Hello - This is my first post here. My mom has been diagnosed with recurrent, BC. Her first bout with BC was in 2004 (ER- PR- HER2+). She had a mastectomy (left side), chemotherapy and radiation. This time it is triple negative. It has been found under her left armpit with lymph node involvement, as well as lymph node involvement in the collarbone area, therefore it's being referred to as N3 disease. Biopsies were performed in the aforementioned areas to confirm. The PET scan also revealed a spot on the lung. The lung has not been biopsied as of yet. It appears to be Stage IV, but they cannot confirm with the lung biopsy. We are told that the cancer is at the "boundary" of what is "surgically resectable" so therefore, chemotherapy is the only recommended treatment. Does this mean that it's "inoperable"? Why wouldn't surgery be performed to take out the affected lymph nodes and tissue? One oncologist recommends a biopsy of the lung BEFORE chemo begins. The other oncologist suggests we start chemo and see how the lung responds. We are weighing the options, but not sure we understand all the factors. We also understand the urgency of getting the chemo started. My mom is 76, scared and confused. I'm trying to sort it out for her. Any input from this community would be so very appreciated. Should she wait to biopsy the lung? Would surgery be better? Is surgery completely out of the question and why? Again, thank you. View Thread