. She now has clear margins..thank God!! During this surgery they found yet 2 more micro lymph nodes behind her tumor. Because these were found by accident, how do we know there aren't any more in her body?
My next question is how is the cancer affecting her body in terms of the mitotic count. I keep thinking that maybe chemotherapy did not do a good job at getting rid of the cancer. Will the mitotic count stay the same or can it change in the future?
I know these are multiple questions but all related to mitotic count which I would like to learn about in terms of what might be left in her body. She is doing radiation as well.
Thank you so much for your help.
Reply # - October 19, 2013, 12:49 PM
Reply To: Mitotic Count
Hello alta, I'm very sorry your daughter is going through this and hope all the cancer will be gone by the end of radiation. I've search the term mitotic and came up with 3 threads that discuss them, http://cancergrace.org/search-results?q=algorithm I don't know but they may help with your understanding.
I will also ask our oncologist who specializes in breast cancer to reply.
One thing I'm fairly certain about is unfortunately there is no way to be 100% sure there's no cancer, it's just one of the many reasons we hate it so much.
Best hopes and luck to you and your daughter,
Janine
forum moderator
Just to be sure you know we have blog posts and video content, http://cancergrace.org/breast-cancer/
Reply # - October 19, 2013, 12:57 PM
Reply To: Mitotic Count
alta, It may be Monday before we hear back from Dr. Cianfrocca, she may not have email access until then.
Reply # - October 20, 2013, 01:44 PM
Reply To: Mitotic Count
It is never possible to remove all lymph nodes. The purpose of the radiation is to try to kill any cancer cells that may be in the area that either can't be seen or can't be removed. In terms of the change in the mitotic count, it's not clear what to make of that. I would not change treatment based on that.
All the best
Dr Cianfrocca