Is this normal protocol??

radcad92

Is this normal protocol??

radcad92

Hi , last October I was diagnosed with stage 1 IDC with an eensy (4MM) tumor . I also had an 8 CM DCIS . I had a lumpectomy in November , and a complete masectomy in February (The DCIS was fairly large & the the margins didnt clear the first time around so I opted for the masectomy) I had no rads or chemo. Just taking Arimidex. It is now 6 months from my diagnosis and my Nurse Practitioner is telling me it is time for a mammo on y remaining breast . I thought I would be on a yearly schedule for it as usual . Is it weird to have a mammo again so soon . I am concerned about how much radiation I have had between the 8 zillion I had for the wire placement before my surgery & the stereotactic biopsy. Not to mention Im tired of the who frightening process. I asked her why I was having one again so soon & she said it was protocol ( there were a couple of benign things in the remaining breast) I have had an MRI as well in November . Just think it is a little soon for another mammogram , or maybe Im just scared they will find something else

HKitty71

I was told it would be every 6 months for a couple of years to follow up then the number of mammograms would reduce.

I am scheduled for my mastectomy the 23rd since the lumptectomy did not get everything either. You case is really familiar to me with the exclusion of the Arimidex haven't done that yet, would you mind filling me in on that.  

radcad92

I had a simple masectomy , went home the same day . No pain , never even took an aspirin let alone the pain pills they gave me . Other then the drain life was normanl by the next day . Went back to work in 3 days but ony even took that because my Dr told me " not to overdo " it . So I shopped !!! LOL . Ive been on the Arimidex for 2 weeks and have not had a single side effect. I was really not wanting to take it because of all I have read about side effects .But nothing has changed YAY !!! God is watching out for me because I have been physically pain free thru this whole thing. My biggest issue is mental . I am so scared it will come back somewhere else . Every pain , sore , or ache I get I am sure it has come back . I need a psychiatrist more than a surgeon . Sheesh

HKitty71

 If it makes you feel any better, I am so second guessing everything I have done, decisions I have made like having reconstruction started at the time of the mastectomy. I feel like I am on some really bad Merry Go Round ride from some really bad 60's film. 

Panice and anxiety over everything we feel now days is a constant theme throughout most of the conversations on the board. We have had our lives basically turned upside down and feel like we can not trust our own bodies anymore and that is really creepy. Most of thought we were fine and then some doctor, nurse or radiologist noticed our bodies were doing something funky.  

roseg

I had a six month mammogram after my mastectomy, but I thought it was more because I'd had a cyst on the other side.

It is un-nerving to go back for a mammogram after having had breast cancer.

At the place I go, if you've had breast cancer already, they will schedule your mammogram at a time when a Radiologist is around.  The tech will take your just-completed films to the Radiologist and they'll look at it right then. That way you don't go home worrying that they'll find something.

See if your place will do that too. 

otter

radcad92,

I had a left mastectomy for a 1.8 cm IDC in Feb. '08.  There is nothing wrong with my right breast--nothing was seen on the MRI, and neither my BS nor my onco (nor I) can feel anything unusual on that side.

Even so, my BS scheduled my next mammogram (of the right side) for August '08.  Six months is standard procedure with her, for a follow-up mammogram after a unilateral mastectomy for BC.

Your biggest tumor was DCIS, but you did have IDC in there, too.  And, although 4 mm might seem tiny, it is almost half a cm--and that is large enough to be important.  Your greatest risk is development of another BC on the "good" side.  Your suspicions are probably correct--they want to keep an eye on those "benign" things they saw on the other side.

otter

radcad92

Thanks Otter , it must be standard .... I guess once this happens it is always a worry when you get some further testing

otter

radcad92, what I worry most about is the fact that my 1.8 cm IDC was never seen on a mammogram.  I have always had dense breast tissue, and it's still dense even 5 years into menopause.  Still, I never imagined that a tumor that large would not be seen, even with digital mammography.  Thirty minutes later, it was clearly visible on an ultrasound screen (where the biopsy was done).  It also lit up the contrast MRI like a headlight (spiculated and everything--just like a nasty IDC ought to).

So, given that history, what good will it do me to increase the frequency of my mammograms?  Negative is still negative, I would think.  I was lulled into believing that I didn't have BC because of those mammogram reports.  I had to feel the tumor to suspect it was there.

otter 

radcad92

I had an MRI in November . I read the report myself & nothing seemed out of the ordinary with my left breast ( my right one is the one that was removed)  . I also had a followup ultrasound after the MRI . ( I had already had an ultrasound in October as well) I in fact had played with the thought of removing the left breast for prophylactic reasons & my BS said we could do that if I chose anytime but no hurry. Maybe Im reading too much into having another mammo. I know Im gun shy for sure !!!!