This is troublesome

leggo

I heard this on the news this a.m. They didn't come right out and say it in the article (or maybe they did and I missed it), but bottom line from the reporter, no diagnostics recommended (doctors do it to ease patients' minds) because all evidence shows that there is absolutely no difference in survival. I always knew that was true for Stage IV, but to hear it also applies to lower stages is quite depressing.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/needless-breast-canc...

I suspect that now that the study is out, the guidelines will be STRICTLY enforced.

kcat2013

I find that quite depressing too. I know that my MO ordered a CT scan for staging purposes because she said that tumor size is not the only factor in metastasis risk. She said she's seen many sneaky small tumors that have already metastasized when the original diagnosis is made. I think it would have been upsetting to me to not have the scan and then come back to find out I was probably stage IV from the get go. I would have much rather known that info up front. In that case, treatment would have been much different. A big thing is surgery is not normally recommended if it's IV. So I'm thankful that I did have those scans when I was diagnosed. And thankfully my scans were clear. I hope doctors will still make decisions based on their experience and the individual case.

Kendra

leggo

Looking back to when I was diagnosed Stage 3, I had no post-treatment diagnostics, so I guess the guidelines haven't changed. I remember asking the surgeon about it and her telling me unless something comes up, I was cancer free. I suppose there's not much else they can do. I guess it's a good thing family doctors take on the responsibility of follow up care when you hit that five year mark. I just hope this report doesn't make it hard for them to order these tests. Kinda scary. Shitty diagnostics, shitty treatments. This whole hit or miss stuff is so disconcerting.