Why do some lymph nodes have to be removed during the removal of some cancer?

Answer:
Ever heard of the term METASTASIS mam , well that is the term used to denote the spreading of cancer . Cancer if present just in one place say ur kidney or the breast it is very easy to treat it , u just cut and throw away the cancer tissue and u get treated , right ? WRONG , most of the cancer cells after a certain time , spread from the initial place where they started they can spread by 3 ways . 1. By blood , most of the cancer tissues have excess of blood supply and cancer cells can spread viz these blood vessels to most part of the body but especially to ur bones. This is especially true in Prostate cancer 2. By lymphatics , Like blood vessels all parts of our body have lymoh vessels and these carry out excess tissue fluid and mixes it with blood , so eventually when cancer cells reaches lymphatics they can spread via them and reach distant parts like ur liver , and they also grow in the nodal region which are like junctions of lymphatics, this is true especially in breast cancer . This is why lymphatics and lymph nodes have to be removed along with the cancer tissue . 3. By direct spread , sometimes cancer cells just directly spread from one area to the other , this is a little rare , but occurs . For example , a krukenberg tumor Certain cancers usually spread predominantlt only by one route , that is why lymphatics are not concentrated in certain cancers like SARCOMAS(eg:Osteosarcoma) but are more referred to in CARCINOMAS (eg:Breats carcinoma) Cheeerio

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all i know is that once cancer gets to the lymphatic system the cancer spreads throught the whole body rapidly and usually causes fatal cancer

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because if the cancer spreads to the lymph nodes, then that is when it is spread all over the entire body. they are kinda like the super highway...

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Examining your lymph nodes helps your doctors figure out the extent of cancer involvement...Cancer in the lymph nodes is associated with an increased risk of having cancer cells in other parts of your body...Your lymph nodes act as filters for your body's lymphatic drainage system. That's why the lymph nodes are likely to "catch" or filter out cancer cells that might be floating in the fluid that drains away from the cancerous area...I hope this helps to explain how the lymph nodes are associated with various cancers. Good Luck~
Jen

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