My Breakthrough
Node clearance
Node clearance means taking out the majority of the lymph nodes in your armpit.
Your arm will be sore afterwards and you may have problems lifting it, though this should improve.
The lymph nodes are important for draining excess fluids out of the arm. So taking them out may lead to painful swelling in your arm (lymphoedema) in up to 30% of cases.
This is why surgeons usually prefer not to take out all the nodes in the armpit, unless it is clear that the cancer has started to spread.
They may prefer to carry out node sampling or sentinel node biopsy instead.
The lymph nodes are important for draining excess fluids out of the arm. So taking them out may lead to painful swelling in your arm (lymphoedema) in up to 30% of cases.
This is why surgeons usually prefer not to take out all the nodes in the armpit, unless it is clear that the cancer has started to spread.
They may prefer to carry out node sampling or sentinel node biopsy instead.
