91 year old mother had operation for bc, refused radiation, now will be getting an MRI for status

hopeful and optimistic

Her operation was in november, apparently successful........last week she saw an oncologist who wants her to have an MRI in April, to see how she is doing......i think another one in six months.......comments........are there different types of MRI's that are appropriate...ie there a combination mri and spectroscopy for prostate cancer patients

Thanks
Ira

mimivac

IRA,
An MRI sounds reasonable. Most people I know get them yearly to check on bc status. Are you worried about how your mom will withstand the procedure, give her age? It's not a very invasive procedure, so she should be fine. Perhaps a second opinion is in order regarding the ffrequency of the MRIs. Good luck.

Mimi

CarrWilson

mimivac said:

IRA,
An MRI sounds reasonable. Most people I know get them yearly to check on bc status. Are you worried about how your mom will withstand the procedure, give her age? It's not a very invasive procedure, so she should be fine. Perhaps a second opinion is in order regarding the ffrequency of the MRIs. Good luck.

Mimi

Age is a factor
WOW, your Mom is 91. I am so sorry she had to join this group. I agree with Mimi, a MRI is a reasonable follow up for her considering her age. I know my oncologist factored in my age, other disease processes and overall general health when factoring in treatment.

Good for your Mom, knowing her mind, and being able to decide for herself her treatment options. She needed to calculate quality of life as well as quanity of life. MRI's are painless and help determine if the disease has possibly returned. I hope the MRI results are negative.

Best of Luck - Carrie

jbug

I echo others...91 Wow!
I echo others...91 Wow! Though I'm sorry your mom has bc. Sounds like they are just monitoring progress, though, my thoughts are...if she isn't have radiation...why follow up on the BC? Does she have other health problems as well? If she is a young 91 and wants to do some treatment, then i say "go for it". My thoughts on MRI: Though MRI is relatively benign, it does involve laying facedown on a table in a freezing, very noisy room for 1-2 hours, and IV contrast is required. I had a hard time laying still for that long and have already done it twice. Don't know about different types of MRI, except for open or closed, types.

As you may have read from others, after weighing risk/benifit, everyone makes the treatment decisions that are right for themselves. I do wish you and your mom the best of luck in deciding what to do w/treatment or monitoring. I'm sure even at 91, cancer is a daunting diagnosis. God Bless...

Julie

hopeful and optimistic

Thank you for the inputs that you have given
Good luck with your battles

Ira

Angie2U

mimivac said:

IRA,
An MRI sounds reasonable. Most people I know get them yearly to check on bc status. Are you worried about how your mom will withstand the procedure, give her age? It's not a very invasive procedure, so she should be fine. Perhaps a second opinion is in order regarding the ffrequency of the MRIs. Good luck.

Mimi

I had a MRI
I had a MRI before my lumpectomy to make sure that there was no bc in my other breast and to pinpoint more the bc in my other one. It was very uncomfortable and it took about an hour. They injected me with something too, to light up any cancer. Good luck to your Mother!