Stagging -metastis

I am a 43 year old woman who was recently dx with IDC, grade 3, tumor size was 2.5cm, (I first felt it a year ago). in October I had the lump removed with surrounding tissue, and a biopsy was done from that. That was when they said IDC grade3. I elected to go to a cancer center and have the sentinal node mapping and biopsy done, which was done last tuesday along with having a port done. The sentinal node was found negative. I know that i will need radiation and chemo. My doctor has said that the cancer is er/pr negative, as well as her2 negative. I would like to know if this would be considered stage 2, could it or can it have matastized, do I still need the bone/thorax scans, what kind of chemo am I looking at, and How will affect my working. Also i don't know if this has anything to do with my cancer, but i started having some lower back pains this summer. It is not constant and only really hurts when i tend to move around alot. I worry though because it in the area of my right kidney. I haven't had any signs infection or anything, just some pain. Any Ideas would be of great comfort. I see my doctor for post-op late next week and am looking for some info before i see him. Thank You.

[CCF-RN,MSN-JS]

Dear heyjo, Staging of breast cancer takes into account three basic categories, tumor size, lymphnode involvement, and presence of absence of metastasis.  The system is referred to as a TNM staging system.  Regarding ability to metastasize, one of the features of cancer is that it can metastasize or spread.  Checking scans such as the bone scan to check for any evidence of spread is part of staging.  With the information noted above your cancer would be considered a Stage 2B, as long as the scans show no evidence of metastasis.

The standard of care is to give adjuvant therapy (treatment given after surgery to try to prevent or minimize the growth of microscopic deposits of tumor cells that might grow into a recurrent tumor).   Adjuvant chemotherapy has been shown to prolong the disease-free interval and survival and is recommended for most patients with tumors greater than 1 cm, regardless if the nodes are positive or negative, menopausal, or hormone receptor status.  The chemotherapy is usually a combination of drugs and the inclusion of an anthracycline such as doxorubicin or epirubicin produces a small improvement in survival over nonanthracycline-containing regimens.  The treatment lasts 4 to 6 months in most programs.  Regarding your ability to work, or how this will effect you, depends on how you are tolerating treatments.  It may be a matter of scheduling treatments to favorably coincide with your work schedule.  You may need to make adjustments during treatment, people have been able to continue working through chemotherapy.

Low back pain can be attributed to many things, make sure your doctors are aware of it so it can be properly checked out.