Thank you.
@S56 I had a MRI after my lumpectomy but before my mastectomy and have not had one since. I was discharged from BC Cancer in October 2020. I've only had mammogram's/ultrasound on my right breast only as my left is an implant and it is now yearly. Every 6 months I do go for an in-person check with my family Doctor who looks for recurrence. My Oncologist believed in only doing mammogram's/ultrasound's as the “extra” tests bring on other health problems as anxiety, high bp, stress. I was told to "live my life" by both my Plastic Surgeon and my Oncologist.
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I will chime in re: MRI.
the way I understand it, MRI is not useful as a regular breast cancer screening tool.
but where this technology shines is for dense breast patients who may have a cancer that is hidden on conventional mammogram.
I am in that boat apparently. if I had been told previously on my annual scans, (I've had at least 20), that dense breast imaging was challenging, I don't recall. it is only in the last few years that this has been on my radar.
anyhoo…..
after my breast cancer diagnosis in 2020, I was discharged from cancer centre by the end of that year, and follow up is in my and my family doctors hands.
I get an annual mammogram and MRI, staggered so that I basically get checked every 6 months. I am happy with that, and I guess at some time I will have to consider the contrast load if I live to be a very old lady…ha ha….right now I am comfortable with this plan.
how about you? what is your imaging schedule?
cheers
su
I too have been recommended to have alternating MRIs and Mammograms perhaps with an Ultrasound every year for each . I have Type “D” Density Breasts, the highest apparently. My two cancers found last December were missed on Mammogram for a number of years as I had annual ones due to my Mother having had Breast Cancer at 48. Mammograms still can be useful picking up calcium deposits and is the best screening tool for women with none dense breasts. Dense Breast also put you at higher risk for Breast Cancer.
Hello, thanks for responding. Love the island so beautiful. Have you gotten an MRI after your surgery?
Like others here, I too had dense breasts with a Birad of C. My followup schedule kind of got messed up because I was also diagnosed with ovarian cancer just 4 months after I was diagnosed with breast cancer and was going through treatment for that. At about 1.5 years after my original diagnosis I had my 2nd followup appointment. The surgeon wanted to send me for an MRI as it was part of the followup protocol. I asked her if it was really necessary as I was scanned out. I had so many CT scans and in fact was going for one the day after that appointment, I just didn’t have the energy for an MRI. She did say it was protocol, but because we had already planned on doing a bilateral mastectomy when I was finished my treatment for ovarian cancer, she agreed that we could let it slide and would continue with mammograms for surveillance until I had my surgery.
…what’s the plan for follow up, if you’ve had a double mastectomy and implants? Anyone know?! (I still have my tissue expanders in and can’t get them switched out until August at the earliest, but no one has spoken to me about any kind of follow up, so I don’t know if I’m on my own or what?!
Sue
ps still haven’t started on Letrozole because I can’t get my bone density test due to backlog.
@Skye2 I saw the nurse practitioner yesterday and asked about surveillance going forward. She said typically they don’t do anything once you’ve had the mastectomy (for early stage). She took a look at my last bone scan and last CT scan results to see if there was anything that warranted continued followup. Fortunately, there wasn’t. I am getting CT scans about every 6 months for ovarian cancer surveillance which also cover the chest so for me if anything comes up it can be dealt with. I did get the sense from her that if patients want scans they will arrange them but it was’t done routinely.
I think a discussion with your oncologist is the best way to get the followup plan for your specific circumstances. Not sure if this helps you or not.