Finished chemo and radiation, advise needed!

Isabella99
Isabella99 Member Posts: 22
in Breast Cancer #1

Hello ladies,

I have not been here for a quite a while. My husband, who was diagnosed with a male

breast cancer about 11 months ago, finished his treatment and he is now officially cured!

I would like to thank you all of you beautiful, kind people here for your support, love and

prayers. He is feeling well and back to gym for daily exercises! His brain fog is

finally going away and he is feeling better and better! 

His doctor told him that he needs to be checked in every 3-6 months. I was away

when he saw his doctor last time and since he is a man, he really did not

ask enough questions about these regular check-ups. 

I would like you ladies to help me with all of your great advise again on

the issue of going back to see his doctor. Back in July, I asked his nurse

practitioner once and I rememer she said they will take a blood test during

the check-up which tells a lot of things. I was actually hoping that she might say

he will have PET scan once a year or something. So, would you please tell 

me what you do as your regular check-ups (Pet scan, blood test etc.) and how often

you see your doctor? I am also not sure what blood test can tell and would

you please explain it to me if you can?

Thank you very very much.

 

 

 

Comments

  • teresa41
    teresa41 Member Posts: 471
    edited November 2016 #2
    Dr

    i see my oncologist every 6 months and I have my blood drawn before I see him he checks the liver organs sugar level and tumor markers ! he doesn't have scans or anything done unless I have a problem with something I have been out a while now however 7 years first time 6 years second time first few years I had bone scans and chest X ray everyone is different on the treatments and checkups I hope this helps good luck to you both 

    Teresa

  • Iris_G
    Iris_G Member Posts: 50 Member
    edited November 2016 #3
    My schedule

    Hi Isabella,

    I, too, will have to see my oncologist every 6 months for the next few years since I'm on Arimidex and will have blood drawn each time.  No PET scans, but did have a bone density test for the Arimidex.

    Iris

  • LouisaP
    LouisaP Member Posts: 62
    edited November 2016 #4
    Hi. That's good your husband

    Hi. That's good your husband is all done with treatment. Did he have stage 0 DCIS? They usually don't say you are cured from breast cancer. They may if you have a mastectomy with stage 0. Microscopic cells may still be in your body so they say, no evidence of disease, NED. It depends on his stage as tytyo his followup. You say treatment so he probably wasn't 0. I'm 3A. I see oncologist every 3 months for 2-3 years. Every 6 months to year 5 then yearly. The blood tests are the usual screening test. Blood counts, liver, kidney, sugar, proteins etc. They only do tumor markers is you're stage 4 because they only show up once the cancer has spread to other parts of the body. Did he have any scans after treatment? Its hard without knowing what stage he is. Most don't do scans unless there's a reason, like pain. It would be nice to do yearly scans. I want them but I doubt any insurance companies will pay for screening scans. If he has a problem they may start with an xray. Cancer is sneaky but I feel the insurance companies don't feel its worth it to scan everyone yearly or even every couple years. Especially if its a low stage. If you're unsure of something call & ask the Dr because every case is different.

     

  • JasiccaTurner
    JasiccaTurner Member Posts: 3
    edited November 2016 #5
    Congratulations that you’ve

    Congratulations that you’ve completed the battle! Chemotherapy is hard for the body.  Use hemp oil to recover fast. There are researches and studies on cannabis oil which have proven to be effective for cancer patients. I found Charlotte's web hemp oil effective.

  • clintoncassells
    clintoncassells Member Posts: 2
    #6
    Congratultions

    Cannabinoids has proven to be effective for cancer fighters. There are so many documentaries claims that a highly concentrated oil made from the cannabis plant reduces cancerous cells and cures varying varieties of cancer. Try few and see what works.

  • peony
    peony Member Posts: 306 Member
    edited November 2016 #7
    I have an ultrasound and

    I have an ultrasound and blood tests when I see my oncologist every 3 months, so far. The blood tests are to monitor my vitamin D and other levels since I'm on Arimidex (hormone blocker) and the US is to check the status of nodes in my lung that were picked up on my pre-op PET scan. If not for the lung, I would only see her every 6 months.  Seems that, like cancer, every case has its own path to follow.

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