Lymph nodes are an important part of the body's defense against infection. Breast cancer cells which break off from the tumor frequently travel through the lymph fluid to the lymph nodes where they get trapped. It helps your doctors determine the odds that your cancer has spread. This in turn will help them decide what additional treatment is needed based on estimates of your chances of living five years or more. Your long term survival is determined by whether cancer has already reached your blood stream.
Prognostic information obtained from lymph node removal is inaccurate.
In actual numbers, as many cancers recur in patients whose lymph nodes are negative as in patients who have positive nodes. However, the percentages for recurrence are higher for patients having cancer in the lymph nodes. No, there are a few cancers that have been noted to have such a low lymph node occurrence that lymph node dissection may not be advised by your doctor. Some other breast cancers have cell characteristics that are less aggressive and less likely to spread. Women who have these types of cancer should carefully weigh the risks and benefits of node removal.