I need help! It's about breast MRI after mastectomy again!

ohilly

I have posted about this several times...although my oncologist and breast surgeon say it's not the recommended policy to have a breast and chest MRI after a bilateral mastectomy, I want to do an annual one. I am so desperate to get this I am willing to pay out of pocket if the insurance won't pay. I feel like I cannot have peace of mind if I don't get this. So my question is: I live in Chicago, does anyone know a doctor in Chicago that would be willing to order a breast MRI after double mastectomy? Any help would be appreciated. Ohilly

seof

I am sorry that i cannot recommend a Dr. I live in TX and have no idea. However, I wonder if you could mention the reasons why your Drs. say it is not recommended. I am not that far along yet, but I will be to the point of needing some type of ongoing check-ups, and I am curious about what other people are being told by their Drs.

Thanks, seof

seof

ohilly,
It's seof again. I read your previous posting about this and I think my last reply missed the mark of what you are asking. I thought about one thing that may be in the mind of the Drs. When I had my bilateral mastectomy, they looked at the tissue they removed under a microscope and found some cancer cells that had not shown up in MRI, ultrasound, or mammogram. I have had radiation and will have 9 months of Herceptin to try to get rid of the rest of the cancer cells and prevent them from regrowing. If you are planning to have the mastectomy on the other side anyway, maybe they are thinking that the examination of the tissue will be more thourough than the MRI. This may have nothing to do with your case, but I just cannot think of any reason why they would be refusing to do what you are asking them to, so I'm guessing.

I hope you find what you need soon. seof

mmontero38

Hi Ohilly: I agree with seof, maybe your drs think that an MRI might be inconclusive and because you are doing the mastectomy on the other breast, they will already send everything to pathology and get a more accurate analysis of the tissue. There were a lot of reports concerning MRI's of the breast and some say they are still inconclusive, and sometimes there are false/positive results. I would probably request that my dr send me for an MRI now that my 1st year is up. I haven't asked him about it since I've developed thyroid complications after all of this and he won't send me for any testing until my thyroid is controlled. I don't think you need to worry right now about getting the MRI. I would definitely request one at my 1st anniversary though. Hugs, Lili

chenheart

I did NOT have a mastectomy, so I can only give you my experience with MRIs. I did have one on the affected breast before my lumpectomy. I had one of the OTHER breast as I reached my 5 year mark~ my surgeon was releasing me back to the GP with no further follow ups with the surgeon if the MRIs showed the other breast was not affected. Which it wasn't.

I know this isn't exactly what you are asking, but it is my experience, so I thought I would weigh in.

Hugs,
Claudia

chessie

They probably won't order an MRI after a bilateral because there isn't any tissue left to MRI - A breast MRI is exactly that - its aimed at breast tissue. After a bilateral you might be better off to ask for a chest MRI or ct scan. Talk to your docs to see what they advise.

shelbyhome

My surgeon recomends a MRI
My surgeon recomends a MRI every so often to check my inplants, I will see him on Tuesday and I will ask him!

CypressCynthia

I have never had an MRI
I have never had an MRI since bilateral mastectomies. I have been 23 years now since original diagnosis. I have never had a local recurrence. I have had pet scans and bone scans which were helpful in picking up the bone mets. But, in my opinion and the opinion of all of my docs, the MRI is probably not the test to look for a recurrence after bilateral mastectomies.