Thanks, Mary. So to answer your original question, depending on how your lymph nodes check out, after the 6 weeks of radiation you may be done; but more likely, if your cancer is ER/PR-receptive, as 70% of breast cancers are, you'll take some kind of hormone drugs for 5 years or so - tamoxifen, or an aromtase inhibitor. Or if it's HER2-neu receptive, you could take Herceptin. If your doctor hasn't discussed any of this with you yet, (s)he will.

As for the drainage tube - I didn't know lymph node surgery required a drainage tube. Ask if you're getting sentinel node surgery; and if not, ask why not, as it's a much less aggressive, invasive way to check your lymph nodes. I'm surprised they say you can't go to work with tubes; I went to work with 3 tubes coming out of various places... but the tube will be in till your nodes stop draining, which could be anywhere from a couple of days to a few weeks. Hope this helps - good luck. PJH