Recurrence - Tests????

karenmarie1

What is the standard of care for a recurrence, no mets.

How ofter should my body be scanned and how oftern should I be having blood tests.

Please let me know your experiences.

Thanks Karen 

CoolBreeze

Hi Karen,

Did you have a recurrence or are you worried about it?  My doctor onlly does tumor marker tests, no scans.  I haven't started yet because I'm still doing herceptin, but I think I'll see him every six months and will have my tumor markers drawn then.

They don't like to do PET scans if you are asymptomatic because of the radiation and also because of all the false positives.  

karenmarie1

I was dx'd with recurrence in january, no mets. So I was just wondering what tests other ladies with recurrence are getting and how often. I do not want to be lax in monitoring my situation. And I guess I am wanting opinions of others.

Thanks!!

my2boys

I was diagnosed with recurrence, no mets in March and I am still doing chemo.  I asked my onc what she will be doing as a follow up and she said pet scans every few months and then eventually just bloodwork again.  She did mention some type of low dose radiation pet scan?  I didn't let her expand on it just yet because I still have to finish chemo and then a month of radiation.  Trying not to bite off more than I can chew right now.  I find that if I handle it one piece at a time, it is MUCH easier to deal with.

Good luck to you.

Anne