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Immune system weakened by loss of nodes?

Page last modified on: August 20, 2008
Question from Salad Eater: What happens if I lose lymph nodes to surgery or my white count drops dramatically because of chemotherapy? Is my immune system weakened, and will I become vulnerable again to cancer and infection?
Answer —Marisa Weiss, M.D., president and founder: There are many hundreds of lymph nodes throughout the body. When some are removed from under the arm during breast cancer surgery, usually lymph nodes in the surrounding areas pick up the slack. These days, there is a tendency to take out as few lymph nodes as possible to avoid disruption of lymph fluid drainage, as well as to keep your immune system as undisturbed as possible. Yes, chemotherapy does reduce immune cell count. Standard dose chemotherapy drops the count down only temporarily. Almost always, your body is able to recover completely within a short period of time. Bone marrow transplant patients, a procedure used mostly in the past, did knock down your immune count beyond what your body could normally recover from. That is why, after the chemotherapy was all finished, you needed to transplant new bone marrow cells back into your body. These are the cells that make your blood count. But a low immune cell count does not increase your risk for recurrence of cancer.

On Wednesday, September 19, 2001, our Ask-the-Expert Online Conference was called Stress and Your Immune System. Mitch Golant, Ph.D. and Marisa Weiss, M.D. answered your questions on how stress affects your treatment, and what you can do to boost your immune system.

The materials presented in these conferences do not necessarily reflect the views of breastcancer.org. A qualified healthcare professional should be consulted before using any therapeutic product or regimen discussed. All readers should verify all information and data before employing any therapies described here.

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Meet the Experts

Mitch Golant, Ph.D.Mitch Golant, Ph.D. is a health psychologist and senior vice president of research and development for the national office of The Wellness Community, which provides free psychological and emotional support to help people with cancer on their path to recovery. His research focuses on the benefits of online and community support groups for women with breast cancer.

Marisa Weiss, M.D. is a radiation oncologist specializing in breast cancer and the founder, president, and guiding force behind Breastcancer.org.

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