regional reacurrance fear

I just had ct scan for looking for a  pe but instead found a  right internal mammary lymphnode of 1.5cm size.  I had IDC stage 2b in 2006 with bil mastectomy and tram recon.  What do you recommend for a pt like this?

[zouzi]

Hi,
An intramammary lymph node simply means that a lymph node is found within the breast tissue.This is not uncommon,in fact it's normal.. as long as the lymph node does not look suspicious, or enlarges considerably.
Your Doctor  is the one to advise you and  recommend what has to be done next regarding this intramammary lymph node.
Best wishes...

[ZORROSPOUSE]

Actually it was not a intramammary lymph node, it is a internal unless that is the same thing?  The report read 1.5 lobular enlargement of the right internal mammary lymph node at the midsternal level.  There would not  be any tissue from the reconstruction at that point.

[zouzi]

I am really sorry that I cannot answer your question but I have found a post asking a similar question and I have included below a Doctor's response from the "Expert Forum"
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Lymphatic tissue from the breast can drain into both the axillary (underarm) lymph nodes as well as the internal mammary lymph nodes.  Routine surgical staging for invasive breast cancer usually involves a sampling of the axillary lymph nodes, but internal mammary lymph node sampling is less frequently done.  A CT scan may be helpful for evaluating internal mammary lymph nodes and the size of the lymph nodes, along with the rest of the clinical information may help to determine the likelihood that they are involved. A variety of factors including the size and location of the recurrence, whether there is any distant recurrence and the hormone receptor status of the recurrence will influence management. Consultation with both a medical oncologist and a radiation oncologist may be appropriate.
I hope this will help.