Advice on MRI over 5 years post treatment
Hello all.
Just curious if everyone is still having MRIs? My oncologist and breast surgeon have different opinions on this and I'm leaning to just doing mammograms at this point. Concerned about all that contrast dye accumulating.
I am a TNBC 12 year survivor and tested negative for the BRCA genes however my mom had breast cancer.
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I have dense breasts and had lobular cancer so I’ve fought like hell to keep my MRIs and am now paying for them out of pocket - my surgeon thinks a mammogram with contrast has similar success rates. Given mammograms didn’t find my cancer until it was stage 2 I’m too nervous to risk that.
What kind of cancer did you have? Why do they think MRI would be better?
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@arrabbiata_11 - Hi, and welcome to Breastcancer.org! Thanks so much for jumping in to respond to @miasara ’s post and share your experience. We're really glad to have you here. Please let us know if we can help you in any way as you settle in.
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BRCA1+ here so our situations might be different. Like arrabiata, even after a confirmed diagnosis, my first cancer didn't show on mammogram (my second did though). I've been alternating mammogram and MRI so that I'll have both once a year, spread out so I always had some kind of imaging every six months. A few years ago, my surveillance plan was updated and they added ultrasound to the mammograms. Lots of testing, yes, but I knew that was the trade-off for choosing lumpectomy. And, it worked -- my second cancer was caught extremely early!
BTW, around the 12 year mark I visited oncology again... I was having trouble with a new gyn (my old one retired) hesitating to order my scans. That was when my survivorship plan got a refresh. Among the things oncology did was order a fresh round of generic testing. When I was first diagnosed they only tested for like 3-5 BC genes, now it's literally dozens!! It might be worth asking if you're eligible for another round of genetic testing. My insurance covered it.
I'llbe interested to see your response to the questions above. Wishing you well!
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Hello ladies. Sorry for the delay. I meant to respond sooner. Thank you for your responses. They luckily caught my cancer early. I was DCIS Stage 1B but since it was triple negative I had to get chemotherapy. I had a CEM - contrast enhanced mammogram this year. The only thing is that it's too much radiation to have another mammogram in 6 months but the breast surgeon was ok with this plan. It feels kinda weird not getting checked every 6 months so not sure if I'll end up going back to MRI in 6 months since the oncologist was ok with me doing it every other year. Decisions, decisions. I did have genetic testing 2 years ago and it was all negative. Continued good health to both of you!
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