Question

After four rounds of chemotherapy and a unilateral mastectomy, Ann was exhausted but relieved to be through the worst of treatment. Radiation was not necessary, and the cancerous cells had not spread to any of her lymph nodes. These were all good signs that the cancer was caught early and had not spread. Ann was back to work, and aside from some fatigue, things were slowly getting back to normal (or as normal as they ever would be again). Ann and her partner were to be married in a year. They figured if they could get through this, they could get through anything together. Ann was excited to get on with planning the rest of her life!

Why is it a good sign that cancerous cells had not spread to her lymph nodes?
What does metastatic mean in cancer diagnosis? Based on the above information, had Ann’s cancer metastasized? Support your answer.

Answer 1

Why is it a good sign that cancerous cells had not spread to her lymph nodes?

It was a good sign that the cancerous cells had not spread to Ann's lymph nodes.

[To understand why it was a good sign, we need to first understand the functions of the lymphatic system and it's role during cancer.

The lymphatic system is essentially a part of the body's immune system. The lymph system consists of a network of vessels that carry a watery fluid called lymph. The main functions of the lymph system are to collect waste products, fluids and several other waste products in the tissues outside the bloodstream. The network of lymph vessels meet at several junctions called lymph nodes. Lymph nodes act as filters for the harmful substances that are present in the lymph and have immune cells which are capable of neutralizing any pathogens present in the lymph.

When cancer cells from the affected part of the body reach the lymph nodes, it can lead to them(cancerous cells) spreading to the other parts of the body via the lymphatic system. The cancerous cells may end up in the lymph nodes and travel to the other parts of the body along with the lymph and may lead to cancer spreading further throught the body.

The fact that Ann's lymph nodes weren't affected by the cancer yet meant that the cancer had been contained in a particular region and there was not a significant risk of it spreading to the other parts of the body via the lymphatic system. ]

Since the cancerous cells had not spread to any of her lymph nodes yet, and the fact that she had undergone four rounds of chemotherapy as well as a unilateral mastectomy, it meant that her chances of being cancer free were very high. Since the cancer was contained within the specific area and hadn't spread to the lymph nodes, the chemotherapy along with the mastectomy meant that almost all of the cancerous cells were either killed or removed and she was sucessfully treated.

What does metastatic mean in cancer diagnosis? Based on the above information, had Ann’s cancer metastasized? Support your answer.

The term metastasic cancer or metastasis refers to the type of cancer that has spread to a different part(or parts) from where it started. Metastasis occurs when the cells from the cancer affected part of the body break away from the tumor and reach the different parts of the body via the bloodstream or the lymphatic system and cause a tumor to develop there.

In Ann's case, the cancer had not metastasized. This was due to the fact that no cancerous cells were found in the lymph nodes and they(the lymph nodes) were unaffected. Since her lymph nodes were unaffected, the cancerous cells had not managed to break away from the tumor and reach the nearest lymph nodes, from where they would have spread to other parts of the body.