Is chemo supposed to kill lympnodes?

Question

I have a cousin who is four years old. She is undergoing chemotherapy(she finished 4 rounds and needs one more) She has nueroblastoma however even though it reappered it never spread. Before they even start the 5th round they want to do a scan to check for any lympnodes. (note after the second round the mass was shrinking we are not sure how it looks right now only after this scan then we will know) If they find any lympnodes then they will perform a surgery. Is chemo supposed to kill the lympnodes. Is there any alternative to surgery? Right now she is at Sloan Memorial Kettering Hospital. If you know about any other hospitals please give me some info. She already went through 2 surgeries and we want her to live a normal life

Answer 1

Chemo does not kill lymph nodes.

The CT scan is to look for lymph nodes that are abnormally enlarged, which would indicate that they are affected by the neuroblastoma.

Surgery after 4 or 5 rounds of chemo is pretty typical treatment for neuroblastoma, and is sometime then followed by a stem cell transplant.

Please accept the best treatment that her doctors can offer, even if it is hard. Neuroblastoma can be very hard to cure, but it can happen. Help your cousin's family by being as supportive as possible.

Good luck.

Answer 2

Chemo isn't supposed to kill lymph nodes, lymph nodes are part of the body's defense system against infections, cancers, etc. Doctors do scans to determine if the cancer has spread to the lymph nodes, if so they determine what other treatments or chemo drugs may be beneficial.

Sloan Kettering is an excellent hospital and I am sure your cousin is in good hands.

Answer 3

Lymph nodes are part of your body. Chemo kills cancer cells, not lymph nodes. Sometimes cancer cells are in the lymph nodes, sometimes not. Your aunt and uncle should be consulting a second surgeon for an opinion regarding surgery. You don't really want us amateurs answering this type of serious issue.