Is it common to have unclean margin with a lumpectomy? Nodes were negative. What would the next step be?
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7/17/09 7:51am
Deb, I don't know any exact statistics, but your situation is not unusual. You'll need more surgery to get the entire tumor removed. Your surgeon can discuss with you whether the next surgery would be another lumpectomy or a mastectomy. Factors that could affect this would be what the margins looked like, how much more tissue will need to come out, and the size of the lump in relation to the rest of your breast. The doctor may want to do more imaging tests to see if they can find more information about how much tumor is left. It's good to know that your nodes were clear.
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