@sealskin it is standard practice to take out a sentinel lymph node to see if cancer has spread to lymph nodes. The sentinel is the first one that cells would go to so if that is clear, all the other ones are.

Why did your doc want a mastectomy and why did you not want one?

Did the doc actually tell you your body is full of cancer? That doesn't sound right. If you were high grade but high ER score, these meds will definitely help. I took them for 5 years and found that walking at least 45 minutes helped a lot.