Breast MRI yearly?

I haven't had MRIs and I am now almost three years in remission.  Last year I did have a very small mass develop just below my scar on the side where I had the most problems.  To be safe, I was sent for an ultrasound.  That was inconclusive.  So, I was sent for a biopsy.  As suspected, it was a small benign cyst. 

I trust my oncology people.  I know that they will follow up on anything I find/they find that is out of the ordinary.  The nurse practitioner who works with my oncologist is very thorough when she checks me.  Last fall I graduated from three-month checks to six-month checks.

button2 said:

Hey Mary

I would follow your onc's advice. I believe MRIs are really safe so why not? I myself do CT scans every 6 months. Even if "statistics" show a treatment doesn't help survival generally, how do you know it won't help you personally? I say give any scan/treatment you can get a shot! Take care, Anna

Mary,

I'm sure this is an area where doctors have different opinions, and of course you should always do what's right for your own personal health situation -- I'll just share what my doctors have told me, for my own situation:

I'm a 6-year breast cancer survivor (bilateral lumpectomies + chemo + radiation in 2009), and decided to have a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy 6 months ago due to some newly-available genetic testing.  I did not have reconstruction.  

While making the decision, I met with a geneticist and genetic counselor at a major cancer center, as well as my own longtime surgeon, oncologist, and OB/GYN.  I asked every one of them about future screening scans, such as MRIs.

Every one of them said that the standard of care after a bilateral mastectomy is that no screening scans are typically performed, only regular manual exams.  They explained that, after a mastectomy, there is so little tissue left between your skin and the chest wall that it would be easy to feel any developing lump in a very early stage.  I continue to see my oncologist every 4 months for an exam and blood work, and am currently seeing my surgeon every 3 months, but will not have any screening tests done.

I don't know how reconstruction would affect these recommendations.

Don't know if that helps?

Traci

RozHopkins said:

I struggled with this too.

I struggled with this too.  Wouldn't you think they would scan more frequently after bilateral.  But then as another lady explained below I did not realize anything appearing is easier to feel.  It's just I felt it better to check at the soonest moment instead of when it becomes very noticeable.  I definitely get the impression they do nothing until something obvious needs checking, which usually means more treatment unfortunately for us.......  I wonder if the specialists have their spouses checked more frequently after cancer. Bet they do.

but I still have my breasts.    I like Traci's explanation about being able to readily palpate a local recurrence after mastectomy.  Makes sense.  It also makes sense that for those of us who had lumpectomies, it would be very difficult if not impossible to palpate a lump so close to the chest wall because of all the other normal breast tissue in front, so in addition to needing that breast tissue imaged, MRIs and mammograms are the only way to get "down deep and see what's there".   No type of breast screening is going to pick up on mets elsewhere and that is what we really worry about, so for most of us with early stage disease, it's  a matter of routine labs to check organ function and reporting any symptoms which woud then be checked more thoroughly.  Other scans (CT/PET) will not show lesions unless they have reached a certain size anyway.  If you were initially scanned, there is a baseline.  If you have bone pain, or a cough, or abdominal pain, be sure to report it and get a scan.  Good luck with your continued treatments.  

Oh, and I do "get" the outcomes analyses that have been studied over the years and also the effects on cost containment.  I do not want unnecessary scans or over prescribing of meds if it's not going to help, but if you have just about any symptom that doesn't go away after a couple of weeks, it needs to be checked out.  And I think you need to tell your oncologist, because not every pcp makes the connection.

Suzanne